The Promise of After - Book 5 in the Chronicles of Samantha Shepard
by Desert Sunrise
Summary: A united galaxy has defeated the Reapers but worlds are left in ruin; every race now turns to recouping their losses as they mourn their dead. Shepard, her family and her friends also begin their recoveries, each fighting their own personal battles while they strive to prevent a fractured galaxy from falling back into chaos — and to secure their own 'happily ever after' ending.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Normandy SR-2, Galactic Fleet, Arcturus**

"Holy shit." Admiral Hackett stood in stunned silence for a moment as he looked at the scene before him, deciding what to do. "Lieutenant! Patch me into the Fleet-wide comms!" Based on Hackett's tone, Joker snapped to it, quickly reaching up and toggling several controls before giving the admiral a nod. "Admiral Hackett to all ships! The Geth Fleet is adrift! Deploy all available assets _immediately_ to set space anchors; tag and tether their ships as quickly as possible! I repeat... the Geth Fleet is non-responsive and adrift. I fear the Crucible wave may have disabled them... and they are now a collision hazard." After a brief pause, he continued with, "Proceed with caution to tag and tether _only_... Do _not_ board their vessels at this time. Hackett out."

In light of the new development with the Geth, Joker looked at the admiral with a grudging respect in regards to protecting the property rights of the synthetics. He didn't have to like the admiral's decision regarding _Edi_ , but completely understood the man's reasoning. Joker realized he'd simply have to trust that Edi had a plan... _and_ that the admiral was most likely correct; a cold system restart, done now or done later, would have the same result. He glanced at the immobile form in the seat across the cockpit one more time before getting to work. _It's just going to be a damn lonely two weeks between now and when we get that stupid relay fixed!_

"Thank you, Flight Lieutenant. Now, seeing as you know where it is, how about we pick up that _beacon_ and get this show on the road so we can all go home." Hackett turned back to the front viewport as he continued, "And I truly am _sorry_ you have to wait to reboot the Normandy, Mr Moreau. Shepard kept me informed on Edi's growth and development as a true AI. I fully understand that she's more than _just another mech_... especially to certain members of the crew. Shepard herself was... _is_... quite fond of her."

With the change of verbiage to the present tense, Joker realized the admiral hadn't written off either the Commander or Edi quite yet, raising his opinion of Hackett immediately. "Thank you, Sir... And I wouldn't count the Geth out yet; if Edi has a plan for herself and it _works_ , she might be able to do the same for them."

Hackett nodded slowly in hopeful agreement. "Maybe so, Flight Lieutenant. Maybe so... but we'll _still_ need to wait to find out."

Hackett observed quietly from the Bridge of the Normandy as shuttles from every ship of the combined fleet worked together to secure the pieces of the relay and tether the drifting Geth Fleet. As each operation drew to a close, he looked once more to Jeff Moreau and queried, "I need to make a post-war... proclamation... to _everyone_. Can we queue up a fleet-wide broadcast, Flight Lieutenant?"

"Whenever you need, Sir." Joker offered him a crisp nod. "Also, just so you know, the cockpit recorder is set to archive everything said in here automatically, so we can also isolate your speech and send it back home when the comm buoys are operational."

"Excellent. It appears that recovery efforts are nearly complete, and most of the Geth Fleet seems to once again be under control. Give them a five minute warning. I want _everyone_ to stand down for a few moments to listen in." Hackett let out a quiet sigh of relief as Joker made the announcement, knowing the nightmare that had dominated the last four years of everyone's lives had _finally_ come to an end.

Jeff set a countdown timer adjacent to the chronometer. As the displayed numbers silently descended down past 00:04:00, then 00:03:00, they watched the numerous work-shuttles moving about, grappling the last remaining pieces of the broken gyroscopic rings and placing them together near the now powerless relay. At the 0:01:30 mark, virtually all the work-shuttles had been recovered by their respective ships; the last few still outside joined the others still anchoring the last of the Geth ships. Even these came to a virtual stop as the countdown passed 0:00:30; Jeff reached overhead to once again toggle controls for Fleet Communications, then announced, "Comms are all yours, Admiral."

Even though it was audio only and no one could see him, Hackett gave a brief nod and stood tall, straightening his jacket before clasping his hands behind his back as he started to speak.

"As of 1942 hours, Universal Galactic Time, on the 7th of June, the war is _over_. The Reapers have been _defeated_. Against _all_ odds, and in the face of the greatest threat this galaxy has ever _known_ , we survived. We suffered many losses. The relays may be damaged, but we _won_. This victory belongs to _all_ of us... every man, woman and child. Every civilization... on every world."

"Now, as we take our first steps toward restoring what we lost, we must remember what it took to _win_. This wasn't a victory by a single fleet, a single army, or even a single _species_. If this war has taught us anything, it is that we are at our strongest when we work _together_. And if we can put down our grievances long enough to stop something as powerful as the _Reapers_ , imagine what we can achieve now that they are defeated!"

"It will take time, but we can rebuild _everything_ that was destroyed. Our homes, our worlds, our fleets and defenses. _All_ of this... and more. Together, we can build a future that is greater than any _one_ of us can imagine. A future paid for by the sacrifices of those who fought and died alongside us. A future that many will never see. And while we may still have many challenges ahead of us, we can face them... _together_."

"It all starts _now_. Teams have been prepositioned all over the galaxy to do the exact same thing we are doing here... rebuilding the relays and repairing or replacing the communications buoys. Once we have positive message contact with Sol, we'll send a test drone to ensure the relays are working properly and are safe for travel; we anticipate that happening in two weeks..." He paused as a smile crept onto his face and into his voice. "... but at the pace the _engineering_ teams are working, I have a feeling it might be a bit sooner than that. I ask only for your cooperation and your patience through this process. Our fleets sustained a lot of damage... so use the time to pitch in wherever you can. Let's work _together_ to see how much of it we can have repaired before our _victorious_ return to Sol. Hackett out."

Joker immediately toggled the cockpit comms to silent. "You're clear, Sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. It's time for me to get out of your way and let you do your jobs." Hackett's glance shifted to Ashley before he departed. "You have the Normandy, Commander. I'm going to call a shuttle to get myself back to the _Orizaba_ , where I belong."

Ash snapped to attention and belted out, "Aye-aye, Sir!" As soon as the doors slid closed behind Hackett, she relaxed and stepped forward to lay a hand on Joker's shoulder. "You heard the man, Jeff. As soon as the admiral's shuttle departs, let's collect that damn beacon and get a few more engineers to help out with repairing that relay." She squeezed his shoulder quickly before dropping her hand back to her side. "And I sure as _Hell_ don't plan on the repairs taking the full two weeks... I miss Edi, too... You know? I have to write up the damned _mission_ report without her help! It'll take me _hours_ instead of the normal 45 minutes or so. I want her back as soon as we can _get_ her!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Joker smirked as he started to make the calls.

* * *

 **A/N:** And, we're back! I know it's not a _real_ chapter, but it's not my normal post day of Friday, either. It's just a little teaser and a heads-up that _**The Promise of After - Book 5 in the Chronicles of Samantha Shepard**_ will start this Friday, June 10th, with Chapter 2 - A New Dawn!

~ Thanks again, and we'll see you Friday! ~


	2. A New Dawn

Notes:

CIC - Combat Information Center

CO - Commanding Officer

ICU - Intensive Care Unit

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator

XO - Executive Officer

* * *

 **A New Dawn**

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol System**

"She'll live." Miranda's words drew a rousing cheer from the crowd, along with smiles, laughter and great rejoicing from everyone there... except for Garrus, who simply stared at Miranda for several moments, mouth open, mandibles flared. He questioned the _tone_ with which she had spoken… the grimace… and hoped he was mistaken... hoped he was hearing the exhaustion in Miranda's voice and not Shepard's true condition.

"What do you mean... _she'll live_? Somehow, the way you said it... it's like it's not a good thing. I mean, did she lose an arm? A leg? Is she in a coma?" Garrus' imagination began to think of any number of reasons that Shepard could still be alive, yet not fully and truly _with_ them.

Miranda finally offered up a weak smile. "Oh, God! No... I'm sorry, Garrus. She'll be fine... It's simply going to take a significant period of time for her to heal." She sighed and gestured at a row of chairs against the wall. "If I'm going to explain, I _really_ need to sit down. Please?"

" _Certainly_ , Miranda! Sorry... I didn't think." Garrus berated himself for his unintentional lack of consideration as he moved towards the chairs. "You were in there a _long_ _time_ ; you're probably just as ready to collapse as I was _before_ I took a nap in these damned uncomfortable Human chairs, waiting for news." Garrus waited for Miranda to sit before he took the chair next to her. "Was the commander really _that_ badly injured?"

"She was a _mess_ , Garrus. We quite literally had to peel the remnants of her armor liner from her skin _and_ remove shards of burnt armor from all the puncture wounds. Without Riana's firsthand account of what she witnessed during the run to the beam, I _never_ would have believed the commander survived an almost _direct hit_ from Harbinger's main energy weapon, even _with_ all the Cerberus designed technology I grafted into her."

Garrus' eyes opened wide and his sub-harmonics warbled as he muttered, " _Spirits_!"

"My sentiment _exactly_! And, after the blast, she was up and moving again before Riana was!" Miranda sighed before she continued, "So, as I said, she's _going_ to make it... but her injuries were severe. If Riana had taken any longer to find her on the Citadel, we'd be planning the commander's funeral; the Human body, no matter _how_ augmented, isn't designed to withstand direct fire from a Marauder assault rifle after one's armor has been mostly burned away. Shepard may be a member of Clan Urdnot, but she is most definitely _not_ a Krogan."

Miranda smiled in spite of the circumstances and continued her explanation. "We had to do _major_ reconstruction on her insides; the rifle blasts took her on the left side and perforated both her small and large intestines... as well as her stomach, pancreas _and_ spleen. I'm honestly not sure how she was still upright and walking. We also had multiple ribs to set, her left lung had collapsed from all the fluid that amassed in her abdominal cavity, _and_ her right arm and hand were damaged... though I think that actually may have happened _after_... as things on the Citadel started to explode. Riana shielded her as best she could but, after all the fighting, her barriers were significantly weakened."

Miranda glanced back toward the surgical unit and went on in a quieter voice, with Garrus now listening in stunned silence as the list continued to grow. "I'm surprised the sepsis didn't kill her; I think only the nanites kept her from going into septic shock. She's all put back together _now_ , but the surgery has most likely created a _lot_ of scar tissue, which will greatly reduce her mobility until we help the nanites to repair it all. We have to treat her almost as if she were a burn victim because, even _with_ the nanites, it's going to take multiple treatments as we work from the inside out. After a few days of recovery to let her reassembled internal organs stabilize, she'll be in surgery again... multiple times... for gradual tissue regeneration. Once she recovers from all _that_ , I'll be able to repair the skin weaves and complete some dermal regeneration... after which we _might_ be done and we'll be able to simply let the nanites handle the rest of her healing from then on. All told, I anticipate roughly two months of recovery time, not including the physical therapy that she'll have to endure."

"Spirits!" Garrus' eyes reflected his shock. "All the times she's been injured in the past, I've _never_ seen Shepard down for more than a couple of days… a week on the outside!"

"Yes. Well, two months are _nothing_ compared to the two years it took me to put her back together the first time... But it gives you an idea of just how _gravely_ she was injured." Miranda was all business, her blue eyes hardening to a steely glint, and looking ready for a fight with her next declaration. "At this point, even _with_ the nanites, there is a tremendous risk of infection and she could _still_ die. We need to limit her exposure to anyone not scrubbed; I'm going to demand that _anyone_ who visits go through the sanitizer and slip into surgical garb, including gloves and a mask… Also, the approved list of visitors will be strictly limited until further notice. Currently, that list consists solely of you and Riana Iregos; I'll add Liara, Hannah Shepard, Karin Chakwas, Lieutenant Commander Williams, and Admiral Hackett when the fleet returns... In other words, leadership and loved ones. Period. No more than two at a time in the room, and _no one_ in the room during any treatments. The Commander's condition is currently listed as extremely critical and she's in the ICU. Anyone on the list who causes the commander distress will be removed immediately... _including you_... even _Liara_. That's the bottom line, and it's nonnegotiable."

Surprising Miranda, Garrus chuckled softly, the sub-harmonics adding to the feeling of relief. "Shepard always _did_ say you could be more stubborn than a Varren with a bone. I can't think of anyone better qualified to be watching out for her welfare, except _maybe_ Karin Chakwas... and she's not here yet."

Miranda raised a brow at the unexpected compliment, but did not voice what she was thinking. _You don't know the **half** of it, Garrus. I'll protect Shepard with my very **life** , if necessary._

The big Turian paused for a moment before starting to speak again, the flanging of his voice complementing the sub-harmonics. "I can think of two more people who would like to visit the commander. Would you add Tali'Zorah and Sarah Campbell to that list? They were both with me as part of Shepard's over watch during the final push, and I know _she_ would be thrilled they're both still alive."

Miranda paused only briefly before shaking her head. "I'm afraid not, Garrus. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to see them, particularly her 'Little Sister,' but she'll simply have to believe you when you tell her they're fine. Let's wait a few days to see how she responds to the treatments before we expose her to too much. If all goes well, we might be able to add them in a few days or so."

He nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Miranda. When will I be able to start visiting?"

"She's just now being moved into recovery; once her ICU room is ready on the secure floor, she'll be moved upstairs. If all goes well, I'd say _maybe_ three hours. That said, I've got to help monitor her through the process." With a quick nod, Miranda rose from her chair, turned, and stalked back into the wards.

Before she managed to escape, Garrus called out, "Miranda! Hey! You mentioned Riana..."

Miranda turned and replied with a smile, "Yes, I did, didn't I? She ended up with a fractured skull and a severe concussion. She's already been stitched, is through recovery, and is currently resting in room 23 on the same secure floor where Shepard will be moved to; 7th floor. _Her_ visiting hours are the standard 0900 to 1900 hours, but you'll have to process through a biometric checkpoint; the entire floor is secure. Oh. And Lieutenant Kurin is up there as well."

"Thanks again, Miranda." Garrus stood up and reached over his head in a stretch before turning to leave, intending to gather his squad and head back to Hammer Base in an attempt to scrounge up some additional dextro rations for himself and Tali.

* * *

Frustrated to discover she would not be allowed to visit with Shepard for a few days yet, Tali remained at Hammer base while the rest of the squad set out to assist with the ongoing search and rescue effort. She soon cornered Major Coats, revealing the data Liara had shared about the relays and the plan in place to get them _all_ operational again within a matter of months, with the primary relays to the council home-worlds active within a couple of weeks, if all went well. The major had stared in wonder at the display she projected in the air before him, just long enough to realize he had Shepard and T'Soni to thank for yet one more thing. In only seconds, he made a decision and called in an Alliance engineering team to work with the Quarian admiral. After he gave them instructions to follow Tali's lead, he shook her hand and thanked her, saying, "Admiral Zorah, you do whatever is necessary to get the parts rounded up and get that thing put back together. No one can come or go until it's repaired, so it just became our number _one_ engineering project."

Tali nodded. "You've got it, Major. I'm taking Lieutenant Cortez and the Normandy's shuttle for primary transportation and I'll let you know if I run into any roadblocks. Once I explain what I'm doing, I can't _imagine_ anyone being unwilling to help."

Coats shook his head. "Me neither, but I'm here, just in case."

Tali looked at the engineering team. "You heard the Major. We've got a relay to repair."

* * *

A heavily tattooed woman, known to most people as 'Jack,' entered the main gate into what was left of the Hammer base. She turned to address her three remaining students, saying, "Head for the Comms center _after_ you all get something to eat… and don't be shy about asking for what you need, okay? All of you need some seriously high-calorie food to replenish your reserves. Anyone gives you any shit, tell 'em you're with me… should be enough."

They nodded in understanding and moved together towards the base cafeteria as Jack sighed and walked to the Comms center, where she addressed the young man sitting by the portable QEC. "Hey… Any word on Commander Shepard?"

The young Marine took obvious notice of Jack's rather revealing attire and the number of tattoos displayed on her nearly nude torso. Jack normally would have enjoyed messing with the young man's mind until she got bored, but wasn't in the mood for games today. Choosing instead to go directly to her end game, she spit out, "Quit staring at my tits and answer the question, jackass. Didn't the Alliance teach you any better than that?"

His head snapped up and he looked at her face, having the good sense to look both guilty and apologetic at the same time, while still trying to cover for his appalling lack of proper military decorum with a bit of bravado. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. That information is on a 'need-to-know' basis. I don't know _you_ , so you don't need to _know_." He grinned at his clever play on the words until Jack placed both hands on the edge of his desk, leaned down and brought her face within a few centimeters of his.

"Kid, I'm really beat," she hissed in a menacing tone. "Now, I can guarantee you there is no other woman on this planet with her entire body covered in ink, and… now this is the _important_ part, so stay with me here… _and_ who _works_ with Commander Shepard because I have a fucking _bad_ attitude with the _biotics_ to back it up. Alliance brass refers to me as 'Jack', but my students refer to me…" at this point Jack's entire body came alive with shifting blue waves of raw biotic energy, "… as the _psychotic_ biotic."

The young Marine's smirking countenance turned into an expression of outright fear as he leaned back in his chair to contemplate the best way to extricate his ass from the blender into which he had placed it. "Ah, sorry Ma'am. I didn't realize… ah, that is…"

He stopped as Jack held up her right hand, palm facing him. "Just answer my question, Kid. Commander Shepard?"

"Ah, the commander was picked up from the Citadel, along with an Asari Commando. Shepard is currently in surgery at the Royal London Hospital… A doctor… Miranda Lawson is there with her."

"Well, fuck me." Biotic energy fading away, Jack stood and turned. _So, Shepard did the impossible… and she's being tended to by Ms Bubble-butt herself._ Checking the chrono on the partition wall above the 'still wet-behind-the-ears' Marine, she figured she had time to get some grub and some shut-eye before needing a ride to the hospital. _Now to go find my kids…_

* * *

Asari Specialist Cayla Thaus left the elevator and eased through the security checkpoint for the 7th floor wards, where many of the higher-ranking members from the 'Hammer' strike teams had been sent to recuperate from their injuries; Cayla was somewhat surprised that the powers-that-be had placed her lieutenant, Liessa Kurin, among them. As she searched for Kurin's room, she contemplated how important the Normandy team was to the people of Earth... and was happy to discover that Cerberus attitudes did not carry through the majority of Humanity... at least not today, in the city they called London. _I hope it remains that way._

Cayla herself had escaped injury thanks to a massive biotic barrier generated by Justicar Samara, the fifth member of their squad. Lieutenant Kurin had been thrown approximately 20 meters from her position, only escaping the fates of her teammates through sheer luck. Even so, she had received a concussion, a fractured lower arm and some first and second degree burns across her back. After the Destroyer had moved on, Cayla had provided some limited first-aid and assisted her lieutenant back to the field hospital for stabilization and transport to the Royal London Hospital for specialty burn treatment.

She had been placed within a secure area that consisted of 40 rooms, each with a single bed; the floor was divided into eight sections (not including the ICU wing of 10 rooms). Each section was overseen by two nurses working under a supervisor. Upon speaking with the section supervisor, Cayla was presented with Liessa's Commando leathers, in the hope she'd be better able to obtain replacement clothing for the recovering Asari before her discharge from the hospital.

Cayla kept her thoughts to herself as she turned down the hallway, knowing full well that obtaining clothing – of any kind – for an Asari Commando would be difficult on this planet. When she reached Kurin's room, she knocked tentatively on the heavy wooden door, which was ajar just enough for Cayla to view an interior lit less by overhead light sources and more by the numerous lights and displays belonging to machines monitoring the Asari's heartbeat, blood pressure, respiration, body temperature, and brain activity.

Her knock was answered by a weak, "Come in…" from Liessa, who was lying on her side in a bed with a specially designed mattress to keep her from rolling onto her back, which was bare from top to bottom. She was wearing a standard open-backed hospital gown to protect her 'modesty', but the ever practical Asari hadn't bothered to cover her backside with the thin sheet on the bed. "Oh… Cayla! Come in, _please_. I'm going crazy in here! Not another Asari face _anywhere_!" Motioning with a nod of her head, she added, "Please, have a seat and talk to me. What news do you have? What's happening out there?"

Cayla grinned as she replied, "In short? We won! Do you remember anything of our return trek to Hammer Headquarters, Lieutenant?"

A beaming smile spread across Kurin's face even as she huffed. "Please, Cayla… Call me Liessa. I hardly think we'll be doing any more fighting, whether it's on this planet, or on our own once we can return; besides..." she smirked, "... with my ass hanging out, I'm not actually in good shape to be leading anyone anywhere."

Cayla chuckled. "It's a nice ass, Ma'am. I don't think anyone would refuse to follow it… er, you." Cayla's face darkened with embarrassment as she said this, much to the apparent amusement of Lieutenant Kurin. "So, your back? Burns going to heal okay?"

With the news Cayla had delivered, Kurin couldn't help but continue to smile as she answered, "The Humans are using Asari developed treatment protocols, so I imagine they'll heal without leaving any scars." She barely stopped to take a breath before asking, "So, the red wave we saw… did it really eliminate… kill… _all_ the Reapers _and_ their unnatural creations?"

"Everything I've heard indicates that it did, Liessa." Cayla shook her head in bewilderment. "Against all the odds... We actually _beat_ the Reapers!"

"Our faith in Commander Shepard and Lady T'Soni was not misplaced, then. That is good news indeed." Kurin sighed in satisfaction, but her face quickly turned serious. She didn't honestly want to know, but simply _had_ to ask. "So tell me what news you have of the Normandy teams. How many did we lose?"

"Well, you already know of Sasha T'Levos and Nilyna Vura," she said sadly. "I believe the Justicar made it… she left me to take care of you, get you back to the aid station." Cayla impulsively reached for and grabbed one of Liessa's hands.

Liessa's expression had changed from serious to sad. "Goddess. How could I have _forgotten_ about Sasha and Nilyna?" She blinked slowly and continued as her eyes reopened, swelling with moisture. "But you told me on our way _here_... I ... I guess I didn't want to think about it, so put it out of my mind. At least _you_ are here." She pushed a slight smile onto her face and gently squeezed Cayla's hand in return as she asked, "And what of the Turian-led team? They were supposed to provide top-cover for Shepard and her squad… surely _they_ didn't all succumb to Reaper fire."

"Well, I _do_ know that damn big Turian… the tattooed woman and three of her students… oh, yes! And the Quarian… Tali? They all survived, but… the huge _Geth_ … the Prime named Legion? _It_ fell at the crater's edge when the red wall washed over everything."

Kurin sighed. "The Turian… Garrus Vakarian. My understanding is he was almost _always_ Commander Shepard's 'First'. I've never heard of a Turian so devoted to a Human… if I didn't know better, I'd have to think he's in love with her."

Cayla grinned at Liessa's observation. "There may be some truth to your opinion, but I think their relationship is based on mutual trust and admiration, and that's not something that occurs overnight. They fight as if they've been together long enough to hone their relationship into an amalgamation of all the best traits of both. To witness such is a rare privilege."

Liessa had yet to give voice to the question she'd been wanting to ask, fearing the answer would not please her. Screwing up her courage, she whispered, "And what of Shepard, Cayla? Did she survive that terrible release of energy on the Citadel?"

Cayla's grip on Kurin's hand tightened slightly. "She's alive, Liessa, but just barely. I was told Lady T'Soni's First followed her to the beam, found her in the control room and carried her to the council evac docks, where they were picked up by a shuttle. Shepard was still in surgery downstairs when I came in to see you. Riana Iregos… Lady T'Soni's First… is currently recovering from injuries sustained getting the commander to the extraction point. She's in a room on this floor, actually… I plan to look in on her after my visit with you is complete."

Liessa's smile broadened as she pulled Cayla towards her. " _Find_ her, Cayla. She needs to know, as I did, that she is not alone in this place.

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

It was almost midnight when the Estate Team 2 Lead, Huntress Allyna Taluri, burst into the house, leaving the door wide open, the light from inside the house shining outward into the dark night like a beacon. Matriarch Aethyta blasted out of her chair in a fury. "Close the damned door! You want all the Reapers on Thessia descending on our very heads?"

She started to rush at the door, but screeched to a halt at Taluri's next words. "They're gone! A red wave swept the planet and they're all gone!"

"What the fuck?" Aethyta could hardly breathe; she didn't dare to hope. "Explain yourself!"

"Apologies, Matriarch." Allyna's eyes were wide with excitement, but she stopped moving and stood erect as she continued. "It was about an hour or so ago... That's how long it took me to get _back_ here from our patrol route on the south side. We saw a _massive_ red wave in the distance, stretched across the entire horizon and coming at us _incredibly_ fast... faster than we could ever _hope_ to retreat... and thought for sure it was some new Reaper weapon, finally come to kill us all... but the _only_ things affected were the Reapers themselves! Their creations simply... _vanished_... in a puff of smoke... and all the _Reapers_... Well, their bodies lit up with what looked like crimson electrical arcs jumping all over them... and they fell over _dead_ shortly after the wave crossed their frames!"

Everyone in the common room exploded in cheers as Aethyta stood in the middle of the chaos, stunned into inaction. After a long moment, she shouted above the din, "You're absolutely _positive_ they're _all_ gone?"

The room fell deathly silent at the question and even though Allyna's grin said it all, she answered anyway, her voice solemn and steady. "We took the chance and turned on our radios... The network was full of chatter from _everywhere_. They are _gone_ , Matriarch Aethyta; Lady T'Soni's machine must have _worked_!"

"Well, I'll be _damned_." A rare smile split the matriarch's face as the news finally sunk in. "Go get Captain Tremi and wake everyone in the dorms... They all deserve to know what's happened. I'll get Matron Lyessa so she can notify the house staff and then I'll get Mozia." Aethyta stood up to her full height and raised her voice above the excited chatter filling the room. "Remember this date, House T'Soni! June 7th, 2187 is the day the galaxy beat the fucking _Reapers_!"

* * *

Aethyta slid quietly into the bedroom, surprised the ruckus in the hallway didn't wake her sleeping companion. She walked silently to the bed and, as she sat on its edge, Mozia woke and rolled to her, instantly alert at the abnormal behavior. "Thyta? What's the matter? Why aren't you coming to bed?"

Rather than answer immediately, Aethyta leaned over and kissed the Regent's lips as she ran a gentle hand across Mozia's crests. When she stopped, Mozia gazed up at her, confusion and concern in her eyes, generated by Aethyta's uncharacteristic silence. Unusually subdued, Aethyta practically whispered, "Moz. It's _over_. They've fired the Crucible... and... I believe we've _won_."

Mozia stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending at first... until the sleep-induced haze cleared from her mind. Her eyes suddenly widened in understanding and she bolted upright in the bed and stared at Aethyta in shocked surprise. "By the favor of the _Goddess_! Truly? It's... _over_? It's _truly_ over?"

"Yeah." Aethyta grinned at the nude Asari before her and palmed one of Mozia's ample breasts. "And even though there's nothing I'd rather do right now than climb into bed and keep you in it until next _Janiris_ , I've ordered a House assembly to spread the word and talk about what's next. Lyria and Lyessa are already making the rounds to gather everyone up... so it's just you and me loitering about."

Mozia trapped Aethyta's hand against her breast and encouraged a gentle kneading motion. "Understood, _Captain_. But don't you dare forget where we are right now, because I have every intention of picking up this... _discussion_... later."

"Fine by me, Moz." Aethyta caressed the soft flesh under her hand and Mozia let out a small, inadvertent moan. "Wouldn't want to disappoint the Regent of House T'Soni, now, would I?"

* * *

 **Galactic Fleet, Arcturus, At Large**

Williams left the Normandy's bridge and slowly walked through the tactical passageway to the CIC, head bowed in thought, pondering the amount of time she'd have to spend putting together the ship status report. Ashley had never truly appreciated just how many moving parts there _were_ to the report and, now that _she_ was responsible for writing one, she was beginning to understand Shepard's aversion to doing the damned things … On the other hand, the only action the Normandy was going to see for the next ten to twelve days (if they were lucky) would involve launching and recovering the shuttlecraft taking engineers out to work on restoring the Arcturus relay... so, she had plenty of time to focus on it.

She stopped for several moments at the top of the two steps that led down to the CIC level; there were several technicians and specialists around the massive galaxy map display, one of which drew her immediate attention. _Of course! Samantha Traynor… She has **much** less on her plate now we're not engaged in a fight for our lives. **She** can help me compile all the reports._

Moving with purpose now, Ash stepped down to the CIC level and moved to her left; walking up to stand beside the young woman, she waited for a few moments before clearing her throat.

Sammi's head jerked up and to her right, eyes wide open in surprise. "Commander! I'm sorry… You startled me. What can I do for you?"

Williams chuckled softly. "Are you always so focused on your work, Specialist?"

Traynor had not had many dealings with the raven-haired woman since her arrival on the ship after the coup attempt on the Citadel… virtually all of her interactions with command staff had been with either Commander Shepard or Admiral Hackett. All of this ran through her mind as she responded, "Yes Ma'am… particularly now, with a number of our crew members on Earth…" Sammi paused, looked down at her terminal for a moment, then finished in a slightly shaky voice, "… their fates unknown."

Ashley placed a hand briefly on Traynor's shoulder; she withdrew it almost immediately when she felt the specialist's torso stiffen instantly at her touch. "Staying busy… staying focused on a task… is a good way to keep occupied. I suspect you're worried about _one_ crew member in _particular_ , though. Am I right?"

The look Ashley received from Traynor spoke volumes about the specialist's state of mind, but her voice was steady as she replied, "I'm worried about _all_ of them, Ma'am. It's really difficult, not knowing the status of so many of my friends… but you are correct… my main concern is Riana." Traynor sighed sadly as she continued quietly, "I heard Dr T'Soni sent her to watch over Shepard... and we know the commander _did_ reach the Citadel and that she activated the Crucible, but... after that? I can _hope_ they are both safe, but without confirmation?…" she trailed off as she looked away, not wanting to share her apprehension with Ashley, not daring to give voice to her fears, lest they prove to be reality once the Normandy was able to re-enter the Sol system.

Ashley held all the same fears as Traynor and quickly came to the point. "Specialist, I need some help. The Normandy isn't going _anywhere_ for a number of days – most likely, the only thing you'll be recording will be the crew members' travel logs as they come and go to make repairs to the Arcturus Relay. For now, _that_ task can be handled by Ensign Copeland. I need _you_ to assist me in putting the ship's status report together."

At Traynor's look of surprise, Ashley added, "I'm pretty sure you already have the latest mission summary portion of it ready for the CO, or," she smirked as she said, "the XO. But I'll also need the ship's armory and transportation officer reports, something Lieutenant Cortez would normally take care of along with…" Ashley paused for a moment before forcing herself to say the name aloud, "... Lieutenant Vega. I can get _those_ together... but while I'm doing _that_ , I'll need _you_ to gather together Greg Adams Engineering report, the medical report from Dr Chakwas, and the stores and supplies report from Ensign Sweeney. Then, we'll assemble it all together into a concise, coherent form that the admiral can understand."

Traynor faced Ashley and said, "Aye-aye, Ma'am. You get me _your_ info soon enough and I'll have everything ready by the end of the shift."

"That fast, Specialist? That's a lot of data." Ashley looked at her in disbelief.

"Yes Ma'am. I _helped_ Edi a number of times and, whenever she went dirt-side with the ground team, _I_ did all the quality checks and submitted the final reports for those missions anyway, so this is nothing new... other than having to collect all the pieces on my own."

"Very good, Traynor… Carry on." Ashley entered the elevator and input the code to access the hanger deck. _May as well start at the bottom and work my way up._

* * *

Over on the Destiny Ascension, after all the other members departed at the conclusion of their latest meeting, Councilor Tevos remained and sat alone, staring out the port view screen of the temporary council chambers. Human Ambassador Osoba had provided only scant information about the status of Sol, other than what Admiral _Hackett_ had passed on to him... information which _she_ already knew. She understood she should be happier about the victory, but the potential loss of Samantha Shepard gnawed at her insides like a virulent pestilence that could not be curbed. As she selfishly pondered the impact such a loss would have on her personally, Nizia Tenir searched her out and entered the room quietly. "Councilor? Are you well?"

"Better than I had dreamed possible, yet disappointed all the same, Nizia." Tevos offered her a shadowy smile. "I know I should be happy; we've _won_ an impossible victory, I have Sha'ira at my side almost _every_ night, the relays are all repairable and we are able to continue _living_ our lives... yet, I feel our victory incomplete without knowing whether Samantha Shepard lives... or _not_." She released a heavy breath and stared back out the window. "I feel compelled... I _need_ to know that securing _our_ future did not cost Shepard her own, Nizia. It would be a price too high for her to pay; she deserved better from us."

"She got everything she _could_ from us, Raesia." Tenir approached quickly and laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. "We _believed_... and _you_ argued to the best of your ability against those who did _not_. You were but one in the sea of voices and cannot be held responsible for your powerlessness to shout above the storm of opposition; your one voice was lost in the torrent."

"I suppose." Tevos reached up and gently removed Tenir's hand from her shoulder before rising slowly from her window seat. "But that does not change the hollowness within my chest of an empty victory... one without our dearest champion within it."

Tenir smiled gently. "Do not dismiss Commander Shepard so quickly, Councilor. We have yet to return to the Sol system and discover the truth of the matter. She managed to fire the Crucible... She may very well be alive and awaiting our return."

"Oh, I most definitely have _not_ , Nizia. My heart simply _hurts_ with the not knowing." Tevos turned toward the exit and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and forcing a smile to her face. "Come. We must visit our citizens in the hold and see how they fare. And... just perhaps, we may cross paths with the Consort and request a private session to help deal with the insidious doubt crawling within my mind."

* * *

 ** _Eva's Vortex_** **, Widow Relay, Serpent Nebula**

The glowing, bluish-white element zero core within the set of revolving gyroscopic rings brightened in step with the increased rotational velocity of those rings as _Eva's Vortex_ appeared in the distance beyond the Widow System's Mass Relay; rapidly decelerating from FTL as it drew abreast of the 15-Km long device in an ever-shifting, blue-tinged curtain of intense energy waves, the corvette rolled into a graceful turn away from the relay, coming to a near halt sixty thousand kilometers from the ancient device.

The ship's captain looked to Maya Brooks, standing nearby on the bridge, for any further instructions from the Illusive Man. "It really doesn't seem right the Citadel is no longer in this nebula, Ms Brooks. Did the Illusive Man give any indication of how long we should wait here before returning to either Cronos Station or the Sol system?"

Maya clasped her hands behind her in a non-verbal display of confidence she did not feel as she smoothly answered, "We're right where he told us to be, Captain. We'll have an answer, one way or the other, in less than twenty-four hours." Taking a quick look out the forward viewport, she added as she turned to leave, "I'm going to the galley, get something to eat and drink. Care to join me?"

"You go ahead… I'll be along in a bit."

Maya nodded once, then turned and left the bridge. _Son-of-a-bitch doesn't believe me, so he's going to attempt to contact Jack direct while I'm off the bridge. Won't do him any good… if the Reapers haven't blocked comms to and from the Citadel, the Crucible certainly has._

She strolled nonchalantly down the passageway to the small galley, poured herself a cup of coffee, grabbed a sweet roll and moved to a table in the corner. Her thoughts continued to tumble around as she took a bite of the pastry, followed by a sip of coffee. _Shepard was a fucking mess! I really should have killed Jack as soon as we entered the control compartment… Why in Hell did I wait? Maybe that big admiral would still be alive. Shit, Maya! Too little, too late. At least the Illusive Man is dead… no way in 'ell **he** got back up after I vented his head. _

Maya took several sips from her mug as she contemplated her actions. _…Closest I've ever been to someone I shot. Guess I'll have to watch my back for the rest of my life, unless I can somehow meet Shepard… maybe somewhere public, out in the open… apologize, ask her forgiveness. Hell, she'd probably set me up, have that big Turian she's always hanging out with shoot me from a distance. I'd be dead before I heard the gun. No, Maya, don't go down that road. Think positive! I'm a survivor. Just have to plan…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the collision-alert klaxon, followed by, "All hands! Brace for impact! This is not a drill… Brace for impact! Stand by for damage control!"

Maya was up instantly upon hearing the klaxon; she ran back up the passageway to the bridge, arriving in time to witness the Mass Relay's containment rings, dislodged, broken and drifting, being overtaken and passed by a wave of red energy, swiftly increasing in size as it approached their ship at an incredible velocity.

Even knowing the answer, the captain asked the bridge crew, "Can we outrun it?" only to receive a pitying look from the pilot. All they could do was watch and wait for the few seconds the wave needed to reach them.


	3. Hope Renewed

Notes:

FOB - Forward Operating Base

ICU - Intensive Care Unit

* * *

 **Hope Renewed**

 **Galactic Fleet, Arcturus, At Large**

Hannah Shepard left the Bridge the very _minute_ the shuttle departed to fetch the admiral from the Normandy, moving quickly to the _Orizaba_ 's lower shuttle docks. As soon as he stepped out of his transport onto the hangar deck, she greeted him with a single word. "Steven."

Easily guessing why she was there based on the worried frown on her face, Hackett spoke quickly. "I have no news for you, Hannah. I'm sorry." His face held his typical, stoic expression. "I know she made it to the Citadel and it's quite obvious she got the damn thing to fire, but we lost all communications to Sol as soon as we jumped the relay. I don't know anything more than you do at this point." He stopped as a sudden recollection caused a look of surprise to flash across his face. "Belay that. I _do_ know something you would want to know. One of the Normandy's medical evacs? Dr Liara T'Soni."

Hannah's face paled at the news but, by the lack of concern or sorrow on Hackett's face, she hoped for the best. "And how is she?"

"She was a bit beat up and that damned initial report of all of Hammer being destroyed hit her like a ton of bricks. Liara has been an amazing pillar of strength for Shep... Samantha... through this whole damned war..." Hannah gasped as Steven continued, "... but when she heard _that_ , she collapsed in the War Room like a house of cards and had to be carried back to the Med Bay on a litter." He shrugged. "Karin reported she'll be _physically_ fine but... well... _emotionally_? Only time will tell. Liara had not yet regained consciousness when I left."

Hackett glanced at his private transport shuttle, engines still hot from his return, before he refocused on his currently _unemployed_ Rear Admiral. "Seeing as the Crucible Project is effectively over, _you'll_ need a new assignment. Until I figure out _exactly_ what that's going to be, I think you should go stay with her, Karin; you both need each other right now."

"Right _now_ , Steven?" Hannah cast a quick glance at the idling shuttle before looking back to her life-long friend.

" _Absolutely_. We're not going anywhere anytime soon, Hannah. Take the time to pack an overnight bag; I'll call you back when I find a job for you."

* * *

A persistent thud hammering behind her eyes convinced Liara she didn't want to open them quite yet. She groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore the annoying ringing in her ears, not realizing Dr Chakwas was attempting to rouse her. She about jumped out of her skin when a seemingly disembodied hand touched her shoulder… "I'm sorry, Liara. I didn't mean to startle you. How do you feel?"

 _Dr Chakwas… so I'm definitely in the med bay…_ _ **again**_ _. How does she always seem to know the minute I'm awake?_ Liara did not answer, but tears began to run down her cheeks, and Karin wiped them away softly.

"My dear sweet girl… you've been out for nearly eight hours. After they brought you back in here, I administered a sedative to make sure you _rested_ , undisturbed. That said, eight hours is a long time and I have news for you."

 _I don't_ _ **care**_ _about your news... or that I'm going to_ _ **recover**_ _…_ _ **no**_ _one made it to the beam, Samantha is_ _ **gone**_ _. I don't care about_ _ **anything**_ _._ Liara tried her best to roll away, but Karin was determined to not let her.

"Liara… stay with me for a moment, _please_ , and listen to me very _carefully_. If you get over-excited, it can have a negative impact on your concussion recovery… Take a deep breath and try to focus on relaxing. I know you're never going to be ready to hear this, but here it comes anyway… After you passed out, we received news that someone actually _did_ make it to the Citadel... and Admiral Hackett spoke with _Samantha_... right before she _fired_ the Crucible."

Liara's eyes involuntarily snapped open and she bolted upright in bed. Her hoarse yell of " _WHAT_?" was immediately followed by an overpowering wave of nausea as her head throbbed violently and seemingly tried to explode.

Karin grabbed her shoulders to stabilize her and directed her to a waste bucket she had ready and waiting. As Liara emptied anything and everything from her stomach, Karin very calmly stated, "Breathe, dear… and don't you _dare_ say I didn't try to warn you."

Maybe it was just the damn ringing in her ears, but Liara _swore_ she heard a chuckle in that statement… She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she did both at once, her breath hitching and emotions running rampant. Once Liara calmed a bit and was truly breathing relatively smoothly again, Karin handed her a warm damp cloth to wipe her face before helping her gently off the bed and into a nearby chair.

She had Liara sit down and lean forward, with her head down almost between her knees to help with the nausea, as a med tech replaced the bucket with a clean one. Karin rubbed her back gently, both for comfort and to ensure she didn't sit up too quickly again. "We are currently at the Arcturus rendezvous point; since you were incapacitated and the Broker systems were locked down, Joker arranged for the retrieval of the beacon device and the relay repairs were started a couple of hours ago. The engineering teams estimate twelve to fourteen days and we'll be headed back to Earth, assuming, of course, that Tali'Zorah is organizing the reconstruction of the Sol relay as we speak."

Liara sat up slowly, emotions still teetering on the brink of chaos... and finally realized they were not alone in the room. "Oh, Goddess. _Hannah_!" She stood shakily to her feet as Samantha's mom closed the distance and wrapped her in a motherly hug.

"You have to keep the faith, Liara. I _refuse_ to think my Sam is gone. She got the Crucible to fire... so I just _know_ she survived." Hannah pushed back and cupped Liara's face, gently smoothing the tears off the Asari's cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. A nervous chuckle escaped her as she continued, "She's probably standing up in the top of Big Ben, sipping a Bushmills', directing the clean-up and already planning the reconstruction."

Liara hiccupped as she laughed softly. "Goddess. That does sound _exactly_ like Sam." She swallowed hard and she met Hannah's eyes, her voice picking up a tremble as she spoke, "I _do_ hope you are correct in your assumption. I... I don't know what I'd do..."

As Liara's shoulders started to shake anew along with a fresh bout of tears, Hannah's eyes also welled with moisture as she drew the Asari into another embrace. "By the Gods, Liara. Should the worst come to pass, just remember you will _never_ be alone; you're a _Shepard_ now. Keep faith in that, but don't you _dare_ give up on Sam. Not yet."

After a few moments of silence, Hannah's brow wrinkled and she looked to her lifelong friend. "Karin... Can Liara be cleared to return to the loft if I go _with_ her? It would let us talk in private and she'd be able to rest in her own bed." Hannah kept her arms wrapped around the young Asari, gently stroking her back, and she could tell the relatively young maiden was soothed, relaxing into her chest as if she had been raised there.

Karin offered a soft smile. "Of _course_ , Hannah. I believe it will be better for the both of you. My only stipulation is that you not let her talk you into _showing_ you her office. She'd be working before you realized it and _that_ is most definitely _off limits_ for at least another 24 hours."

She turned and picked up a cane, handing it to Liara with an earnest warning. "Now, young lady. You were told _once_ to be careful... and you ignored the warning. I don't want to see you back here again until morning. Get something to eat and head to the loft; no side trips. Understood?"

Liara stepped forward gingerly and gave the doctor a hug. "Yes, Ma'am, and... _thank you_."

Her gaze shifted to Hannah with her last words and Karin laughed. "Don't thank me! Admiral _Hackett_ sent her over. I had _nothing_ to do with it."

* * *

After Liara left with Hannah, Karin returned to her desk and sat down, powering her system monitor back on. She had turned it off when Hannah had arrived, not wanting the woman to see the medical status report she was working on. As the screen came back to life, the words glowing on the screen hit her like a punch in the gut. _Commander Samantha Shepard - MIA_

She closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands, taking a deep breath to compose herself before returning to work; she focused on the positive confirmation they had received... that Sam had _survived_ to make it aboard the Citadel. _At least there is hope in_ _ **that**_ _... and damn it! If_ _ **Hannah**_ _can be that strong for Liara,_ _ **I**_ _can be that way for the both of_ _ **them**_ _!_

Of course, Samantha's name was not the _only_ one on the status change list... nor was it the _worst_. She had received several updates over the course of the day and the KIA list was growing. It had started with the two Asari on Kurin's team, Sasha T'Levos and Nilyna Vura. Even Kurin had been injured and ended up hospitalized on Earth, though Chakwas had no idea where.

Next had been Ensign Rodriguez... who had the least impact on the doctor because she had never met the young officer. _She was only a child... all of those students... so young!_ Then, the final run for the beam was in progress when Shepard called for the emergency evac. Karin had instantly known something absolutely _horrible_ must have happened for Samantha to risk the Normandy at that point in the battle. As the Normandy flew into the midst of the battleground, a number of Alliance soldiers came aboard for treatment, including Liara... and James Vega.

She had worked on Liara only briefly, while the med techs had prepped Lieutenant Vega for surgery. Operating on James had been an exercise in futility; Karin _knew_ it before she even began... yet tried her best anyway. His injuries had been beyond severe; his lower spine was severed and all the blood vessels in his lower extremities had been crushed and perforated with multiple bone fragments, along with all his lower abdominal organs. His liver had also been pushed violently up into his chest cavity, crowding his heart and causing his diaphragm to rupture; the lieutenant had never stood a chance. Karin was unable to determine a single cause of death and ended up listing a combination of secondary effects; the multiple circulatory ruptures caused a collapse of his circulatory system, his heart was restricted and unable to beat properly, worsening the low blood pressure condition, and his lungs had ceased to function, causing him to die of suffocation.

Karin's only solace in her inability to save him was that he had quickly fallen unconscious, either from the intense pain or the lack of oxygen, likely _both_ , and had felt no additional pain as he died, having never regained consciousness. She finished the updates, saved the file and pressed the send key, feeling sorry for Ashley because she would have to process it and then forward it to the _Orizaba_ as the Normandy's acting commander. She sighed sadly as she stood from her chair and wiped away the tears that had fallen unnoticed onto her cheeks. There was no time for rest... She had a number of _live_ patients who still required her care, so she forced a new smile onto her face, exactly as she had initially done for Liara and Hannah, and started a new set of rounds.

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

In the ICU of the Royal London Hospital, Samantha Shepard let out a groan of discomfort as she began to awaken. _Gods be damned. Hurts too much to be_ _ **dead**_. As her eyelids fluttered in rather pitiful attempts to open, she was assaulted by the sterile whiteness that surrounded her. _Hospital... not the Normandy and_ _ **not**_ _the Hammer base. Where the fuck_ _ **am**_ _I?_ Flashes of waking up in a long distant Cerberus facility after being dead for two years suddenly made her pain seem more intense. _That better not have all been a damned precognitive_ _ **dream**_ _! If I'm still on Lazarus Station... I'm gonna do a few fucking things_ _ **different**_ _this time around._

Miranda's voice suddenly filling the silence almost completed the commander's waking nightmare, but the words were most _unlike_ those spoken during that time long past... and _comforting_ rather than a confirmation of her fears. "Shepard. It's alright; Riana got you outside and we picked you both up in the _Aletheia's_ shuttle after the Crucible fired." Miranda's hand settled softly on her cheek as she continued in a soft, soothing voice, "Take it _slow_ and do _not_ attempt to sit up. I don't know what you remember, but you were critically injured. We're counting ourselves lucky to have you still with us."

Shepard let her eyes drift shut again as a defense against the brightness. Her voice was low and gravelly as she whispered, "Gut wound... was bad, wasn't it?"

Miranda did not hesitate to agree and slowly described to the soldier what she and Chloe Michel had needed to do to keep her alive. "That certainly explains why I feel like I was dipped in alcohol and set on fire... and why I have a Mako parked on my stomach." Shepard suddenly growled at the memory that shot to the forefront of her mind. " _Fuck_. How's James?"

"Unfortunately, I have no idea." Miranda scowled. "Though, from what Riana told me, I have serious doubts about his survival; I'm sorry, Shepard. It's only been..." She hesitated as she glanced at her chrono. "... 21 hours; obviously, the relays aren't repaired yet. We have zero communications capability between Sol and Arcturus, so I haven't been able to get any status updates on the Normandy or her crew... _including_ Liara... so don't ask. I have no answers."

"Damn it. You don't pull your punches, do you, Lawson." Shepard's eyes cracked open again. "Hopefully all the engineering teams we had in place _survived_ ; even one break in the chain could affect our recovery efforts."

"Don't worry about _that_ , Shepard. There's nothing you can do to change it now... and you need to focus on your _own_ recovery; it's going to be long and painful... I'm anticipating a couple of _months_. There's also something going on with your biotic amp; your biotics surge whenever we put you completely under. We had to use an inordinate amount of suppressant to complete your surgery without you _pushing_ us away from the table." Miranda's face held a puzzled frown as she continued, "I've run a diagnostic, but can't find anything wrong with it. I may need to remove it to get a better look at it."

Shepard's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. "You're aware I _'arc'_ without an amp, right? That procedure could prove _interesting_ in the least, _dangerous_ at worst..." She chuckled softly and quickly groaned at the pain that shot through her midriff as a result, destroying any mirth that should have come along with her next statement. "Growing up, I repeatedly shocked the _crap_ out of Karin and my mom until we found the right amp for me... and it was an experimental military version, not available to the public."

It was Miranda's turn to look surprised. "No, I _didn't_ know that. I knew you had an extremely cutting edge piece of equipment, but that particularly _shocking_ little tidbit never made it to your records... damn Chakwas! She probably left it out on _purpose_ to protect you. Otherwise, the anti-biotic crowd would have raised a ruckus about you being in public schools and God knows what else... afraid you'd _explode_ and hurt their children or some other such nonsense." Miranda smiled softly. "But no worries. Now that I know, I'll attach a grounding strap to you before we pull the amp; should keep us from getting anything more than just a little tingle."

"I hope you're right, Miri..." Shepard's eyes closed in exhaustion as she whispered, "Last time I had a surge... admittedly, I was _really_ pissed off... I blasted through a pair of _Asari_ sparring suppression cuffs."

"My _God_ , Shepard!" Miranda leaned back from the bed and settled into her chair, thinking about the implications until a small grin spread across her face. "Well... We're not trying to _suppress_ your surge... simply guide it someplace less... _harmful_. But, just to be safe, I'll insert a temporary amp to tide you through my rebuild of the original... _and_ make the ground a _heavy duty_ strap."

"What? A sense of _humor_ , Lawson? You _have_ changed." Samantha paused as a small smile briefly crossed her lips, only to disappear with her next question. "So where the Hell _am_ I and what's going on in the world outside this whitewashed room?" Shepard opened her droopy eyes and tilted her head to the side so she could look at Miranda. "And don't tell me you've got it handled and that I don't need to worry about it. I need to _know_ , Miri... for my own peace of mind, if nothing else."

One corner of Miranda's lips came up as she gave Shepard a half-smile. "Understood, Commander." As she relayed all she had gleaned of the beam and its affects, she stopped and focused on her patient. "I think we're done for a bit, Shepard. You look pale."

The commander swallowed as, much to Miranda's surprise, a tear ran down the woman's cheek. She immediately stood and leaned over her patient, examining her more closely. "Are you in too much pain?" Miranda's voice had turned to one of concern. "I can increase the dosage of meds a bit if you need..."

"No. I'll manage the pain, Miri." Shepard shook her head. "It's just that... Gods be _damned_ , Miri! I _killed_ the Geth... every last one of them." Based on Lawson's expression, the commander felt the need to explain and readied herself to tell the operative about the conversation with the Prothean VI, only to feel Miranda's fingers on her lips.

" _Hush_ , Shepard. Riana is well on her way to recovery and already told me the story. Even if you _could_ have reprogrammed the device to differentiate between the different types of synthetics, you had no _time_. Once they thought Hammer was wiped out, the Reapers left Earth and were pressing the fleet... _hard_. When you called Admiral Hackett, we estimated the fleet probably had fifteen... _maybe_ twenty minutes before it broke. Weapons systems were running dry, shields and cyclonic barriers were starting to fail..."

As she continued, Miranda's face took on an expression Shepard had rarely, if ever, seen on the woman... one of wonder and _awe_. "We just _knew_ we were out of time... that we were about to witness the _end_ of our era, exactly like _all_ the cycles before us... When all of a sudden, a voice came out of the darkness to offer hope and light." Miranda's hand reached out and she gently brushed Samantha's hair back off her face. "That voice was _yours_ , Shepard. It was _you_ , and in an _instant_ , extinction was turned into _victory_."

She withdrew her hand and her voice picked up an edge. "So don't you _dare_ second guess yourself on your decision... or _blame_ yourself for those losses. It was the _Prothean_ coding. It was _everyone's_ inability to completely decipher the programming, the two year delay caused by the Collectors, the refusal of the races to _believe_ you... delaying any _substantial_ aid until it was almost too late. So _many_ factors came into play to slow us down... but only _one_ factor pushed us past them all to create our victory... _You_." Miranda fell silent as she watched the commander's eyelids slide closed.

Shepard's voice was a soft whisper as she responded, "Thanks, Miri. I can only hope everyone else is as forgiving."

"It's not a matter of _forgiving_ , Shepard. It's a simple matter of knowing the _truth_." Miranda smiled softly as Shepard's breathing smoothed into the regular rhythm of sleep. Before leaving to check up on Riana again, she leaned in to place a soft kiss on a warm, pale forehead. "You don't need to worry about such things, Shepard. Just focus on getting well."

* * *

Garrus Vakarian had eaten a meal – an actual _meal_ – in the Mess area at the Hammer FOB, which was rapidly becoming too crowded for his liking. He had collected some water and dextro food rations for himself and Tali'Zorah, but expected it would be up to him to take the supplies out to where the little Quarian was working. She was splitting her time between marshalling manpower and supplies to repair the Charon Relay and helping with the actual repairs by being on site to answer questions or come up with solutions to the myriad of problems that invariably arose during any project of this magnitude.

Garrus huffed as he looked at his chrono – nearly six hours had passed since his chat with Miranda Lawson. Deciding he'd better go see Samantha before the entire fleet returned from Arcturus, he heaved himself to his feet, appropriated a secure storage locker for the rations he'd obtained for Tali, sent her an omni-message with the location and security code, then went outside to see if he could catch a ride back to the hospital.

He stepped into the street without paying much attention to what was coming, nearly getting run over by a huge, eight-wheeled tank retriever. When the driver, a Human female by the sound of her, yelled at him for being an unconscious idiot, he turned to face his accuser and chew her out for _her_ inattentive driving before staring at her in slack-jawed, dumbfounded joy.

"Sarah Campbell!" He moved around to her side window, ignoring the soldier riding in the gun turret tub up top. "Spirits! You really know how to make an entrance! What in the galaxy are you doing driving around in _this_ thing?"

"Convinced the division commander into letting me borrow it, along with a couple of people that know how to run it so I can go out to the crater's edge, Garrus… We're going to pick up Legion's platform and bring it back for safekeeping." At the Turian's look of confusion, she added, "I don't want to see some low IQ doofus using it for target practice, Garrus… damned if that Geth didn't save our asses, numerous times. Least we can do is keep his platform safe. I'd be willing to bet there's data hidden… somewhere… that'll enable Tali'Zorah to restore that thing's programming from a backup server."

Garrus chuckled. "You amaze me more and more every time I see you." He looked off in the direction the retriever was traveling and asked, "Would it be too much out of your way to give me a ride to the Royal Hospital? I'm planning on visiting Shepard... and maybe see how Riana Iregos is doing."

Sarah grinned. "Climb up on top, Garrus… I'll have you there in no time!"

* * *

Garrus waved at Sarah as she accelerated the eight-wheeled behemoth away, steering towards the massive crater's edge. She had told him she was going to have one of the other corporals accompanying her drive the Thanix missile launcher truck back to the FOB, after de-arming the missiles and 'safing' the launcher controls; London had endured an inordinate amount of destruction – Campbell didn't want to see any more explosions here for a long time.

Garrus entered the hospital through the main entrance, causing no small amount of consternation among the staff and visitors until one of the nurses that had been in attendance for Miranda's announcement recognized him; she cleared the way for him to enter the secure elevator to the seventh floor, where he was met by even more security.

"Spirits! I just want to see my commander," he said to the Marine sergeant at the check-in desk.

The Marine, who would have made James Vega look scrawny – W _hat is it with Alliance Marines and muscles?_ – looked Garrus up and down, comparing him to the I.D. photo displayed on his monitor. Cocking his head, he stared intently at the Turian for several seconds before breaking into a grin and observing, "Hell! I seriously doubt you'd take a rocket or grenade to the side of your head just to impersonate General Vakarian."

"Oh, I don't know, Sergeant," Garrus chuckled as he took the proffered visitor's badge and clamped it to his chestplate. "Commander Shepard told me that some women find facial scars on males attractive." He finished with, "… of course, most of those females are Krogan," as he sauntered into the restricted area to find the commander.

As he made his way past numerous rooms, most of which were apparently occupied, he nearly passed one room in particular before taking a second look at the name neatly printed on the room's patient I.D. placard: • _Iregos, Riana – Thessia •_

The door wasn't completely closed, so Garrus pushed it open before him as he entered what turned out to be a small outer room. There was a chair next to a desk placed against one wall – this looked like a possible nurses post, set up so hospital staff could be comfortably stationed just outside a patient's room. A pocket door obligingly slid aside as Garrus approached; it came as some surprise that Riana already had a visitor – another Asari commando, by the look of her leathers. Their conversation abruptly ceased at the sight of the big Turian silhouetted in the doorway.

Garrus' eyes lit with recognition as the visiting Asari turned, face alight with joy. "Garrus? It's wonderful to see you!" Cayla Thaus moved quickly to envelope the surprised Turian in a heartfelt hug, grateful to see another of her comrades had survived the final assault. Shifting her hands to his upper arms as she pushed back to look up at him, she continued with, "I am so happy you survived! And the rest of your squad… Tali'Zorah, Sarah Campbell, the tattooed biotic and her students… survived as well… that is so good to know!"

As was his habit, Garrus flared his mandibles, his own eyes reflecting the happiness he felt at seeing another survivor of the final assault. "What of your sisters, Cayla? How did they fare?"

Garrus was immediately sorry he had asked as the commando's happy expression instantly turned into one of deeply felt grief. "Lieutenant Kurin was injured… she's in a room down the hallway recovering from her injuries. Unfortunately, Sasha T'Levos and Nilyna Vura fell victim to the Reaper Destroyer's prime weapon… I'm still alive only because…" Cayla's voice hitched, causing Garrus to gently take one of her hands. "… I was able to get behind a barrier thrown up by Justicar Samara." Tears came to her eyes as she recalled again how severely the commandos were injured, their bodies looking as if they'd virtually been crushed before being incinerated.

"Your loss is a loss for every one of us, Cayla," Garrus nearly whispered. "They were good people... and the galaxy will be poorer for their absence. I'm so sorry." Garrus held onto Cayla's hand a few heartbeats longer, then let go and moved to one side in order to sidle up alongside Riana's bed, with Cayla taking a position on the other side.

He used the back of a talon to gently stroke the blue fingers of a left hand protruding from the covers over her body; her head was wrapped in something resembling a stiff turban, most likely to protect her sensitive crests after undergoing the bone-weave to repair the skull fracture she'd received on the Citadel. "I cannot begin to imagine the difficulties you and Shepard must have endured to get to the Citadel control room, Riana. That you survived… that you managed to get yourself and Shepard out of there after opening the arms and firing the Crucible…"

Riana turned her hand in order to grasp the bothersome talon as she looked quizzically at the large Turian before her. "It's good to see you Garrus, but what brings you here… someone of your importance _must_ have more important things to do than visit injured people."

"You're kidding, right? I can't think of any better way to spend some down time than to visit my injured comrades, see how they're doing," came the half-joking reply. "So, how are you feeling? Would you care for some help in breaking out of here?"

"Other than the headache? Not too bad, although I don't think I would be much help if the Reapers suddenly reappeared." Her smile straightened, lips pressed together in a firm line as she had a thought. "The Normandy? The rest of the fleet… any word yet?"

"Not since Shepard spoke with Admiral Hackett. All the comm buoys are destroyed, so we'll be waiting ten to fifteen days, assuming they're working on repairing the Arcturus Relay. Once Tali and her engineering horde have Charon operational, we'll be open for business... but who knows when we'll start seeing some traffic; it will depend just as much as someone on the other end getting theirs up and operational as well."

"Is it true? Shepard's going to survive her injuries?"

"She's going to make a full recovery, thanks to _you_ , Riana. You saved her life up there, and _that_ is something for which a great many people will always be grateful, not the _least_ of whom will be Liara T'Soni."

"I would have done it for Shepard regardless, Garrus, had the opportunity presented itself, but I am sworn _first_ to protect Lady T'Soni; then, only by _extension_ , her promised bondmate... but Liara _directed_ me to go, so I did what needed to be done."

"Well, no matter your motivation, you have _my_ eternal gratitude… I cannot even _begin_ to imagine this galaxy without Samantha Shepard… not after she single-handedly pulled every race… Hell, every system… together to defeat the Reapers."

Their visit was interrupted by the arrival of one of the section nurses, announcing, "If you would excuse me, I need to obtain a few readings on Commando Iregos… make sure she's making good progress so we can release her."

Garrus moved immediately, followed by Cayla. "We'll see you tomorrow, Riana," Garrus said. "Perhaps they'll release you from bed rest so you can at least walk around a bit. Maybe we can even have lunch together?"

"I'd like that, Garrus… I'd like that very much. Cayla?"

Cayla said her goodbyes as well, saying she was going back to visit with Lieutenant Kurin. Garrus waved to her as he headed in the opposite direction to find Commander Shepard's room in the ICU. He chuckled as the thought came unbidden – _I need to see for myself if getting hit by an energy weapon is any worse than taking a rocket to the face._ Still chuckling, he made his way towards the ICU.

* * *

Doctor Chloe Michel intercepted the Turian as he started down the short passageway to Shepard's room. "Garrus Vakarian! What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't aware you were still working with the commander… Were you with her for the entire war?"

"Ever since she helped me rescue the Primarch from Menae, just after the Reaper invasion of Earth and Palaven," came the response. "Actually, as often as I was on the Citadel with her during the war, I'm surprised you and I didn't run into each other at some point."

Chloe laughed lightly as they walked together. "I was virtually a prisoner of Huerta Memorial, up until the evacuation." Voice becoming somber, she added with a frown, "I was fortunate to make it out… many were not as lucky." She paused as she came to a door. "Let me just check on the commander… see if she's awake…"

After a few minutes, Dr Michel returned, saying, "She's awake, Garrus. Just please, be _brief_ , and try to not upset her with any of the bad news to which I'm sure you must be a party."

Garrus nodded his concurrence before quietly entering the room. Being used to the bare-bones minimum of monitoring equipment in the Normandy's Med Bay, Garrus was astounded by the number of machines around the commander, all aglow with tiny lights and readouts. He stopped beside the bed and simply stared, having never seen her injured so severely.

Her eyelids slitted open, followed by her croaking, "Garrus. How are you?"

"Spirits, Shepard! I should be asking _you_ that question, and I would, but I've already been fully briefed by Miranda." Mandibles flared wide in astonishment, he continued, "Honestly, none of us understand how you can still be alive... not that we're complaining or anything!"

"I seem to be hearing that a lot lately." Sam's eyes crinkled at the corners in step with her lop-sided grin. "I had a lot of help… from Riana… and, believe it or not, I even had an assist from _Maya Brooks_."

"Brooks?" Garrus instantly bristled at the thought of the Cerberus assassin being anywhere near Shepard after the shit she'd pulled, both on the Citadel and then on Thessia. Finally finding his voice again, he asked, "When did you see _Brooks_?"

Shepard frowned. "You're the only one I've told that to, Garrus. I have no idea _why_ , but she bought me _time_... by dumping her own Medigel into my side; then, she ran for the Keeper tunnels when _Riana_ got close." Shepard's voice broke as she thought about her Uncle Dave. _Damn Cerberus! Damn Illusive Man!_ She looked up at Garrus, eyes imploring him to not press her for details. "I... can't explain... not yet."

Somewhere in the ICU an alarm began trilling, indicating a patient in trouble. Garrus heard it at the same instant his eyes settled on the display showing her vitals… heart rate and respiration climbing, BP as well. "Shepard! You have to calm down! Whatever happened up there with Brooks is nothing you need to worry about! It's done." Garrus gently grabbed a hand, giving her something to hang onto. Saying, "Forget about it for now... please," he looked at her eyes, cloudy green with memories and regrets she was unable to yet share with anyone.

Garrus noted with relief her stats were going back down as Miranda and Chloe swept into the room like a pair of small tornados. "Garrus, what the Hell are you doing?" Miranda skewered him with her eyes as Chloe checked the commander.

"Not his fault, guys. Not… his…" Shepard's voice faded as Dr Michel increased her sedative enough to put her under, thus forcing her heart rate down.

"Miranda, it wasn't me! Shepard began talking about her experiences on the Citadel before Riana found her… I was telling her to forget about it for now... but she told me that _Maya Brooks_ was there! Riana's arrival chased her off, but it _obviously_ upset her."

Miranda stood in front of the Turian, feet apart, hands planted on her hips as she said in a soft voice edged with steel, "I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here, Vakarian, but only because I know how much she means to you, so _believe_ me when I tell you this is your _only_ warning." Miranda moved closer to Garrus, causing him to back up a step. "If you want to see her again before she's discharged from this hospital, you will _totally_ avoid any… is that word _clear_ enough for you?… _any_ topic of discussion that upsets her. If she brings something up and that monitor…" here Miranda pointed to the display over Sam's head, "… starts beeping, change the subject, or leave the room. Simple."

Garrus was embarrassed to be on the receiving end of a chewing out by this woman, especially after her earlier warning. He knew he didn't deserve it, but took the dressing-down as gracefully as he could. Miranda was exhausted, so had no patience left, and Chloe wasn't far behind. "Perhaps I'll come back tomorrow, Miranda. We _all_ need some rest, and I want to see Shepard back on her feet as much as you two. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Miranda. I'm sorry."

Miranda knew she'd probably been unfair. Nothing for it now. _I'll apologize tomorrow, when my head is clear._ She turned and wearily stalked out of the room.

Dr Michel grabbed Garrus' arm as he turned to follow and whispered, "She's totally exhausted, Garrus. I'll talk to her… I heard the commander _say_ it wasn't your fault." She paused, recalling the conversation. "I have no idea who this Maya Brooks is, but she's _obviously_ trouble... and, if _that's_ the case, what the Hell was she doing on that damned _station_?"

"I have no _idea_ why she was there, Chloe." Garrus shook his head and his mandibles flared in frustration. " _And_ , I have a feeling the only person Shepard will be able to talk to about it is _Liara T'Soni_ ; I hope for the commander's sake… _and_ Liara's, that the relay repairs are ahead of schedule."

Chloe accompanied Garrus out of the room, leaving Samantha Shepard in a dreamless sleep.


	4. The Road to Recovery

Notes:

ICU - Intensive Care Unit

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

* * *

 **The Road to Recovery**

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Riana had finally been allowed out of bed, but was still restricted to her room for another 24 hours. She stood at the window, looking out across the shattered city below and wondering what Armali and the Estate would look like when they finally managed to return to Thessia; when she heard the door open behind her, expecting it to be Garrus or Cayla, she turned carefully so as to not upset her balance by moving too swiftly. She spoke as she twisted to face the doorway. "Glad you came by... I'm about..."

Her words faltered and she drew a quick breath as she recognized the person in the doorway. "How did you get _in_ here? Are you _crazy_?" She stopped turning, her feet suddenly refusing to move.

"Well... It's good to see you too, Ri." Aresia's face was completely overtaken by a huge grin as she promptly closed the distance to Riana and wrapped her older sister in a loving, but gentle, embrace. "Goddess, I've _missed_ you! How are you? You're on your feet... Are you getting out soon? Is it okay to hug... or does it hurt?"

She stopped speaking as Riana laughed out a reply, "Hey, Squirt. One question at a time, or I won't know how to answer!"

Aresia blushed and shrugged. "I can't help it. I was _worried_!"

Riana pushed back, but grabbed ahold of her sister's hand, leading her sibling over to a small, corner table surrounded by four chairs. "You first. I asked my questions before you did."

Before Aresia could even remember what the questions were, Justicar Samara stepped into the room and quietly closed the door. "It is not my intent to intrude, but maintaining a presence in the hallway may draw unwelcome attention to your room."

Riana's eyes flashed to the chair behind her sister, indicating Aresia should sit... which she did, but not without hesitation. "Riana..."

Her older sister raised her hand as she shook her head. "It's okay, Rez." She then turned and took a few careful steps toward the Justicar before continuing to speak. "Justicar. I... owe you an _apology_ for my behavior when we met on Lesuss. I... prejudged you."

"None is necessary, Vanguard Iregos. Many of us are slaves to our experiences." Samara dipped her head and closed her eyes for a moment before continuing, "I was no exception. I owe Commander Shepard a great deal for helping me toward my proper path. I am... _grateful_... that you aided her survival of this war. Her death would have been a terrible loss... for all of us."

A very unexpected, but pleased, smile appeared on Samara's lips. "I did not mean to interrupt your reunion. I simply wanted to inform you that Miranda Lawson... _arranged_... for this visit... and that I must remain close in the unlikely event someone recognizes Aresia. Should that occur, I declare myself her escort. No Asari would dare question me but, should it become necessary, I will give my life in Aresia's defense."

Riana closed the distance to Samara and held out her hands, palms up. "Then it appears we are sisters-in-arms sharing a common purpose, Justicar."

Samara's forehead rose slightly in surprise but she responded quickly, laying her hands atop those offered up in friendship. "It pleases me _greatly_ to know we have overcome our differences without conflict... Riana Iregos. Please. Call me Samara. All my... friends... do so."

Riana smiled as she withdrew her hands. "Then come; join us. Friends are always welcome at our table, no matter the location or purpose."

They returned to the table, Riana unable to keep a smile off her face as she looked at Aresia sitting before her. She sat down and clasped her hands together on the table to keep them from shaking in her excitement. "So... Forget about _my_ questions; it's now quite obvious how _you_ got here... and Miranda, but what of Jude and the rest?"

The younger Iregos also had a smile that wouldn't quit as she answered, "The _Aletheia_ is flying Asari colors... using the House T'Soni call signs and aiding in the rebuild of the relay under the guise of having come with the Armada, in search of Lady T'Soni. Tali is thrilled with Jude and her knack for engineering; she's already solved a couple of sticklers that had Tali ready to throw her omnitool across the deck." Aresia paused and reached across the gap to lay a hand atop Riana's. Tears sprang to her eyes and her voice shook as she continued, "It is _good_ to see you alive and relatively well. I was so concerned when Hammer was... _obliterated_."

Riana's face clouded with loving concern and she stood, pulling Aresia up with her and into a tight hug as she whispered into her sister's ear. "Hey, Squirt. I'm good. Save those tears for those we _have_ lost... Spend none for me; not today. I'm here for you, Rez... always. I _promise_." She pushed back and gently wiped the tears from Aresia's cheeks. "Now. What of the other ships?"

Aresia's eyes sparkled with the remaining moisture as she shook her head and dropped back into her chair. She smiled once more as she continued where she had left off. "Oh, they're continuing on with Broker business. Just on _Earth_ , there are a lot of moving parts to coordinate... finding supplies and ways to move them where needed and such; I cannot imagine what it will be like on the galactic level once the relays are operational again. Plus, until all the new comm buoys are placed, the _Rakhana_ and _Chiroquol_ are still needed to relay planetary communications."

They sat together a long time, exchanging information; Samara provided details on the ground situation, especially on the Asari contingent... and specifically on the known Justicars. "Many came here to fight in the final battle but few are going home. I know of only four others, besides myself, who survived to tell their tale."

" _Goddess_. What does that mean for the order and those left behind at the Monastery?" Aresia looked at Riana with concern; the Justicars were the safety net between Asari society and the Ardat Yakshi. With the Monastery in ruin and the Order in shambles, she was disturbed by how the Asari government would most likely deal with those remaining on Lesuss.

As Samara started to say, "I do not know," Riana cut in. "You need not worry about Lesuss, at least not for the short term." Looking at one confused and one anxious face before her, she continued, "On Councilor Tevos' request, Shepard left the survivors _out_ of her report to the Council. Tevos was concerned, as you both are now, about how the Justicar's would react and how the Matriarchy would most likely respond... with a termination order... when she forwarded the report to Thessia. Councilor Tevos and Lady T'Soni have been coordinating private aid for the sixteen that stayed behind ever since. No one on either the Thessian Defense Council or the Citadel Council, other than Tevos, is aware of their survival."

Samara stood and started pacing. "That is... _unacceptable_ ; the councilor has put herself in a position of vulnerability. She has already done much for Shepard and the cause; I would not have her career endangered by her efforts to protect us."

"Do you not think she understands the risks?" Riana stood and intercepted the Justicar. "Tevos consciously _chose_ her path, with the intent of revealing what she has done once the Order has time to regroup and the Monastery has a new staff in place. To everyone outside of Lesuss, it will be as if nothing has happened, except they will most likely rejoice at having... fewer _..._ Ardat Yakshi remaining to monitor."

Samara focused on the Vanguard. "With the war over, attention may land on the Monastery _sooner_ , rather than later."

Riana simply smiled, "And by the time anyone can get there, it will be fine. Last I heard from Mistress Liara, they already have a new headmistress and half the staff had been selected. They were simply waiting for this war to be decided before sending them on their way." Riana shrugged, "Now, it would appear to be more an issue of operable relays, than anything."

"For such a young maiden, your Lady T'Soni _continues_ to surprise me. She and Shepard make a formidable team that will ensure the future success of House T'Soni." Samara looked out the window onto a beleaguered London. "I look forward to that day... when we can stand once more upon our home world."

* * *

The time went by _much_ too quickly and Riana's guests had to leave before the nurses came around with the noon meals, which were nothing to look forward to... being nothing more than packaged Asari battle rations and eezo water. Riana returned to the seat so recently occupied by her sibling and tore open the foil bag, thinking about the Asari stores stashed away in the hold of the Normandy... which led her to immediately think of Mistress Liara... and Sammi. _Goddess be damned. I can't_ _ **stand**_ _this._

She pushed her chair back and stood, picked up her 'lunch' and headed for the doorway. Maneuvering carefully down the hall and into the ICU wing, she made her way to Shepard's room and peeked in the doorway. The monitors beeped quietly in the dimmed lighting and the room was vacant except for the pale form dozing tranquilly in the bed. Riana entered quietly and closed the door softly behind her before moving to a corner table and setting down her rations.

Her brow wrinkled as she closed the distance to the commander, knowing Miranda would be angry if she found her here. First, she was supposed to be 'confined' to her room for a few more hours yet, and, second, her transgression would only be compounded by having _not_ donned the appropriate protective clothing. Her eyes rested on a box sitting on the equipment stand next to the bed. _Ever at the ready, that one. Should have known better._ She reached into the box, withdrew a fresh surgical mask and slid it into place over her nose and mouth before leaning over to run her fingertips softly down Shepard's arm. " _Nara_?"

Shepard grumbled unintelligibly before turning her head toward the intruder. As her eyes cracked open, she drew a deep breath before whispering, " _Riana_! How are you?"

Shepard could see and _hear_ Riana's smile behind the mask... by the crinkles in the corners of the Asari's eyes and the tone of her voice as she answered, "I am good, _Nara..._ though _you_ look a bit rougher around the edges than normal." Riana was pleased to see Samantha alive and _breathing_ , considering the commander's condition when they had parted ways, upon their arrival at the hospital.

"Just a bit, huh?" Shepard's eyes opened fully as she woke the rest of the way and a slight smile crossed her face. "It's good to see you on your feet, though I'm jealous because I have no idea when I'll be able to join you. All I know is that I'm already tired of being in this damned _bed_." Her smile faded as she asked, "Is there any news?"

Riana needed no clarification on what Shepard was asking. "No. The comm network is slowly coming back up and Tali'Zorah is working to restore the relay... but it has only been three days. It will be at least another week before they have it complete and can start running pre-test checks. I, too, am eagerly awaiting the first communications tests... especially to Arcturus."

Shepard's eyes glassed over at the mention of the Normandy's location and Riana determined it necessary to change the subject to a more positive one. "Miranda tells me your first follow-up surgery this morning was a success... your intestinal tissue regeneration was quite satisfactory... but the others are going to have to wait another three days _and_ that you would still be restricted to the liquid diet they currently have you on."

"Yeah. The diet's one thing, but I can't even sit up, Riana!" Shepard released a disgusted snort. "Another three days before they can finish the rest of my internal organs so the scar tissue won't rip away when I move about..." Shepard pulled her right arm out from under the sheet to reveal a wrist bracelet and a cable. "... and this is the most _annoying_ thing."

Riana's eyes flew wide open as she gasped in horror. "They have you cabled to your bed? Like a _prisoner_?" She instantly realized she had made a false assumption when the commander burst out laughing, followed quickly by a groan of pain.

"Ahh, damn it! I can't laugh... hurts like Hell when I do." Shepard grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut tight, taking a couple of deep, pained breaths until the worst of it subsided. She blew out a heavy breath through pursed lips before continuing, "It's alright, Ri. Miranda had to pull my biotic amp to complete the surgery without me blasting them away from the table. My biotics are surging like crazy... the amp wasn't regulating me like it's supposed to. She's pretty sure it got damaged sometime during the fight... though it was embedded in my body, so neither one of us can figure out how."

Riana's voice was still filled with angry surprise as she queried, "And why, exactly does that result in you being cabled to your bed?"

A stern voice from behind answered Riana's inquiry. "Because, without a powerful enough amp plugged in, she arcs like the lightning rods on the original Broker ship and I, for one, don't care to experience the effects of an uncontrolled biotic discharge from someone as powerful as Samantha Shepard. It's a _grounding_ _strap_ , not a restraint." Miranda walked quickly to the bed and cast a worried glance down at her patient. "Your vitals surged and I was coming to see why..." She looked back at Riana before she finished, "Care to explain?"

Shepard grinned and clarified about the pain she experienced when she laughed at Riana's reaction to seeing the cable hanging from her wrist, which was actually grounded to the floor, not connected to the bed frame. Miranda's expression softened with understanding. "I see. Well, we can't shut off your visitors simply because they make you laugh, even if they _aren't_ supposed to be out and about yet, so you'll just have to control yourself, Shepard." She smirked at the look of disbelief that crossed the commander's face and followed with, "Relax, Shepard. I'm joking."

Her voice shifted to a more serious tone. "Though I do have a bit of interesting, and somewhat... _disconcerting..._ news." She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out Shepard's amp. "This is _not_ the amp I put into your body when I rebuilt you."

Shepard's eyes narrowed and her expression picked up a hint of anger. "What do you mean, that's not the amp? If not, where did it come from and how in Hell did it get into my cerebral cortex?"

"When I tell you this, keep in mind that all things Reaper have been destroyed." Miranda sighed at the look of loathing that crossed the commander's face, but pressed onward; there was no getting away from telling Shepard everything she had learned while examining the device. "I believe this _was_ your original amp, but it has been... modified. It's highly probable the Illusive Man directed Wilson to remove it and add an additional function circuit before reinstalling it… probably all done while I was off-duty. The mod consisted of a small power generator that would have boosted and focused your biotics into a single pulse... straight into the same cerebral cortex into which it was planted."

" _What_?" Shepard's anger drained away, only to be replaced by a mixture of horror and relief at the same time. "But that would've killed me... at best! At worst, it would have turned me into a brainless human _vegetable_! What the Hell, Lawson!"

Multiple alarms started ringing on various machines and Miranda, having expected an adverse reaction, immediately opened a couple of valves, releasing additional small quantities of pain suppressants and sedatives into Shepard's system. "Relax, Shepard! It's alright! The circuit was destroyed by the energy wave... just like everything else _Reaper_." Miranda spat the last word out like the distasteful thing it was. "I had nothing to do with it and all I can say is we have to thank every God that any one of us has ever prayed to that the Illusive Man never actually _activated_ the damned thing!"

" _Bastard_. Right up until the very end, he was still trying to convince me..." Shepard felt the soothing liquid pumping through her veins and she closed her eyes, letting the temporary euphoria carry away what remained of her irritation... and any censorship she was exerting over what she was saying. "The only thing that saved me was his personal conviction that he _would_ eventually turn me." Her voice dropped and both Miranda and Riana leaned in, straining to hear Shepard's last quiet words as she tumbled willingly into a drug-induced slumber. "He believed he could... right to the end... and then, when he no longer believed... when he finally gave up on me and was ready to finish Anderson and then kill me... that's when... that's when Brooks killed _him_ instead."

Riana didn't even try to hide her look of loathing as she angrily asked, " _Maya Brooks_? The Cerberus _assassin_? So it was her voice I heard calling, just before I arrived to find the admiral lying dead and you nearly so?"

Miranda hurriedly circled around the end of the bed to the thoroughly upset Asari commando and brought her hands up to grip Riana's shoulders, pulling her away from the bedside so she did not reawaken the recovering commander. Miranda inserted herself between the commando and the commander as she spoke quietly. "She's asleep now, Riana. I know it sounds like there is more to the story of Shepard's survival on the Citadel, but we'll have to wait until she's ready to tell us. You know you won't get it out of her until she's ready... and she will most likely tell Liara before she tells anyone else." Miranda looked deep into Riana's eyes as she continued. "You going to be okay? I don't want you fixating on this… all you'll do is get yourself worked up, give yourself a headache and possibly set your own recovery back."

Riana's face was a map of conflicting emotions, but she finally closed her eyes for several seconds as she took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths. Opening them to again look at Miranda, she replied, "Goddess forgive me… but I want to see that woman _pay_ for her treacherous acts, Miranda. There _has_ to be a reckoning."

Miranda bowed her head for a moment before returning Riana's steady gaze. "Maya Brooks is as much a victim of Cerberus' sedition as any of us. While it is true she performed some particularly heinous acts, especially after Kai Leng's death, both Jude and I believe she _also_ experienced a rather profound epiphany, shortly after her interference on Thessia."

"Miranda!" Riana quietly hissed in aggravation, "That _interference..._ as you call it... resulted in numerous deaths! For all we know, she personally killed those scientists... and that _ardat_ very nearly got me killed, as well as Mistress Liara. How can you stand there and… _defend_ her, of all people?"

"Because she gave me back _Oriana_!" Miranda looked down at the commander as she finished answering Riana's question, "And I'm not _defending_ her, merely pointing out there may be a few mitigating circumstances. Garrus already informed me Brooks assisted Shepard before your arrival..." Miranda scowled at the Asari as she prepared to protest. "No, Riana. For some unknown reason, Maya Brooks shot the Illusive Man... _killed_ him... and then used her personal medigel supply to keep Samantha _alive_ until you got close enough to take over. I don't know if even Shepard understands why... if, perhaps, Brooks explained herself. That may be part of the reason she's not ready to talk about it; if she can't reconcile it in her own mind, how the Hell is she supposed to explain it to anyone else?"

Riana's face clouded with disquiet as she grumped, "I can understand that because I feel the exact same confusion. Why, after trying to assassinate Shepard, would she then go to the trouble of _saving_ her?" Riana's face suddenly lit with a knowing smirk as she continued, "Because she knew the commander was the only person alive who could save us... and _Brooks_ wasn't ready to die yet either. She is the same selfish bitch she always was... just getting better at hiding it."

Miranda took one last glance at Shepard and then turned Riana toward the door with a sigh. "Perhaps you're correct... and we may never know for sure. But, one thing I do know for certain is that _you_ aren't supposed to be here. Let's get you back to your own room and resting..." Miranda gave her a light smile as she finished, "... like your doctor ordered."

Riana gently pulled her arm free and returned to the small table to pick up her rations pack under the watchful eye of Dr Lawson. "Fine. I'm going."

"I know you are, because I'm going to accompany you there and we're going to do a follow-up exam to make sure you haven't gotten yourself too worked up." Miranda let out a light chuckle at the look of exasperation that flashed across Riana's face. "Oh, don't be that way. If the results are good, I'll release your restriction so you can visit both Shepard _and_ Kurin. Now, come on."

Miranda smiled and stuck out an elbow in invitation. Riana paused for only a moment before a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth and she let out a mock sigh and rolled her eyes. Looping her arm through that of her doctor and friend, they stepped out the door and began their walk down the hall together.

* * *

For Shepard, that night passed agonizingly slowly. Miranda had completed her rounds with all her other patients and finally stopped in to explain to Shepard that her amp was malfunctioning only because of the ash trapped within it, remaining after the Reaper-tech add-in burned itself out. "Seriously, all I had to do was blow the circuitry clear of ash, and it tested normal. I'll put it back in during your surgery on Wednesday. I'm more surprised that it didn't leave any visible damage to your cortex. I can only surmise that it was minor and your nanites corrected it immediately, due to its critical location." Miranda had then smiled as she continued, "I know this next bit of news is a mixed blessing because Riana won't be here as often to visit... but she and Kurin are both being released today. They will be moving to the dorms with Cayla and assisting with relief efforts... at least until other responsibilities show on the horizon for the Normandy team."

Shepard had thanked her, knowing she'd feel a lot more 'normal' once her amp was back where it belonged, and watched longingly as Miranda whisked out the door to get some much needed rest. She frowned, wondering exactly how long it would be before _she_ would be able to get up and walk out that same doorway. She turned her head and stared straight up at the ceiling for a few moments before closing her eyes to the boring view. She concentrated on her breathing and struggled to remain calm as a dozen different thoughts raced through her mind, vying to be first in line for her attention.

Front and foremost were her thoughts of Liara. The last time she had seen her lover, tears had been flooding down the Asari's face as she had reached for Sam... _And I backed away and promptly ran straight into Harbinger. Gods, if you have_ _ **any**_ _mercy, do not let that be the final image of my_ _ **I**_ _ **onúin Álainn**_ _that I take to my grave. Please bring her safely home to me._

A tear trickled out of the corner of Shepard's left eye and ran down the side of her face, across her temple and into her ear. Yet unable to roll up onto her side, she tipped her head to let the moisture run out onto the pillow and took another deep, calming breath as she wiped her face to stop the flow. The commander's thoughts expanded to include the whole of the Normandy and the ship's return through the relay with the entire fleet in tow. A small smile graced her lips as she thought of all her additional friends and loved ones that would be aboard those returning ships... There were many people involved other than Liara; it was hard to list them all, but at the top of the list were her mother and Aunt Karin. _I told Admiral Hackett to clear out! He sounded... resigned... but did it anyway, even knowing he was leaving me behind... I have to wonder who all we lost besides Vega. Gods be damned... James was going to make such a_ _ **great**_ _N-school candidate!_

Her smile vanished as she thought of _her_ N-school advocates... David Anderson and Kahlee Sanders. Her throat closed so tightly she almost choked. _Uncle Dave! How in the Hell am I supposed to tell Kay that_ _ **I**_ _am the one who killed you? Fucking Brooks was too late... and TIM controlling me is no excuse! Why wasn't I stronger? You taught me to be stronger..._

No longer able to quell their flow, Shepard's tears renewed as her mind wandered down the list of all the friends she had lost in the last four years of her life. She eventually cried herself out and fell into a disturbed sleep, haunted once again by the ashes of the dead.

* * *

Riana Iregos stepped through the main door of the Royal London Hospital and looked up at the sky. The sun was a bright disk attempting to shine through the acrid cloud of smoke in the upper atmosphere and she wondered how long it would be before the Humans on this planet would be able to enjoy the blue skies she knew had existed before the Reaper invasion.

She wanted to take a deep breath of outside air, but decided to just breathe normally after seeing the pollution in the sky. As the commando took in the sights and sounds of all the activity going on in front of her, a massive wheeled transport came roaring towards her, the driver only applying brakes and turning away at the last possible second to avoid running over her.

"Goddess be damned! What the?…" Her mouth quit working as a familiar face appeared out the hatch on the lower right flank of the machine.

A laughing Sarah Campbell had obviously sweet-talked someone into allowing her to pilot this behemoth without checking her competency behind the controls. "Riana! I'm here to take you and Lieutenant Kurin to the Asari dorms. Climb in!" The corporal waved an invitation to join her inside the idling beast as she herself turned and retook her seat at the controls.

Riana was thinking that riding around inside _that_ would not do her healing concussion any favors when a soft voice encouraged her from behind and to her left. "Go ahead, Riana. I'll be riding along with you." Riana looked around to find Liessa Kurin standing slightly behind her and one step up. "We have fought beside this Human before, yes? I do not think she would put our lives in any danger…" Kurin's smile became a smirk as she added, "… at least, not intentionally."

Riana grimaced at the Lieutenant to show her disagreement, before heaving a heavy sigh of resignation and moving to the entrance hatch of the rumbling monster; she immediately regretted climbing in, based on the multitude of foul odors vying to be the most offensive to her olfactory senses. It was obvious the interior needed a good scrubbing… or two. She glanced at Liessa, noting with perverse satisfaction the Lieutenant's attempt to breathe only through her mouth wasn't totally successful.

Shouting up at Campbell over the cacophony of rattling metal, Liessa asked, "What kind of vehicle is this, Sarah?"

Sarah was all smiles as she answered, "It's a Krogan Tomkah! Isn't it simply grand?"

Kurin looked at Riana and shook her head ever so slightly left and right. As for Riana, there were many descriptions she could think of for this nasty, oversized contraption… _'grand'_ was certainly not one of them.

* * *

After a surprisingly smooth ride to Hammer HQ, it was readily apparent to Liessa and Riana that Sarah Campbell was as much a master of this massive machine as she was of any of her weapons on the battlefield. Sarah brought the six-wheeled, steroid-infused version of a Grizzly to a gentle halt and remotely opened the side hatch. "Hope you enjoyed the ride, ladies! I'm on call, if you need a ride out to the spaceport or back to the hospital, for instance."

"Thanks Campbell," replied Kurin. "We'll see you again soon."

Sarah waved, waited for them to get clear of the massive drive wheels, and then eased away from the parking area before roaring off at full-throttle. The pair watched the corporal's departure, marked by an increasingly large plume of kicked up dust and debris, before turning towards the entrance of Hammer Headquarters, where they expected to find Shepard's second in command during the ground assault, Garrus Vakarian.

Walking into the main room, both Asari Commandos felt an eerie sense of what Humans referred to as _'déjà vu'_ … based on the number of uniformed people in conversations around the huge central table and in various corners of the room, it was difficult for them to shake the feeling that the war was not still ongoing. In this case, however, the war had been won but there was an enormous amount of coordination needed to deal with the aftermath of destruction... on a scale this world had never before experienced.

Their attention was so riveted on the scene before them, they _both_ started in surprise at the sound of a flanging voice directly behind them. Sub-harmonics resonating with joy, Garrus practically shouted, "Riana! Lieutenant Kurin! You made it! I received word you'd both been released from the hospital and was told to expect you. How are you feeling?"

Both Asari turned as one to greet the Turian that had become a true friend to any and all assigned to the Normandy, no matter how short the period of time. Riana replied, "Garrus! It is good to see you... especially somewhere _other_ than a hospital." Glancing at Kurin, she asked, "Do you have any news… anything on the Normandy or the fleet after they left for Arcturus?"

Garrus grimaced as he responded, "Nothing more than what you both already know. He placed one hand on Kurin's shoulder, the other on Riana's. "Follow me… I'll get your berths assigned, so you know where you're sleeping tonight." Garrus turned and started walking, dropping his hands to type something into his omnitool before directing them toward a distant corner office.

Entering the small space, which was really only a trio of partitions surrounding a desk overflowing with datapads and miscellaneous papers and files, he keyed on his terminal and entered their names. "Now, you're both registered; here's your I.D. placards… Find a bunk you like and stick the placard on the end to claim that bed as yours. These chits will get you meals in what passes for a combat cafeteria… make _sure_ they give you the eezo-infused food. The staff knows all about Asari food requirements, but sometimes forgets in the rush to get everyone fed."

"Good to know," Riana replied. How do we find…"

"Kurin! Riana!" An exuberant Cayla Thaus greeted the pair as Riana was asking how to find the area assigned to surviving Asari commandos. "Garrus messaged me that you were here… I can show you where we're all staying, get your names on a bunk close to mine and maybe head over to the cafeteria for a meal."

It was hard to not smile along with the enthusiastic specialist… Kurin gripped her shoulder and replied, "Lead the way, Cayla."

Before turning to leave, Riana said, "Thank you, Garrus. Go with the Goddess."

A subtle change in Garrus' expression told Riana more than he could have ever expressed in words. "My pleasure, Riana. It's the least I can do for you and Kurin. I'll see you soon."

* * *

Riana had just returned from lunch with Kurin and Cayla, and was putting away some of her clothing when a familiar voice called out her name. "Hey Iregos! You in here?"

Riana's heart leapt at the sound and she jogged eagerly toward the entrance of the dormitory-like structure housing all the beds for the Asari. "Jude!" She ran up to her longtime friend and hugged her tightly as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. "Goddess! I can't believe you're _here_!"

Judea, returning the embrace as tightly as she could, was surprised by Riana's emotional response. Pushing back, she shifted her hands to the tear-streaked face in front of her. "Hey, hey… there is no need for those," she whispered, brushing away the moisture with her thumbs. "We all survived! All the Broker ships... and we strongly believe the Normandy and the remainder of the fleets are together and in good shape in Arcturus. Once Charon, the Arcturus Relay and the Parnitha relays are functional, we'll be able to come and go as we please." Judea tugged on her friend's hand, saying, "Come… Let us sit and talk. There is _much_ to discuss."

The Asari pilot led her friend over to one of several small couches in one corner of the room. As they sat, Jude explained, "I have been splitting my off-duty time between staying aboard the _Aletheia_ and sleeping in the dorm here. Truth be told, I have gone a bit stir-crazy aboard the ship; I really miss my bed at the estate." Judea gently grasped one of Riana's hands as she finished with, "But enough of me. Why in the name of the Goddess are you _here_ , on Terra, when you should be aboard the Normandy with Mistress Liara?"

Riana looked down at their hands, fingers intertwined in friendship. "I was forced to abandon my mistress, Jude. She _commanded_ me to follow Shepard… to bring the commander back to her, safe." Riana then went on to relate the events leading up to Shepard's call for an evac in the midst of Hammer's charge to the beam… the injuries to Liara… James Vega's sacrifice to save both of them from the tumbling Mako. "We were standing on the Normandy's cargo ramp as it started to close and the ship began ascending... She pushed me _away_ , Jude!" Riana's eyes filled with sadness at the memory.

Judea calmly asked, "What were her _exact_ words, Riana. _Think_ …"

"She said _'As my First, I command that you go; go with her and bring her back to me safe, Riana Iregos.'_ So I jumped from the Normandy to follow Shepard, as she ordered."

Judea nodded in understanding. "I would expect nothing less from Liara. What then?"

Riana continued to tell of what she had seen and done. "The commander took an almost _direct hit_ from Harbinger's main weapon… I heard the beast gloat as it said to her, _'You have failed.'_ Yet still she got up… She made it to the beam after killing a few more Reaper spawn. One of them, a Marauder, I think, shot her in the left side – when I finally caught up to her on the Citadel, I was appalled! The skin of her entire side of her body was _shredded..._ and bleeding. Goddess!" Riana covered her face with her hands and began weeping… really crying, for the first time since their rescue from the Citadel. Voice hitching, she struggled to continue. "She was… burned all over! I have never seen anyone that badly injured go on to do what needed to be done."

Judea rubbed her friend's back as Riana leaned into her embrace. "What all did you find there, Riana? What happened in that control room?"

"The Illusive Man… and Admiral Anderson were both lying dead on the floor by the time I arrived. Shepard said something about the Illusive Man's own assassin... Maya Brooks... said she killed her boss, Jude! She _killed_ the bastard, but not in time to save Anderson from his gut wound. Then, she apparently tended to Shepard's injured side, applying Medigel so she wouldn't bleed out. Why would she do that, Jude? She tried to _murder_ Shepard on the Citadel and damn near killed Chakwas instead. She… Goddess damn her for _eternity_! Brooks called to me just before I found the entrance to the compartment." Riana drew a ragged breath. "We need to hunt. her. down, Jude. She needs to pay for all the _misery_ she's caused."

Judea studied her friend silently for several moments before answering. "I think you have become fixated on this woman, Ri. While she committed some _horrific_ crimes in the name of Cerberus, she _also_ performed two very admirable acts before leaving Shepard for you to find." She held up a hand as Riana started to protest. "She killed an indoctrinated Illusive Man before he could complete his plan to control Shepard and the Reapers… that in _itself_ elevates her in my eyes... but then, she also helped Shepard stay _alive..._ long enough for you to find her, tend her wounds, assist her in opening the Citadel's arms and, finally, to fire the Crucible to end the Reapers' reign of terror."

Feeling as though she was being chastised, Riana looked to the floor. Judea's lips curved upwards slightly, the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Gently cupping Riana's chin, she pulled the reluctant Vanguard's face up and towards her. "You need to _listen_ , Riana Iregos. You did not, as you believe, _abandon_ your mistress. She commanded you to bring Shepard back to her... safe and _alive_! I submit that you have yet to complete that task as Liara's extended First, and your thoughts of revenge against Maya Brooks are a waste of energy – energy you need to support Shepard during her recovery."

Riana listened to her friend, first in surprise and then, eventually, nodding in understanding. "It will be as you suggest, Jude. I will ignore Brooks… for _now,_ at least. Thank you for refocusing me on my responsibilities to my Mistress… and to her promised."


	5. Twists in the Road

Notes:

CIC - Combat Information Center

FTL - Faster Than Light

ICT - Interplanetary Combatives Training

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Twists in the Road**

 _ **Eva's Vortex**_ **, Widow Relay, Serpent Nebula**

The rapidly expanding red wave entered the ship and was gone in milliseconds, causing a few small overloads, each accompanied by a flash of electrical sparks, yet leaving nothing behind but black spots and acrid smelling smoke trails to indicate the burned circuitry.

To Brooks' complete relief, the wave had not damaged the ship's pressure hull, nor had it affected environmental, defense, navigation, or engines. What it _had_ done, as Maya looked at the deck and the seats in front of her… was eliminate anything… eliminate _everything_ … tainted by the Reapers... including the captain, who was lying crumpled on the deck, along with the pilot and co-pilot, who were both dead in their chairs. Brooks stepped over the captain's body to take a look at the pilot. Head lolled to the side, face covered in blood, his eyes had literally exploded from their sockets, there was blood still trickling from his nostrils, his ears, and the corners of his mouth. She nearly gagged when she saw blood under him, in his chair, and quickly backed away, noticing as she did so that the co-pilot was in much the same condition.

Taking a quick look at the navigation panel, she was relieved to see _Eva's Vortex_ was stationary with negligible drift; that would work to her advantage while she inspected the rest of the ship.

* * *

It took only thirty-five minutes from the time the red wave had entered _Eva's Vortex_ for Maya to confirm that every soul on board had died a horribly painful death as the energy eliminated Reaper code throughout the ship. The Illusive Man had wanted total control over almost every single person around him, so it wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last, that Maya Brooks thanked whatever lucky stars were riding with her at the moment… that Jack had never gotten around to augmenting her!

It took her a much longer period of time to gather the twenty-one dead crew members together and place them all within a pair of large cargo nets. When she was done, she was so tired she felt ready to drop, but she boarded her own ship and sealed herself within, then linked her ship's controls to those of the hanger deck. After first evacuating the atmosphere inside, she opened the ramp and turned the kinetic barrier off. The airless environment of interstellar space rapidly flash-froze all the bodies, postponing the onset of decay. While atmosphere and heat were being reestablished in the hanger, Brooks set an alarm before lying down in her bunk to get some much needed sleep.

* * *

By the time the hanger was safe for a human to walk about in, Brooks was rested and ready to execute the remainder of her plan. The fact that Shepard, against almost insurmountable odds, had fired the Crucible and ended the Reapers... along with everything connected to them... made her feel good. _Looks like helping her was the right choice after all._

After carefully cleaning the upholstery of all the blood deposited when its occupant had died, Maya sat in the co-pilot's seat on the bridge; she had a projection of the galaxy map in front of her, zoomed into the current position of _Eva's Vortex_. The Widow System was remarkable in that it _wasn't_. A small system with no planets, it contained only the star itself, additional gases from the Serpent Nebula, a fuel depot, a now shattered and useless Mass Relay and, _before_ the Reapers had moved it, the Citadel.

She had more than enough fuel on board to travel quite a distance, but stores aboard would only last about six months, maybe seven if feeding just one, given that a lot of the food was perishable. Without the relay network, there was not enough time to travel anywhere, even at the maximum FTL velocity _Eva's Vortex_ could achieve. Expanding the view of the galaxy map, she found the next closest system in the Serpent Nebula – Boltzmann, a medium system with four planets and an asteroid belt. Of major interest to Maya, the second planet orbiting the sun, Bekenstein, was in many ways a Human version of Illium. There were numerous spaceports from which to choose, though she felt she needed to set down relatively close to the capitol city of Milgrom. From there, she'd be free to travel to one of the smaller cities nearby.

 _Eva's Vortex_ was similar to most ships in its class in that one person, during routine _non-combat_ operations, could pilot the ship with the aid of the factory installed, Cerberus enhanced VI interface. _Damn good thing The Illusive Man didn't install any Reaper tech in the ship's VI systems… probably never occurred to him to have Cord-Hislop Aerospace use anything but off-the-shelf tech._ She activated the Navigation and Propulsion VI and identified Boltzmann as her destination; the VI engaged the engines and, soon enough, _Eva's Vortex_ had jumped to FTL and left the Widow system behind. Maya purposely limited the ship's speed to less than half of maximum, preferring to use the additional travel time to thoroughly investigate the ship; she left the bridge to first investigate Jack's personal quarters… _Has to be a lot of creds stashed in that compartment… just have to locate and liberate._

Standing at the hatch, she entered his purloined personal code to unlock the door; as the segments retracted to reveal Jack's master suite, Maya gazed around in wide-eyed wonder at the opulent interior. Thinking, _Son-of-a-bitch didn't spare any expense for himself,_ she slowly walked inside, looking at the lavish office area, the small lounge, private bath and huge bed. Believing it best to start with the office area, she sat in the comfortable swivel chair, keyed on the terminal and entered her appropriated password. As the numerous file selections appeared on screen, she began searching for information relating to the compartment in which she was sitting.

* * *

The alarms from the bridge began trilling in a repeating, paired crescendo as _Eva's Vortex_ entered the Boltzmann system. Maya left the Illusive Man's personal quarters, having discovered and retrieved about 65 percent of the total credits he'd stashed aboard the ship. Back on the bridge, she silenced the arrival alarms and enabled manual flight controls before turning the ship's transponder off. She directed the VI to plot the most efficient course to Bekenstein, based on a close-in circuit around the back side of the star; she needed to offload the bodies of the crew and figured a rapidly decaying orbit into the sun would serve them as a perfect 'burial' in space.

She wrinkled her nose in distaste; the dead crewman _were_ still Humans, after all, and Maya disliked that the VI identified the maneuver she had outlined as nearly identical to a routine _garbage disposal_ route... but she couldn't think of any other way to get rid of the bodies in such a way that they would never be discovered, so grudgingly consented to the defined parameters for the standard procedure. _I'll be happy when all those damned bodies are off my ship! I guess I shouldn't care so much_ _ **how**_ _it's done, just as long as they're gone!_

Once the VI engaged engines for the burn towards the star, Maya moved to the hanger bay to pre-position the two cargo nets containing the frozen remains of the ship's complement. _Only an egotistical bastard like Jack Harper would have an entire crew of indoctrinated people on board this ship. What the Hell could he have been thinking? How many other people in Cerberus controlled facilities and ships were now lying dead because of Jack's excessive need for control?_ Her thoughts went in a new, more frightening direction. _Ships! Oh my God!… every ship in the galaxy with a Cerberus emblem on the exterior will be adrift, its crew all dead, unless Jack had used a bit of common sense and left a few normal people on each one. Going to have to watch my back, very carefully. All the more reason to disappear on Bekenstein._

After rigging the two cargo nets to the overhead trolley rack, she prepositioned them at the far end adjacent to the hanger bay door. The VI would pick the precise moment needed to open the bay door, abruptly slow the ship's forward velocity while simultaneously running the cargo nets rapidly off the end of the overhead trolley. Once they'd been spaced above the star's surface, the VI would close the hatch, reapply power to the thrusters and turn slightly, leaving the crew behind to be embraced by the class G star.

She returned to the bridge, collapsing into the co-pilot's chair to wait as a new wave of melancholy swept over her. She had been alone most of her adult life, and truth be told, had always felt uncomfortable on this ship when Jack was aboard. Now that he was dead by her hand and the entire crew of this ship was about to be ejected into space, she felt a great… _sadness_. She had done what was necessary for her own survival, and the crew's fate had been sealed by Jack Harper, but still… She couldn't help but feel that an empire had been toppled, its fate sealed when the Illusive Man began believing _he_ could be a galactic emperor with the Reapers as his enforcers.

She watched the instruments as the ship drew closer to Boltzmann, especially the exterior hull temperature, which was slowly climbing. The VI had plotted a course that would take them to just within 40-million Km from the surface – the hull temperature during this close approach was computed to not exceed about 475° Celsius, well within the design specs. The only thing that worried Maya was the sudden slowdown the ship would undergo as the cargo nets were jettisoned – Maya wanted to be sure they would fall into the solar atmosphere, so felt the ship would need to slow to about 20 Km/s for a period of ten seconds before accelerating away from the star, leaving the crew members behind to fall slowly into the burning sun.

Maya monitored the instruments as the VI performed its programmed instructions; at the appropriate position and altitude, she heard and felt the hanger bay door open, followed by a rapid deceleration, a ten second pause, then a smooth acceleration and turn towards a higher altitude to complete the trip around Boltzmann. The VI initiated a course change that would take her to Bekenstein, where she would pre-pay to dock _Eva's Vortex_ at an outlying spaceport near the capitol of Milgrom for six months. While the ship was sitting, she intended to have the hull repainted, with an emphasis on eliminating the Cerberus insignia on either side of the nose, _and_ obtain a change in registry so she wouldn't get arrested for flying around in a stolen ship; may as well use some of the creds she was sure Jack would have no further use for.

With Bekenstein rapidly growing larger in her forward viewports, she calmly leaned back in her seat and thought about her future… a future hopefully free from Cerberus, even if she _would_ have to watch her back for a while. Mainly, she was looking forward to a future without the Illusive Man monitoring her every move.

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

On the morning of the fifth day following their victory over the Reapers, a Marine colonel showed up at the hospital wanting to see Commander Shepard. With what was typically male-style close-cropped black hair, the female officer stood ramrod straight, with fisted hands and arms crossed angrily below her chest, looking like someone who was used to getting her way. She was extremely aggravated when hospital security wouldn't let her into the ward and immediately demanded to see the attending physician. They paged Miranda and she came promptly to the security checkpoint and looked the colonel over carefully. Seeing none of the typical signs of deceit, she queried, "I'm Doctor Lawson. May I help you with something?"

"If you're Commander Shepard's doc, then yes, you _can_." A scowling Sharon Culver jerked her chin out to indicate the hallway. "I'd like to go to her room and see her, but these _soon to be demoted_ _guards_ won't let me pass."

As the security guards shifted uncomfortably, Miranda shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's not possible. She's in critical condition and had a difficult night. Only family members or her immediate chain of command are authorized visitation at the moment." Miranda saw the growing scowl and hoped to cut it off. "Perhaps I can take a message to her?"

"You have no idea who I am, do you Doctor Lawson?" Culver stretched her shoulders and rolled her head around to stretch her neck in an attempt to release the tension that was building.

"No. I'm afraid I don't, and I'm very busy so I'll be blunt. It doesn't matter _who_ you are, because your name is _not_ on the authorized visitors list." Miranda could sense Culver's building frustration and actually took a step back to give herself room in the event she needed to react to an aggressive move.

With timing that couldn't have been more perfect, Garrus came strolling in, also intent on visiting the commander. His eyes lit up in recognition and he called out, "Hey, Colonel… It's good to see you again! You here to check up on Shepard?" Garrus flared his mandibles in his approximation of a Human smile as he walked up to the women.

Sharon turned at the sound of the flanging voice; reaching out, she clasped forearms with the Turian general and relaxed for the first time since she stepped into the hospital. "Vakarian! _Damn_ , it's really good to see you! Glad you managed to survive the rest of the war after that business on Tuchanka! Did you learn to kill Reaper Destroyers on your own, or are you still using sandworms to do the heavy lifting?"

Miranda's head also snapped around, "Garrus! You actually know this woman?"

Garrus chuckled, sub-harmonics rendering the sound into a comforting basso profondo. Answering Culver first, he said, "Sure did, Colonel. It's all but over and I'm still _standing_ , aren't I?" When they dropped their grip, he finally turned to Miranda with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Culver? Sure. She and Shepard go _way_ back… She's Shepard's best friend from long before we ever met… before the fight with the Geth and Sovereign... _Spirits_. I believe Shepard was just a baby _lieutenant_ back then. For Culver? I'll pass for the day; give her my spot."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "I can't just add people on a whim, Garrus… she's not on the list!"

"She should be." Garrus laughed. "And, if you don't know _her_ , then you probably won't know any others either. There's another N7... if she's on Earth, she'll be here before too long as well. An engineer, Marine Captain Lee Riley. She and the commander have seen some shit together; including in this war. Last we saw Lee, she was out at the fuel depot at Cyone when we took it back from the Reapers. We pressed, but she and her team stayed to lock it down for the war; we seriously _needed_ that fuel stop."

Miranda closed her eyes for a second and sighed. "Oh, for God's sake. Fine!" Her eyes shifted momentarily to the very relieved guards. "Let her through." As Culver processed through the bio scanner, Miranda continued, "I'm sorry, Colonel, but Shepard truly needs to rest; she's scheduled for her third surgery tomorrow and I don't want anything delaying her recovery. I can take you back, but you have to be very quiet and not say a word. _If_ she's awake, I'll see if she's up for a short visit. It's the best I can do. It's nothing personal; I'm just keeping the commander's best interests in mind."

"It's a deal, Doc." Culver nodded quickly before she continued, "It's just... Shepard saved my ass on a mission to eject pirates from the city of Asa on Arvuna; long time ago." She glanced quickly at Garrus as she continued, " _Ensign_ Shepard took care of me after that and I've never honestly had the chance to repay the favor." Culver smiled softly at the memory. "That kinda thing sticks with you, ya know?"

Miranda's eyes brightened a bit. "Yes, Colonel. I do. I was with Shepard on the mission against the Collectors. I know exactly what you mean."

Culver had stepped out of the scanner and they had started down the hall, but she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and got a huge grin on her face. "Bloody Hell. You're _that_ Lawson? Had I known, this conversation would have been over a long time ago!" Sharon chuckled.

Miranda looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean? How would that have made things any different?"

Culver grinned. "Because now I know who you are... the _Aletheia_?"

Miranda's brow knit in concern and she spoke quietly. "How the Hell do you know about that?"

Culver ran a hand through her hair and glanced around. "Because I was one of the folks on Shep's _gray-box_ distro list," she replied in a soft, conspiratorial voice. "She kept me up to date on what you guys were up to; best she could anyway. Until this mess."

Miranda breathed a sigh of relief. "I had forgotten about that. I need to get that list of names from her, because everyone on it is safe... and most likely very beneficial... to let in to see her."

They arrived at the room and Shepard was actually awake and very much wanting to see Sharon. As the colonel stepped up to the bed, a very pale Shepard looked up at her through droopy eyelids. " _Sharon_! Damn good to see you."

Culver gripped her hand gently and leaned down, placing a gently kiss on her forehead. "The prize we sought is won, my Captain."

Shepard chuckled and groaned. "Shit. Don't make me laugh. It still hurts. You're never going to forgive me for that choice of poem, are you?"

Sharon shook her head. "Not a chance. Way too much fun to tease you over it." Culver's smile faded. "Listen. I know you're hurting... and I'm not speaking _physically_... and wondering what the Hell is going on out there, so I'm gonna give you the scoop no one else can. As we expected, the relays were damaged with the firing of the Crucible, but Liara's plans are working like a champ. The relay _here_ should be repaired in another five or six days. In only ten days instead of the projected fourteen, eleven counting the required testing... but I think that's because Tali'Zorah is a gift from the heavens. That Quarian is a tech genius. On the flip side, I can tell you for _certain_ that Hackett and the Normandy led the bug-out to the rendezvous, so I'm sure they're all safe and sound. I know you're eager to see your girl, but get some rest, Commander; you need to sleep and get better. You've got some serious healing to do and Blue won't be here for at least another five days; she'll be mad as a hatter if she sees you all worried and frazzled like this."

Shepard breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sharon. If you're still here, maybe you'll finally get to spend some time with us; get to know her better."

Culver smiled, "Oh, I'll be here. I'm in charge of all this silliness until Hackett gets back and we get the staff straightened out. With Arcturus destroyed and Hackett gone, I'm the highest ranking operational commander we've got in town. I inherited the job the minute I set foot in London."

The relief Shepard felt from the promise that the Normandy was fine lifted an amazing burden off her shoulders. She had a lot of things eating on her conscience from this war, but at least Liara's death wouldn't be one of them. Her eyes drifted closed as a contented sigh escaped her lips. Culver brushed a hand softly across her forehead. "And that, my dear Shepard, is my cue to leave. Sleep well, Commander. You've earned it."

Culver stood up and stepped out the door to see a smiling Miranda Lawson. "Thank you, Colonel. That was the best thing you could have possibly done for her. I've been so busy with her, Kurin, Riana and the rest of the ward patients, I haven't poked my head out to look at the rest of the world. Was it all true?"

Culver smiled comfortingly. "Every word of it, Dr Lawson. Every. single. word."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Galactic Fleet, Arcturus**

"If you need any assistance, let me know, Commander."

"Thanks, Traynor, but I'll be fine." Williams felt like she had lied to the Specialist as Traynor departed to return to the CIC. _I_ _ **have**_ _to be fine though, don't I? Or at least_ _ **appear**_ _that way... at least until we get the relay repaired and we're no longer stuck in Arcturus Stream along with every other ship that performed the emergency FTL jump through Charon with us... Because, in the meantime, I am in command of the Normandy and I have a job to do._

Until they could get back to the Sol system, something Flight Lieutenant Moreau told her would happen sooner rather than later, time was weighing heavy on her. Ashley was trying to keep her mind occupied… to keep her from thinking about the Normandy's ground team… but it wasn't working. No matter what she did, her thoughts drifted back to her friends and comrades who had remained on Earth. _I know it's unrealistic, but I hope you all made it. And what about you, Skipper? Your ass better be standing at the docks waiting for us when we return. There's no deserting your post_ _ **now**_ _, soldier! Not after you fought so hard and victory is at hand!_

Ashley knew from talking to the Admiral that Shepard had made it to the Crucible; she had activated the weapon that sent that damned energy pulse through the relay; the pulse which had swiftly ripped through the Arcturus relay and shattered the gyroscopic containment rings, along with frying every last bit of Reaper tech installed on the ship. As a constant reminder, Edi was totally immobile, still strapped into the copilot's seat on the flight deck. _Maybe we should undo the battle harness and move her into to the computer core compartment behind the med bay._

Thinking about _that_ made her think about James Vega; _his_ crushed remains were currently in a temporary coffin… a stasis generator equipped container next to the rear bulkhead in the Med Bay. As acting commander, Ashley had taken on the unhappy task of clearing out his locker and placing all his personal effects into shipping containers so they could be returned to his next of kin – if any had survived the Reaper's rape of Earth – once the Normandy was back in the Sol system. She hadn't necessarily planned to do so, but as she had wandered about the Normandy earlier to check the statuses of all the departments, she had found herself standing in front of the ground team equipment lockers, hands on her hips, simply staring at a nameplate… and it wasn't hers... It was _his_ nameplate… on the door of his supply locker. She moved over to the weapons bench and grabbed an empty ammo crate; a small, appreciative smile crept onto her lips. _James would laugh... knowing this was the tote for his stuff..._

Returning to his locker, she entered her master command override code into the haptic interface and was answered by the sound of the latch releasing and the door springing open two centimeters. Placing a couple of fingers in the small gap and giving a tug, she opened the door all the way so she could see the contents.

Since what remained of his armor had already been packed away in another crate, the most prominent item within was his dress uniform… this she carefully set aside, still on its hanger and in its protective bag. _I'll give it to Karin so he can be properly dressed._ She looked at his ribbons… his numerous awards; she expected there would be an addition or two to his ribbon rack, so left it alone for Karin to take care of later.

 _Damn it!_ Ashley swallowed down the grief that threatened to consume her. _Vega is_ _ **gone**_ _! What the Hell am I gonna do if none of my comrades… my friends… survived the final assault? Shepard? They'll probably want to give me the Normandy... I... I don't know if I could accept her... too many memories._

The empty container on the deck beside her beckoned. She knew there had been nothing anyone could have done to save him; it had been obvious to all the medical techs as soon as Vega had been brought in. _Not that it stopped anyone from trying their damnedest to save the man_. Ashley let out a heartfelt sigh and reached back into the locker; the rest of his clothing – uniforms, underwear, boots, and personal supplies – all went into the container.

Next came his personal files – filling a number of datapads – personnel files no service member could live without. _Or so the Alliance would have us believe_. Ashley's interest was instantly piqued when she saw an actual piece of _paper_... which revealed the ICT emblem. She cautiously pulled it out from under the stack of datapads to look, her curiosity getting the better of her. _Holy shit! It's an acceptance letter to the Alliance Vila Militar in Rio de Janeiro. James was accepted to N-school! Damn, James! You really played that one close to the vest! Looks like you didn't talk to anyone about this_ – she spotted another note, written on the letter, _– except maybe the commander. Son of a Bitch!_ Of all the misery brought on by this calamity, of all the wasted potential, the premature death of Marine Lieutenant James Vega stung worse than almost anything else she could think of... _unless, of course..._ _ **everyone's**_ _dead._

Once more sandwiching the acceptance letter between the datapads in order to protect it, Ashley carefully nestled the entire stack amongst Vega's clothes in the container, then closed and sealed the lid under her thumbprint. A man's entire adult life… reduced to the contents of two medium sized shipping containers and a coffin. Sighing heavily, she carried the sealed container to the collection area and placed it next to the box that held the remains of his armor and personal weapons... all scheduled for trans-shipments off the Normandy when they reached port.

Ashley returned to the lockers one last time to pick up the lieutenant's dress uniform; she looked around the hanger bay for a moment, thinking of the times they had all dressed out together for an upcoming mission, before heading to the elevator so she could deliver the uniform to Dr Chakwas. _I wonder who all will be here to dress out for the next one._ She shook her head as she climbed into the elevator, recalling a few words from her favorite poet, Lord Alfred Tennyson - _I myself must mix with action, lest I wither by despair._

* * *

After grabbing a bite to eat in the Mess Hall, Hannah and Liara retreated to the loft. Liara was immediately overcome by all the reminders of Shepard and sat on the couch in tears, as Hannah did her best to comfort her. As they had done once before, seemingly a _lifetime_ ago, Hannah began to tell stories of a young Samantha... only this time, instead of focusing on the funny stories, Hannah focused on all the times her daughter had been injured... and how she always bounced back, somehow stronger than before. "Don't you worry, Liara. Sam will come out of this just fine. As always, _our_ concern will be whether or not we can keep her down long enough for her to heal properly!"

"That is such a true statement." Liara offered up a sad smile. "She never has been one to sit around when she sees something that needs to be done... and, Goddess knows, we'll have a lot of work ahead of us to clean up all the messes the Reapers have made." Liara's eyes suddenly flashed bright. "Speaking of which, don't let me forget to pass a file to you... Councilor Valern offered up the plans for the _Shroud_ , confident it can be adapted to each planet to help clean the individual atmospheres."

Hannah arched an eyebrow in surprise as she prodded, "There's no time like the present."

"But..." Liara looked at her with suspicion. "... Are you trying to tempt me? You know I am restricted from duty for another 24 hours yet."

"Oh, come now. We both know how overprotective Karin can be." Hannah smirked at the Asari. "And I _also_ know damn well that you are at least as bad as, if not worse than, Samantha in that regard. Just like her, your recovery will happen faster if you feel useful." Hannah snorted with disdain. "Otherwise, you'll just mope around... stressing out over all the things you feel you should be doing." Hannah paused; her expression turned solemn and her eyes glassed with tears as she continued. "You are so much like her, Liara. I couldn't have dreamed for a better match for my daughter, had I tried. Thank you for giving her such unconditional love... it is a very rare thing indeed amongst us Humans."

Liara's face pinched and tears came to her eyes as a trembling blue hand came up in an attempt to cover the sob that escaped her mouth. Without another word, the two came together... hugging one another and crying on each other's shoulder. It wasn't long before they pushed apart, each drawing a shuddering breath and wiping their eyes clear. "Thank you, Hannah. I... I honestly do not know what to say."

"Then let's go wash our faces and not say _anything_... and then see if we can sneak into the Broker's office without Karin _catching_ us... Shall we?"

"Goddess, yes please." Liara loosed a tearful laugh. "Sitting around doing nothing _would_ drive me crazy... and I now know exactly where Samantha comes by some of her more... _endearing_... traits! I am not the only one very much like her..."

* * *

As the doors to the elevator opened, Hannah stepped out and peeked around the corner to see the lights in the med bay dimmed and the privacy shades in place. "Oh, good. I think she's sleeping!"

They crossed through the dining area and slid into the Broker office without being detected, Liara walking immediately to the back corner terminal and turning on all the systems. She moved back to the center of the outer wall, to her standard work terminal and queued up her personal files, quickly completing a local transmission to Hannah's omnitool. "There. The plans for the Shroud; they shouldn't be difficult to modify for Earth's atmosphere... In reality, they shouldn't be hard to modify for any of the oxygen-based planets; I imagine it will be the Volus and Vorcha home worlds that will prove difficult." The Asari started slowly pacing, waving her hands in the air as she talked. "Truly, all we'll need is someone with a specialty in chemistry. It should be as simple as redefining the program's active definition of _toxicity,_ and then modifying the filters to remove the appropriate compounds..."

"Liara..." She probably would have continued working out the problem aloud for a significant period of time, had Hannah not interrupted her. Instead, she suddenly stopped midstride and blushed profusely.

"Oh Goddess." She turned and collapsed into the chair by the corner terminal, dropping her head into her hands as tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She wiped them quickly and looked up as she heard Hannah's footsteps coming across the floor. "I'm sorry. I have a tendency to do that when I'm problem solving and..."

"Liara. Please don't apologize." Hannah smiled down at the young Asari and offered her a hand up. "Come on. I merely interrupted so you could first show me how I can help."

Liara hesitated only a moment before reaching out and taking the proffered hand, speaking as she stood. "I don't really know. We have no connectivity, though there is a huge backlog of messages and research data we collected along the way. Glyph can help sort it, but I honestly don't know what we should be looking for." She looked at Hannah, somewhat at a loss. "My entire focus since this all started has been to help Samantha find and stop the Reapers. Now..."

Hannah picked up as Liara trailed off. "Now, we need to find potential food sources and identify transport options to get the supplies to the people who need them. The garden worlds remained largely untouched, but the major metropolitan areas have been hit hard." Hannah smiled as Liara stepped back in, moving quickly to her terminal.

" _That's_ already being done." Her fingers flew across the haptic interface. "We developed an expanding network of relay repairs before we ever launched a single beacon..." One of the display screens came to life and a galactic map appeared with all of the major relays highlighted in various colors. Liara proceeded to explain about the coordinated teams and equipment that had been scattered about the galaxy with the sole job of remaining hidden until it was simply time to not hide any more. "Hopefully, the destruction of the relays will provide enough impetus for them to activate the repair protocols and get the recovery underway."

About halfway through Liara's explanation, Hannah had sat down, staring at the Asari in amazement... though it didn't seem to matter, because Liara didn't notice and kept right on speaking until she was finished with the entire explanation. As her dissertation drew to a close and she stopped, she looked at Hannah in puzzlement. "What? Did we miss something?"

"Gods, no!" Hannah was barely able to contain a laugh of bewilderment. "You and Sam came up with this and put it into action all on your own... with no one else knowing about it or helping?"

"Well, not really." Liara still looked confused. "We had the Normandy, all the Broker ships, and significant help from the STG... along with a few special teams, like my father on Thessia..."

Hannah walked over as Liara trailed off again. "I'm sure she's fine, Liara. From what I know of Aethyta, she is an extremely _resourceful_ operator. You'll see your father again; I'm sure of it." Hannah smiled reassuringly as she finished, watching a less sure version of it being reflected back to her.

"Honestly? I think so too..." Liara shrugged and sighed sadly. "I just don't know how long it will be before that happens."

"Well. If I'm reading your chart correctly, Thessia had one of the top teams assigned to it, so I'm thinking it will be very soon, my dear." Hannah shrugged. "But that is all in the hands of teams you have already selected... There has to be something _we_ can do!"

Liara frowned. "I hate to say it, but all that's left... at least until we have some kind of connectivity again... is merely _housekeeping_. Sorting files and such. We downloaded incredible amounts of data from every target we hit. Cerberus had enormous amounts of research that they weren't using..." Liara's voice turned to ice. "...because some of the things they discovered didn't benefit _Humanity_!"

Liara quickly explained about the medigel improvements they had found, as well as the chemical burn treatment, some toxin counter agents, and various other items. As the list went on, Hannah held up her hands in surrender. "Okay. You've made your point. I think you have Glyph section off the Cerberus research data and we start scanning. See what happens." Hannah smiled at the young Asari's passion. "At least it's _something_... and you never know what we may find."

* * *

"Hannah?"

It had been a couple of hours of silence as they worked and Liara's voice had an edge to it that caught her attention immediately. "What is it, Liara? What's wrong?"

"It's _Samantha_! Goddess! It's her _amp_!" Liara looked up with an expression of horror on her face that had Hannah jumping from her chair. "I decided to concentrate on information on Project Lazarus... and found something in one of Jack Harper's personal logs!"

"What are you talking about, Liara?" Hannah moved quickly across the floor to look over the Asari's shoulder at the file she was reading.

"The Illusive Man fully expected Samantha to go rogue and return to the Alliance, so her biotic amp was modified without Miranda's knowledge to include a chip with _Reaper_ -tech! It's a Cerberus _fail-safe_ device implanted in her head!" Liara pointed out a particular passage on the screen. "It's an automatic overload device with a mandatory recurring reset! Look here." Liara quickly paged back up to another portion of the document. "It has a one-year time limit... The Illusive Man had to manually send a reset code to prevent the device from 'terminating' the _subject_." Liara's voice began to shake as she read from the file. "If the reset signal is not received within a year's time from the previous such transmission, the device will default to overload, drawing on the _subject's_ own potential to create a massive biotic discharge directly into the surrounding cerebral cortex in which the amp is mounted."

"By the Gods!" Hannah blinked rapidly a few times in disbelief, as if the page was out of focus and her blinking would change the words she was reading. "Is there anything in there about the code? Or when he last _reset_ it?"

Liara paled visibly and she started searching frantically through the document for dates of any kind, mumbling under her breath as she did so. "Oh, please. By the merciful Goddess. Not again. Not like this. Not after we've just finally _won_ , for Goddess sake!"

The page suddenly froze and they both stared at the screen, looking at the flashing date before them. Hannah was the one who finally spoke. "Beware the ides of _March_. Not quite three months ago. That leaves us nine months, Liara. As soon as the relays are operational, we'll pass the information to Miranda and she can remove that hideous device from the base of Samantha's skull." Her voice suddenly dropped and she growled like only a mother could, "And if that man isn't already dead as a result of this war, I am going to hunt him down and kill him _myself_!"


	6. A Step in the Right Direction

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

ICU - Intensive Care Unit

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _K'nash tig –_ literally "butt end of a Vorcha"; slang term referring to something extremely unpleasant or annoying (Quarian)

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Sim're_ \- "sister of my sister", not for relations, a dear friend's loved one (Thessian)

* * *

 **A Step in the Right Direction**

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

 _Color_. That was Shepard's first thought when she opened her eyes. _The room has color. It's not the sterile whitewash of the ICU._ She felt tension ooze out of her body, simply knowing they had moved her into a standard ward room. Her arm moved freely, indicating the grounding cable was no longer strapped to her wrist... and the incessant beeping of machines was now limited to only her heart monitor. _Good. That must mean my organs are all back the way they're supposed to be and my amp is back in place, so I don't have to worry about shocking myself every time I accidentally hit the damned safety rail on the bed._

Since there weren't a dozen machines beeping in her ears, a slight shuffling noise off to the side managed to draw her attention. Shepard rotated her head back at an angle to see what it was and saw Riana slumped in a chair in the corner, shifting in an attempt to get comfortable. "Hey, Ri. Isn't it more comfy to sleep in a bed?"

The vanguard bolted from the chair and was instantly standing at her side, smiling down at her. " _Nara_! You're awake!"

Feeling justifiably better about her physical condition, Shepard smirked as she remarked, "How very _astute_ of you to notice. What was your first clue?"

Riana's brow rose in surprised approval and her soothing brown eyes glittered as she countered, "And obviously feeling well enough to attempt to sass someone who is quite capable of kicking your ass... particularly in your currently _pathetic_ physical state."

" _Ouch_. Low blow, Iregos. Even for you." It felt good to laugh; it was just a light chuckle, but for the first time since awakening, it didn't _hurt_ to do so. "Ah, Riana. What would I do without you?"

The First smiled knowingly down at her charge. "You would have awoken _alone_ , in a strange room, with no one to talk to and bored out of your mind in less than five minutes... You would then get into _all_ kinds of trouble trying to find something to do and end up back in the ICU."

"With a _very_ angry Miranda Lawson on my case, no doubt." Shepard glanced around. "I'm surprised she isn't here."

Riana's smile faded. "She is in surgery. A damaged building collapsed… one of three recovery crews inside was partially buried in debris… one died before he could be rescued… three of the others were injured… one critically. She went directly from your surgery to assist in that one."

"Well, shit. Though, I suppose, we need to expect stuff like that. The Reapers left a lot of damage in their wake." Shepard's eyes suddenly came up to capture Riana's gaze. "None of _ours_ , were they? I assume you would have said so."

"You are correct. But you should be proud of the team you have built, Shepard. Wrex and the Krogan responded immediately; they were faster than any heavy equipment that could have possibly accessed the site."

Shepard's brow creased in honest curiosity as a question came to mind. "So, why are you _here_? Why are you not out and about, helping where you can? Didn't Miranda release you?"

"That is true; Miranda... Doctor Lawson _did_ release me for light duty." Riana looked down for a moment before returning her gaze to Shepard's eyes. "However, I have _not_ been released from my duty by Mistress Liara." Riana saw Shepard's eyes brighten and immediately realized she had not prefaced her statement correctly. "She is not here, _Nara_. I am sorry my statement gave you false hope..." Riana chastised herself as she saw the excitement crumble into dejection before her very eyes. "But Tali'Zorah is making excellent progress on the relay; we anticipate testing to start in three or four days' time. All of the communications buoys have been replaced, so messages will soon be available. I'm sure there will be some in the queue from the Normandy..." Riana paused and grinned as she concluded, "... and certainly one or more private messages for you from Lady T'Soni."

Shepard couldn't help but brighten at least a little at the idea of being able to message Liara, especially knowing it would be followed very closely in time by her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _'s_ physical presence at her side... and she also knew she wasn't the only one waiting on messages from afar. "And _you_ , I imagine, should be getting one from Specialist Traynor."

"True enough." Riana smiled and reached up to the head of the bed. "But enough of this. I am getting a crick in my neck looking down at you all the time. You do realize that your new room comes with a new bed... and has one of _these_..." She waved a small device enticingly before the commander.

"Holy shit! I can sit up?" Riana pulled it away as Shepard reached for it, causing the commander's eyes to narrow as she growled, "Iregos. Give that to me, or so help me... when I get out of this bed..."

Riana laughed gently and obligingly pressed one of the up buttons. As the top third of the bed began to tip up, she explained, "Miranda does not yet want you sitting up at more than a 30° angle, nor for longer than fifteen minutes at a time... and I _know_ you." The top of the bed stopped moving and the controller vanished into a pocket on her leathers, a space normally reserved for a tube of nutrient paste when they were out on a mission. "So I am keeping this for now and watching the time to ensure you do not overdo it. Which brings me to the answer to your question; I am _here_ because, as the Normandy began her departure after the evac, Mistress Liara tasked me with returning you back to her, safe... and I fully intend to follow that order; I'll not have Mistress Liara's wrath come down upon my head when she returns. So, I will stay at your side to keep you from doing anything... ill advised."

"Oh, Gods. This is _wonderful_." Shepard relaxed and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath that, for once, didn't feel as if there was an Elcor sitting on her chest. "This is so much more comfortable... it makes no sense that I can only be in this position for 15 minutes at a time..."

Riana cocked her head slightly as she watched the commander simply... _melt..._ into the bed as her breathing smoothed into a steady rhythm. _She truly does look more at_ _ **peace**_ _... and she_ _ **does**_ _seem to be breathing easier. I must ask Miranda the purpose of the time limit and see if, perhaps, we can get that changed._

Riana moved quietly to the suite's anteroom and closed the inner door to Shepard's room. Riana had learned the secure floor had been designed for British heads of state and, while every patient's room contained only a single bed, each also had an entry sleeping area for either an aid or a security officer. Anyone who wanted access to the patient had to pass through this space, and Riana had given up her bed in the Asari section of the dorms to sleep here. Liara had tasked her with keeping Shepard _safe_ and, since her little chat with Judea had reminded Riana of her _true_ purpose here, she was determined to direct all her energy toward that single objective.

She spent the next fifteen minutes on her omnitool, first sending a query about the bed position to Miranda so the doctor would receive it as soon as she came out of surgery, and then sending an update of Shepard's status to Garrus. She let the Turian know that Shepard had been awake for only a brief period before slipping back into slumber and that she would contact him when Shepard was awake again and ready for visitors. She passed on that, for the time being, the visitor restrictions remained in place until Miranda was able to complete a thorough post-op assessment. Messages sent, she reentered Shepard's room and returned the bed to its full horizontal position. She waited only briefly to ensure the commander did not reawaken before leaving once more, to crawl comfortably into her _own_ bed, immediately outside Shepard's door.

* * *

After yet another marathon session in an operating room, Miranda finally responded to Riana's query... in person. She pushed the door open to find Riana sitting at the small desk in the anteroom, against the wall opposite the bed. The commando rose to her feet and offered a nod in greeting as she asked, "So, how went the surgery? Did the Salarian survive?"

"He did... and will be back on his feet in no time. Their entire lives are lived in compressed time; they move faster, mature faster, regenerate faster..." Miranda paused and did not finish the sentence aloud. _And die sooner_. She glanced at Shepard's room before looking back to Riana. "So how is our patient?"

Shrugging, Riana stepped forward and opened the door quietly as she whispered, "Still sleeping, last time I checked, but I imagine she must be getting hungry by now."

They stepped into the room together to find Shepard sitting up on the edge of her bed staring down at the floor, a good 25 cm from the bottom of her bare feet. "What the Hell do you think you're _doing_ , Shepard!" Miranda was livid and reached out with a stasis to keep the commander in place until she could get to the bed. "Tell me you were not about to jump down off that bed!"

Sheepishly, a red-face Samantha looked at her and whispered, "I have to pee."

"Oh, for God's sake. Then _pee_! That's what the catheter is for!" Miranda released the stasis as she arrived at the side of the bed; gripping Shepard's shoulders, she gently helped her lie back down into a resting position. After the immediate crisis had passed, her fear-induced anger had shifted quickly to concern. "What were you thinking, Sam? You could rip something open, start bleeding internally, and we could lose you! You aren't strong enough for that yet..."

Shepard's emotional balance was periodically thrown off by the application of heavy sedatives and her eyes glassed over, catching Miranda off guard and she leaned in, whispering, "Oh no. Don't you _dare_ start crying... You'll make me cry right along with you. I'm sorry... I shouldn't have yelled at you, but I'm dead tired... and you scared the Hell out of me." Miranda reached for the control device, only to find it missing. "Where's the damned remote?"

Riana quickly fished it from her pocket and started to slowly raise the bed into the prescribed 30° incline. Miranda's eyes flew open wide in realization and she immediately pulled up her omnitool and began a medical scan on the commander. "You sat up _without_ the assistance of the power bed?"

Shepard was still trying to hold back tears and figured she was already in enough trouble, so simply nodded tentatively in response. Miranda ran through a litany of questions regarding if it caused her any pain, if she felt anything pull or cramp... By the time Miranda was done with her exam, Shepard was past her temporary surge of emotion and asked simply, "Well?"

As Miranda reviewed the results of the scan, she breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head, smiling softly as she spoke to the commander. "Well, it seems that everything held up just fine, you _lunatic_. That does _not_ , however, give you permission to try that again. Understood?"

A smile threatened to emerge at the word _lunatic_ , but Shepard managed to look appropriately chastised as she responded, "Yes, Ma'am... and, of course it held. You do excellent work, Dr Lawson."

Running a hand gently down Samantha's arm, Miranda smiled softly. "Flattery will not get you very far, Commander... but if you promise to _behave_ , the results indicate you should be able to handle some additional company. I will expand the visitors list to include all the crew of the Normandy, past and present, and anyone else you would like to see... folks like Sharon Culver. The room will still be restricted to two visitors at a time, not including Riana... Any names you want me to add?"

Shepard didn't have to think long before answering, "I have lots of friends, but outside of the Normandy and the Brokerage, I have no idea who is here in Sol. If someone shows up who isn't on your list, you and Garrus can vet them. If neither of you know who they are, then you can ask _me_... but I doubt anyone will fall into that category." Shepard's face picked up a hint of pink as she continued, "You know... I still have to pee."

Miranda gave her a glare that left no doubt the answer to _that_ particular request had not changed.

* * *

 **Charon Mass Relay, Pluto, Sol**

Tali'Zorah leaned on one of several small tables scattered about the lounge aboard the Turian freighter _Lutaginia_ , in which her six engineering teams were currently staying while repairs to the Charon Mass Relay were ongoing. Tali was tired almost beyond belief – she had been driving herself mercilessly for seven days straight in her efforts to effect repairs to the ancient machine and get it operational again.

The colossal gyroscopic rings constraining the machine's eezo core had come loose from the relay arms and broken into several large pieces... each of which had left its original location on a different trajectory and _all_ of which had to be tracked and retrieved in order to restore both of the rings to full functionality. The outer, or primary, ring had been damaged more severely than the secondary, inner ring, and Tali understood exactly why this was the case as soon as she located and reviewed some vid-footage of the relay just before it discharged all the energy sent to it by the Crucible. The paired rings had spun up to approximately twenty-to-thirty times their normal rotational velocity of once every three seconds; not only did the primary ring have to withstand the stress imposed by spinning so quickly on its own vertical bearings, it had to support the rotational load of the secondary ring's horizontally positioned axles as well, resulting in the transmission of devastating centrifugal forces to the outermost ring.

The construction complexity of the rings themselves was not the only challenge; there was also the issue of collecting the eezo for the central core, which had dispersed into space without the magnetic containment field generated by the paired rings. Tali had dedicated one team solely to retrieving enough eezo to return the relay to full-operation; to date, less than a third of the amount needed had been collected. After conferring with Judea Voni aboard the _Aletheia_ , it was decided to have the team investigate the feasibility of retrieving eezo from the cores within the numerous destroyed ships still in Earth orbit. The unlikely pair, an Asari pilot with an engineering background and a young Quarian who was an electronic genius, were absolutely certain more than enough eezo existed in Earth orbit to power several relays.

Team Two had just returned aboard the _Lutaginia_ after spending twelve hours inside the Relay's structure, keying in new code to control the relay's autonomous operations; as the original programming controlling the relay had been Reaper code, it had been destroyed – wiped clean – when the Crucible fired. The Protheans had perfected the techniques required to manufacture a new relay, the scientists hidden away on Ilos actually proving it could be done. A large portion of the research notes Liara T'Soni had retrieved from the hidden base on Mars concerned building new relays; combined with the information from Ilos, Tali had developed the protocols needed to enable the engineering teams to not only rewrite operational code, but to actually repair the rings themselves, something many had thought impossible, given the limited knowledge of the metallurgy.

Team Five had been performing repairs 'outside,' preparing the upper and lower main arms of the relay housing for installation of the repaired primary ring. Tali looked up as Lieutenant Jake Durand walked into the lounge area to stand before her. "Secondary ring is almost ready for its installation in the primary ring, Admiral. Once we complete _that_ task, we can install the pair of 'em into the main arms. Then, it'll just be a matter of setting enough eezo in place and initializing the containment field; the newly written code should allow the joined rings to slowly spool up to their normal 'standby' velocity of twenty RPM."

Tali studied the written report on the datapad Durand had handed her. "This is excellent news, Lieutenant. We're still collecting eezo, but should have the required amount by the time the rings are installed and locked into place." Checking her schedule against the chrono on the bulkhead, she added, "Make sure teams three and six are aware of the current status before your team stands down for the rest of the day."

The young lieutenant nodded as he said, "Yes, Ma'am," then turned and left for the crew's mess hall. Tali was still looking at the report when her omnitool trilled with an incoming message from a very special Turian.

"Tali… Shepard's condition has been upgraded from 'critical' to 'serious', and she's been moved out of the ICU. She's receiving visitors now, and I feel she would really appreciate a visit from her 'little sister'. I've sent a request to Steve Cortez to bring you back to London for a day. That way, you can brief the brass on your progress at the relay and visit with Shepard for a bit. Hope to see you in a few hours."

* * *

 **Parnitha Mass Relay, Parnitha, Athena Nebula**

Aethyta stood in the cockpit of House T'Soni's VIP-1 interstellar transport and looked out over the massive project outside the forward viewscreen. The Asari engineering teams were making surprisingly rapid progress and every snag encountered thus far had been quickly solved by either one or the other of the two Salarian aerospace analysts whom Liara had assigned to the team. A concerned smile crossed her lips as she thought of her daughter back in Sol. _Told them long ago we should be learning to build our own damned relays... and just look at what we're doing now! The kid certainly knows how to pick 'em, that's for sure... from the back room tech geeks and engineers, right up to Goddess be praised Commander fucking Shepard._

She absolutely _hated_ not knowing their status... other than the obvious fact that they had defeated the Reapers, Aethyta wouldn't rest until she knew if both had actually _survived_ the final fight to enjoy their victory. The brooding matriarch watched silently as a group of small utility craft slowly and very precisely guided the ring assembly into place. She felt as if the whole ship breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief when the call came over the comms. "Rings in position and secured. Ready for hard-mount lockdown. Prepare for refuel."

"Axoni." Aethyta's voice resounded through the small cockpit, as if she was trying to speak loud enough that the message recipient could hear her all the way back in Armali, without the aid of comms. "You get that?"

"Yes, Matriarch." Nayla was standing uncomfortably close to the shell of a Reaper; dead or not, being that close to the superstructure of the machine still made the pebbles of her skin stand out in her nervousness. "The extraction is almost complete. We should have the eezo loaded on the freighter in under an hour... and, to you, shortly thereafter."

"Good. I'm ready to fire this thing back up and get reconnected with the rest of the damned galaxy." Aethyta left the rest unsaid, but Nayla was well aware of what the matriarch wanted. They were all in the same position; many of their loved ones had joined the battle and no one knew who had survived... or who _hadn't_. Nayla offered no response, simply turning and walking onto the freighter that would carry the Reaper's repurposed eezo off-planet and out to the relay.

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

"Goddess. You've done it." Matriarch Mozia moved quickly toward her _amantia_ and wrapped Aethyta in a tight embrace as tears of joy and relief ran down her face. She pushed away with a broad smile. "So, tell me!"

Aethyta smiled and took her hand, leading her to one of the couches in the small sitting room; she plopped down and pulled an unprotesting Mozia down onto her lap. "We finished loading the eezo and the engineers lit it back up. In my thousand years, I've never seen anything like it."

Mozia grinned and quipped, "You can't say that. You're not quite a thousand yet, and you _have_ seen it."

Aethyta pinched her gently and growled, "You want the story or not? You keep interrupting, I won't tell you."

A quiet laugh escaped her lips as she leaned forward and placed a quick peck of apology on Aethyta's cheek. "I'm sorry. I am simply so overjoyed by the development that I can't help myself!"

"Apology accepted. Now, where was I?" Aethyta smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around Mozia's waist and laid her head on the matriarch's amazingly soft and ample bosom. "The eezo pulsed for a few seconds then started to emit the tell-tale blue glow... It wasn't long before the whole ball was glowing bright, and the inner ring started to slowly spin. I'm not sure how fast it was going when the outer ring developed a wobble..."

Aethyta shook her head. "I thought it wasn't working, and that the outer ring was jammed up somehow... I was getting ready to call it off to have the rings checked when the outer ring's _wobble_ turned into movement and it started its counter-rotation." She then shrugged as she continued, "They continuously picked up speed, and soon they were really whipping around! Once the outer ring had begun spinning, the two accelerated _together_ and the whole assembly stabilized. It was incredible, Moz!"

After a tight hug and a kiss on the crest from Mozia for encouragement, Aethyta continued her telling. "Lazin Joras, the lead Salarian Engineer, then reported the relay status lights were all green and requested permission to set coordinates and launch a test probe... Of course, I _denied_ it and told him to stick to the protocol. Damned Salarians are always in _such_ a _hurry_ ; but Liara's plan got us this far, so I'm not taking any chances with deviations now... So, I made him send a voice message through the comm buoys first." A huge grin split her face. "It wasn't eight seconds before we got a response back. Has to be Salarians on the other side too, because all it said was 'voice message received, launch test drone.'"

"Wonderful!" Mozia laughed, "They certainly don't waste words, do they? Always so succinct." She placed her hand under Aethyta's chin and drew it up so their eyes met... just before their lips, in a long passionate kiss. When Mozia released her, she whispered quietly, "And, I take it, the drone passed through just fine?"

Aethyta actually sighed, giving Mozia pause. "Yes, I immediately gave permission to test the link to Widow and the drone left and returned without issue... but it came back with a copy of the STG activity log and a warning. Well... not really a warning. More of an update. There's no contact yet with Sol."

Mozia's smile vanished and concern creased her brow. "Oh, Thyta. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, me too." Aethyta's head fell back and she rested it against the top of the couch. "But it'll come back on-line. It _has_ to. We finished the rest of the tests and reviewed the logs Widow sent over... seems, at the moment, we're the only two operational."

Mozia stood and offered a hand, pulling Aethyta to her feet to stand beside her. "It _worked_ , Aethyta. We know it may take some time, but it _worked_. Rejoice in _that_ and have faith." She started walking, giving a soft tug to Aethyta's hand so she would walk along with her. "So, in the interim, we'll grab some dinner, I'll tell you the status of the Estate clean-up and you'll tell me what's next on the list of things to do."

Aethyta gave a firmer tug in return and pulled Mozia close to her side, looping an arm over her lover's shoulders. "Next for me is to help you with the Estate. I can't do anything else... other than wait on fucking Sol to come back online."

Aethyta cast a quick glare at Mozia, but then laughed when she saw the teasing smirk on her fellow matriarch's face as she remarked caustically, "Yes. And we _all_ know how good you are at _waiting_ , Thyta."

* * *

 **London, Earth, Sol**

Steve Cortez was relatively silent as the Normandy's shuttlecraft made the transit back to Earth. After watching the scene in the virtual viewport for a bit, Tali remarked, "How are things on Earth, Steve? My entire life seems to revolve around those _k'nash-tig_ relay rings and the eezo we're going to need to power the relay. I can't remember the last time I simply stopped to admire the scenery."

Cortez glanced at his passenger questioningly. _"K'nash-tig?_ My translator must have glitched… that's a Quarian word for...?"

Tali chuckled. "Keelah… sorry, Steve. I must be really tired to have used _that_ word. It's Quarian slang... a vulgar term for a Vorcha's butt."

Steve nodded in understanding. "No apology necessary, Tali… I can certainly understand being tired. As for London, it looks pretty much as it did when I ferried you off-world eight days ago." Steve slowed the shuttle's approach to the planet as he banked hard around the moon and requested an approach vector to the Royal Hospital. "It'll take a lot longer to put everything back the way it was." Steve flew a descending half-circle around the tower housing Big Ben and brought the UT-47a into a gentle hover in front of the hospital. "Here you are, Tali. Give me a call when you're ready to return."

Tali thanked Cortez, grabbed her pack and stepped out of the hovering shuttlecraft – as soon as she was clear, Steve had the machine back in the air and heading towards his next pickup. Tali watched for a few seconds, then turned and entered the hospital. She hadn't necessarily expected it to be a _quiet_ place, but was still surprised at the level of activity in the main reception area, even now, eight days after the Reapers had been defeated.

Walking up to the reception desk, she asked for Garrus Vakarian, only to be told he'd been called out to the edge of town and wouldn't return for several hours. "I see. Would it be possible for me to see Miranda Lawson, then?"

Tali was sure the receptionist had never encountered a Quarian, based on her inability to continue looking at Tali's 'nose', the lighted portion of her helmet that gave visual cues to her speech. "Who should I say is here to see her?"

"My name is Tali'Zorah vas Normandy… just tell her Tali is here to see Commander Shepard, please."

Tali had to wait only a few minutes for Miranda to appear; when she did, she rushed up to Tali, threw her arms around her and lifted and spun the astonished Quarian around in the air. "My gosh, Tali! It is _so_ good to see you! How have you been?"

Even though Tali knew the receptionist couldn't see her face through her purple-tinted faceplate, Tali smirked at the woman as she responded to Miranda's hug. "I am well. It's been a bit lonely out on the fringes, but we're getting the relay repaired. Should be less than a week until we can test it."

Miranda indicated the hallway from which she'd emerged as she guided Tali into the building. "That's wonderful news, Tali. Can't come soon enough… Shepard's going crazy with Liara stuck in Arcturus... Colonel Culver is here, but being able to visit with _you_ will do her a world of good."

"How long before she's allowed out of her room?"

Oh, God, Tali… Where do I start?" Miranda described Shepard's injuries from top to bottom as they walked, then rode the elevator up to the seventh floor. At the security checkpoint, she told the guards, "This is Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Quarian Ambassador and Military Liaison to Commander Shepard. She is cleared to visit any of the Normandy crew… and she is currently enroute to brief Commander Shepard on the status of the Charon Relay repair, so I want to ensure her credentials are loaded into the bioscanner and she has no issues gaining access to this area."

The eyes of every member of the security team lit up and they all nodded with excitement at the prospect of the relays being functional again. Their sergeant scowled at them before looking to Miranda and replying, "Understood, Ma'am. I'm sure there won't be any problems." The sergeant had seen Dr Lawson's credentials a number of times and knew she had the full authority of the Fleet Admiral, so gave Miranda a knowing glance as he continued, "And if there is, we'll simply... _fix_ it... so it won't happen again."

"Thank you." Miranda stepped through the scanner, cleared the processing zone and turned, waiting for Tali to follow. The Quarian's biodata _had_ been received and the light flashed only a short yellow before locking in as a solid green, exactly as it had done for Miranda. "Excellent. Admiral Zorah, if you'll follow me please? Commander Shepard's room is just a short distance down this hall."

The outer door was ajar just enough to see the inner door was closed. Miranda knocked on the outer door and stepped in quietly to say hello to Riana, whose entire face came alight upon seeing Tali. "By the Goddess, _Sim're_ … it is really good to see you here. Let me just take a peek…" The Commando poked her head into Shepard's room and said, " _Nara_ … you have a visitor."

Samantha slid her eyes open slightly, then opened them wider to accompany her smile of joy. "Tali," she whispered in a husky voice. "I was wondering when you'd come by."

Riana stood aside to allow the lithe little Quarian into the commander's room, where she approached the bed and carefully bent down to gently embrace her 'Captain'. "Ancestors! You look really good for someone just returned from death's door, Shepard. Based on Miranda's descriptions of your many injuries, I expected you to be hanging by a thread… It's good to know she was being pessimistic about you."

Shepard was over the moon happy to finally be able to see her 'little sister'. "Tali… I'm sorry you became stuck on that building with Garrus, Campbell and… Legion, but I'm really happy none of you were with me for the final run to the beam!" Shepard paused a moment to make sure her emotions were firmly in check. "We lost so many good people down there… My joy in living would have been significantly lessened had I discovered you to be among them."

Tali reached for and grasped Shepard's hand as she quietly answered, " _One_ of us getting blasted by Harbinger's main weapon is one too many, Captain. I am happy you survived to tell the tale, and happy to have been safely out of harm's way as well. Taking on Reaper spawn is one thing… getting fried by an energy weapon...?" Tali left the thought unfinished at the instant look of anguish in Shepard's eyes, believing it better to stick to positive news for this visit.

"So..." Tali enthusiastically filled Shepard in on what the engineering teams had accomplished with the Charon relay thus far. "We're almost ready to reset the rings in their frames, after which we'll reinitialize the mass effect engine within them… The teams just need to gather the rest of the eezo and we'll be ready to go."

She began dry-washing her hands as she spoke, until Shepard gently grabbed one hand to get her to stop. "What problems are you having? Do you need more people? More materials?"

Tali brought her other hand up to grasp Shepard's hand. "The only _real_ problem now is finding refined eezo in quantities sufficient to allow the relay to open a space-time corridor with any of its paired relays. I thank my ancestors for Judea Voni… we sent one of the engineering teams here…" looking up towards the ceiling for a moment, she returned her gaze to Shepard as she continued, "… to investigate the feasibility of retrieving eezo from the cores of some of the destroyed ships still in Earth orbit."

Shepard's mind was racing ahead, attempting to think of a way to speed up the process. "Reapers, Tali."

"Shepard?"

"I'm sure a lot of the big ones, like Harbinger, retained their eezo when they were destroyed by the Crucible… All the reports I've received indicate they simply... stopped _dead_. Otherwise, we'd be getting a lot of reports regarding inadvertent eezo exposure; most Humans don't do well with eezo... just a lucky few of us survive the contact. What better reutilization of the Reaper cores could there be than repowering broken relays so everyone's lives can get back to normal? I'd think two or three of the big ones should have enough combined eezo to power a relay."

Tali hesitated only a few moments before activating her omnitool and sending a text to the team leader in orbit above her. Without waiting for an answer, she leaned over and gently hugged the commander. " _Keelah_! I should have thought of that on my own; I have to get back to work! _Thank you_ , Shepard. I hope the next time I come here to visit, the fleet will have returned from Arcturus."

With that, she turned to leave, but stopped at the door and looked back over her shoulder. "I will see you soon. Be well, Captain."

* * *

Three days later, the last of the eezo had been retrieved from several of the destroyed Alliance ships and one of the fractured Reaper Destroyers in Earth orbit; the repaired outer ring, along with the repaired and previously installed secondary, had been carefully set into place in the circular area of the relay. Repair teams had placed the refined eezo in the central void of the paired control rings; with a command from her linked interface, Tali initialized the magnetic containment field required to hold the all-important material in place between the surrounding gyroscopic rings. Once the eezo was stable, she activated the rotation of the rings, slowly bringing them to a stable speed of twenty revolutions a minute… as their rotational velocity increased to once every three seconds, the mass of eezo centered within began to glow with power, the color shifting from a cold but stable dark blue to a snowy hot, constantly changing blueish-white.

The Team Three lead was standing by, watching the relay on a view screen. "Looks as if it's ready, Ma'am. Should I prepare a probe?"

Tali glanced at the Human for a moment as she answered, "By all means, Lieutenant. It's time to see if we've done our jobs correctly."

"Very good, Ma'am."

The young man left for the hanger deck as Tali continued to observe and record telemetry from the relay; in preparation, she entered the probe's mass and set the destination to Arcturus, the closest system. _Bosh'tet! What's wrong with this miserable thing?_ The relay should have responded to her instructions by repositioning itself slightly from its current position, correcting for the inevitable drift every relay experienced, but… nothing!

Tali worriedly rechecked all her readings from the relay and all her own figures… All her equations were accurate, just… _How can that be!? Arcturus should be repaired by now... except Liara was injured! Oh, Keelah! I hope nothing is wrong! So… there's only one way to find out._

The Quarian entered the coordinates for Widow, then watched in fascination as the relay instantly responded to her request by slowly performing a one hundred-eighty degree rotation along its longitudinal axis. After twenty-eight minutes, the relay slowed noticeably, until Tali had to compare the background stars to the frame in order to see it finish repositioning. "Fire the probe, Lieutenant… Let's see what we get."

"Yes, Ma'am," came the immediate reply. Tali watched and waited with apprehension as the small probe appeared at the corner of her screen, accelerating in a curving trajectory for the spinning rings, which responded by slightly increasing their rotational velocity as the ancient machine once again performed the function for which it had been constructed – the probe became engulfed in shifting ethereal curtains of dark energy as it was propelled into the space-time corridor created by the paired Mass Relays.

In the Serpent Nebula, the probe appeared beside the Widow relay and instantly slowed to a near stop, enabling its recovery by the Salarian STG team that had repaired the relay. The first step in the efforts to restore the Sol portion of the relay network to full-functionality had been successfully completed.


	7. Coming Together

Notes:

STG - Special Tactics Group (Salarian Special Forces)

XO - Executive Officer

* * *

 **Coming Together**

 **Normandy SR-2, Galactic Fleet, Arcturus**

"Stand _down_ , Dr T'Soni!" Liara whirled to see a somewhat _annoyed_ Commander Williams standing in the entry to the bridge, hands on her hips. "Joker initiated the beacon recovery as soon as _possible_ and the engineers are working as fast as they _can_. Using the flight lieutenant as your _whipping_ boy will _not_ make the relay repairs happen any faster!" The expression on Ashley's face was carefully controlled, but Liara could tell by the tone of her voice that the officer would not tolerate any disobedience in regards to the matter at hand.

"Goddess, you're _right_ , Ashley. I'm... _sorry_. I just discovered..." Liara stopped and took a deep breath as she blinked very slowly in an attempt to control her emotions. Even so, water accumulated and leaked out of the corners of her eyes as she continued, "May we speak somewhere in private? _Please_?"

Taken aback by the Asari's tears, Ashley's eyebrows rose in concern. "Certainly, Liara. Let's go to the loft. I'm sure it's the most private location on the Normandy at the moment."

Liara apologized profusely to Joker before leaving the Bridge, and once they arrived on the upper level, Ashley's face paled when Liara stopped immediately outside the elevator and explained what she and Hannah had discovered. "Holy... fucking... _Hell_! Does that man have no soul, _whatsoever_?" Her face went from white to red, in anger. "If that slimy bastard is still _breathing_ , I'm going to use my Spectre status to rip him apart with nothing but my bare hands and a combat knife, one piece at a Goddamned time!"

Liara almost smiled at the response, whispering softly, "You may have to beat Admiral Shepard to him if you want _that_ honor. She expressed the same… _sentiment_... when she learned of it."

"Oh, that's right! I forgot she's on board... She still is, isn't she? So, you're not alone up here."

"That's why I stopped out here. Hannah stayed here, in the loft, packing up her things while I headed for the Bridge. Admiral Hackett sent her a message; she has just been assigned as the Alliance Liaison for Interspecies Coordination for Post-War Recovery."

Ashley nodded. "That makes sense. Folks will look at her and immediately see the family relationship... and even if they don't realize it, they will be more predisposed to help... but, I would _think_ that's a position the Commander herself should hold... not her mother, as proxy." Ashley paused and looked down at the floor, realizing she was making an assumption that had absolutely no corroborating evidence... at least not yet.

"Should Samantha still be alive." Ashley's head snapped back up as Liara finished the thought for her. "I realize it is a distinct possibility that Samantha did not survive, Ashley, as does Admiral Hackett... which is why he made the decision he did. I simply... I _have_ to believe and act as if she _has_ , or I... I..."

When Liara choked on her words and stopped speaking, her tears could no longer be held back. Ashley stepped up and wrapped strong arms around the distraught Asari, cradling her tightly as Liara wept inconsolably into her shoulder. "Hey! Shepard's one tough cookie, Liara. Just like she did after Sovereign, she's going to come bouncing out of the rubble, staring at us like we've all gone mad, and questioning why we would _ever_ lose faith in her." After a few more moments with no response from the Asari, Ashley spoke again. "I'm calling Hackett to see if I can delay Hannah's return to the _Orizaba_. I don't think you should be alone right now, Liara."

The Asari pushed slowly back and took a deep, shuddering breath. "No. Please _don't_. I'll be fine... and Hannah _needs_ to get back to work. She plans on personally briefing Admiral Hackett on the development; I've also drafted a priority message for Miranda, including all the pertinent data and files. Assuming Shepard is..." Liara's voice broke as she continued, "... still _alive_ , then Miranda will need the information we discovered so she can figure out how to remove the amp from Sam's body while avoiding any tamper actuators or other traps Wilson may have left behind. She is going to request that Admiral Hackett approve it as the very first message to go out after a successful test."

Ashley locked eyes with the Asari and saw the pleading dance her pupils were doing, a nervous Liara finding it difficult to maintain the soul-searching direct gaze of the acting commander of the Normandy. "Fine." As Liara exhaled softly in relief, Williams continued, " _But_... I want you to promise me that if anything happens, you'll come _tell_ me." Ashley's hand reached out and she placed it firmly on Liara's forearm. "And I'm _not_ talking about bringing intel reports to the XO or info on Shepard, Liara. I'm talking about you coming to me, _Ashley_ , as a _friend_ , if you are in need of a sounding board or for comfort. Understood?"

" _Thank_ _you_ , Ashley." Touched by the offer, Liara's lips turned up ever so slightly at the corners as she shook her head and shrugged in resignation. "Deep in my heart, I know she's alive; I feel as though I would somehow know if it were... _otherwise_. It is simply the waiting… the uncertainty of the relay getting repaired… that is difficult to endure."

* * *

 **Charon Mass Relay, Pluto, Sol**

The entire team cheered when a probe almost instantaneously reappeared beside the newly repaired relay; a shuttle quickly retrieved it and delivered it to the _Lutaginia_ for Tali's inspection. She hastily scanned the STG activity log contained in its memory core, rapidly confirming her worst fear – the Arcturus Relay had _not_ _yet_ been brought back online.

She pulled up her omnitool, and then hesitated… perhaps sending a message to Shepard confirming the lack of activity at Arcturus was a bad idea. Making up her mind, she directed the news to the current Alliance commanding officer, Sharon Culver, instead of sending a message to Shepard and Riana. Culver and Miranda could decide together whether or not Shepard should get the news, and when. Sighing sadly, she wondered how Liara was coping and what could possibly be slowing them down. _There's no way that Liara isn't doing everything within her power to get back here, Tali'Zorah! Now, stop your worrying and get back to_ _ **work**_ _! There are more relays to test!_

As Tali continued through the scheduled test protocols, she met with disappointment after disappointment. By the end of the testing cycle, Tali was forced to conclude that the only other relays they could confirm as operational were Widow and Parnitha. As she collated her reports, the relay activated; her head snapped up in surprise as Lieutenant Durand announced, "Clear the departure zone! I repeat, clear the departure zone! We have unscheduled inbound traffic from Widow!"

Still floating in space where they were positioned to launch drones if they achieved any additional destination locks, the scouting vessels were forced to scatter at the announcement or risk getting caught in the wake of a potentially large inbound vessel. Tali's eyes went wide in realization as soon as she had a visual identification of the ship that materialized and decelerated as it cleared the relay.

" _Keelah_! By all that the ancestors hold sacred! I've got to _warn_ her!" Tali quickly pulled up her omnitool and placed an urgent call, hoping beyond hope that, even at this late hour, Miranda Lawson would be awake and answer the call.

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Nayla rapped lightly on the door and prepared to wait however long it took. _Most likely she and Mozia are otherwise engaged... and I have absolutely no intention of barging into the middle of their..._ _ **celebrations**_ _._

She was mistaken, however, and her thoughts were almost immediately interrupted by the light tap of booted footsteps closing rapidly on the door, just before it was yanked open to reveal a wide-awake and fully dressed Aethyta. "What news?"

Nayla blinked in surprise and answered, "Sol is up and running; both message and drone traffic have passed through the relays via Widow, Aethyta."

Aethyta growled, "About fucking _time_...," before turning back into the room and shouting, "Moz! Grab my bag! I'm leaving now!"

"Matriarch?" Nayla looked questioningly at the _pro tem_ House Captain, awaiting further instructions. It was obvious Aethyta had a plan, and Nayla guessed they were leaving for Sol... very, _very_ soon.

Her assumption was correct; Aethyta turned back to her, all business. "Alert the on-call pilot and notify Captain Tremi that we're activating Allyna and all of Team 2. We are going to Sol to find Liara and Shepard."

Nayla Axoni's face blossomed with a wide smile as she responded, "As you wish, Matriarch," just before turning and bolting for the commando quarters.

* * *

 **London, Earth, Sol**

Sharon Culver and Miranda Lawson, having received advance notice from Tali'Zorah regarding this unexpected arrival, were standing at the secure docks when the Asari luxury transport _T'Soni VIP-1_ slid into its assigned berth at 0140 hours local. As the shrieking complaint from the turbines faded away, the hatch opened and a team of commandos deployed, quickly followed by Nayla Axoni and Matriarch Aethyta.

Miranda smiled and stepped up to greet them. "Matriarch. Captain Axoni. Welcome to Earth... and I have to say, it's wonderful to see you! Your team did _extremely_ well getting the relay up and operational in an amazingly short period of time!"

Aethyta scowled as her eyes traveled up and down the docks, searching for a ship that was nowhere to be seen. "Screw the pleasantries, Lawson. Where's Shepard… and the Normandy?" Her eyes came back forward and focused like lasers on the two people standing before her. "And where in blazes is my _daughter_?"

Culver let out a chuckle and stepped forward. "Well. From all Shepard and Miranda have told me, you _must_ be Matriarch Aethyta... better known as Aethyta or Thyta... or _Matriarch_ , if my goal is to piss you off." Smiling at the appraising look from the agitated Asari before her, Culver stuck her hand out. "Colonel Sharon Culver, temporary leader of this ragtag band of survivors, long-time close friend of Shepard's and an acquaintance to Liara; I can't claim anything more on that last bit, seeing as we've never yet had a chance to be _properly_ introduced because of this damned war. And from the look on your face, I think I'd better stick to Aethyta, because you look like you're already well on your way to being royally _pissed off_."

Aethyta hesitated for a moment before deciding she just might _like_ this brash Alliance colonel; Culver seemed too much at ease for anything to be terribly wrong, so she took the offered hand. "Aethyta will do just fine, but you still didn't answer my question. "Where is _Liara_?"

Sharon looked around quickly. "I'm sorry, but we shouldn't talk out here. Would you be so kind as to come with me to my office?"

"Whatever it takes to get the answers I came for." Aethyta nodded. "Lead the way."

As soon as they crossed the threshold into Alliance Headquarters, Sharon started speaking and told the Asari everything she knew, from what she had gleaned from all the reports and then from Shepard directly. "So, I'm sorry none of that answers your questions, Aethyta, but it's honestly all we know... and all we _will_ know until they get the Arcturus relay up and running... and, hopefully, we can actually communicate with the Normandy."

"That's really too bad about Lieutenant Vega." An uncharacteristically solemn Aethyta stared out the window, overlooking a very dark London; power had yet to be restored through much of the city. "According to Liara, he had an ego the size of the Destiny Ascension... but he _always_ took good care of Shepard and my girl. Odd that I know _his_ name better than any of the _Asari_ who died for Shepard... And now, knowing what he did for _Liara_ , he'll be forever honored in House T'Soni." She turned back to those in the office as she continued, "So I suppose there is nothing to be done until later this morning, when I can see Shepard. If it is allowed, I prefer we bunk back on our own ship. I'd appreciate transportation out to the hospital come first light, so I can be there when Shepard wakes up."

"Absolutely, Aethyta." Culver looked across the room to her aide. "Sweets! You're now assigned to the Matriarch for the duration of her visit… Understood?"

The young corporal jumped up from his chair and smiled, his eyes wide with excitement. "Yes, Ma'am! Happy to oblige!"

Culver smirked as she looked back to Aethyta. "Lance Corporal Jeremiah Sweets. He's young, but steadfast and reliable; he'll take you to your ship now and be back at your dock at 0800 hours." Culver walked with them to the doorway. "Visiting hours don't start until 0900... and I'll catch up to you at the hospital as soon as I can wrap up my morning meetings."

The colonel paused for a moment and Aethyta would have sworn she saw a quick flash of worry cross Sharon's face. Her voice was quiet as she looked to the matriarch one last time before they parted ways. "I'm glad you _came_ , Aethyta. Without Liara, Shepard's..." She stopped, huffed and shook her head. "Never mind. You'll see her tomorrow. Draw your own conclusions."

They'd had an incredibly long day, so when they got back aboard the _VIP-1_ , the commandos all crawled off to their bunks, but Aethyta sat at the small table in the lounge and stared into her drink for a long time, wondering what it was that Culver _almost_ told her... and fearing it was nothing good. She glanced up when she heard someone clear their throat, to see Nayla standing beside the table. "Care if I join you?"

"No, please. No one should drink alone... especially with the reason _I'm_ drinking." Aethyta promptly leaned forward and casually flipped a second tumbler off the small bar tray, picked up her bottle of Noverian rum and expertly poured two fingers worth for Nayla as she sat down at the table, across from the matriarch.

"It is obvious you are worried... I imagine _mostly_ about Liara, but _also_ over Shepard." Nayla scooped up the glass as it slid toward her across the table, swirled the dark liquid within and took a small sip, humming in satisfaction before speaking. "They both survived, Aethyta, and all will be well, once they are reunited."

Aethyta sighed softly. "I honestly never thought Nezzie's little one would find anything even _remotely_ close to what she has with Shepard... she was always so damned _shy_. And the way Shepard looks at her? For being so damned _smart_ , Liara can be pretty dense in some areas... but the commander positively _worships_ Little Wing... so much so that even _Liara_ sees it. I did not think it possible for a Human, but with this... _Inanna_... that they share, I almost fear it may be something akin to soul sickness."

Nayla's face paled slightly and she set her glass down on the table. "But Liara is not _dead_! Or is _that_ what you truly fear?"

" _Goddess, no_!" Aethyta's head snapped up and she stared at the Asari across the table in shock. Recovering quickly, she continued, "No. But they are separated by a _tremendous_ distance. I know their link is _strong_ , but it is also still relatively young, so to expect it to reach _that_ far is ludicrous... What I fear is that it's literally tearing Shepard's soul in half, not knowing the fate of the Normandy... and not being able to connect with Liara."

"And the same would then be true for Liara, would it not?"

Aethyta fell silent and didn't answer, instead taking a big gulp and barking out a single cough as her body trembled with the aftereffects of the rum burning its way down her throat. In her churning mind, neither the sensation nor the distraction it provided lasted _long_ enough. "Goddess be _damned_! Liara best get her ass _back_ here, _sooner_ rather than later."

Nayla reached across the table and laid her hand atop the matriarch's. "We'll know more about her state of mind when we see Shepard in a few hours. We both need sleep, Aethyta. Come on."

Aethyta stood slowly, feeling every bit of her 982 years with the concerns for her rediscovered family weighing heavily on her shoulders. "Yeah. I guess I should know better than to jump to conclusions. Thanks, Nayla."

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Riana's head lifted from the datapad she was reading as the outer door to Shepard's room opened. She sat in numb shock for only a moment before springing from her seat; in two long strides her arm was extended and she was clasping forearms with the most welcome sight since seeing Shepard after defeating the Reapers, alive and breathing after her first surgery. "Goddess be praised! Captain _Axoni_! You are a sight for tired eyes! I did not know the relay was yet _operational_! You are good news in more ways than one!"

Nayla chuckled softly and backed Riana up, allowing room for Aethyta to come in and get the door closed. "Good to see you too, Ri. Hope all is well here."

As they dropped arms, Riana dipped her forehead. "Matriarch! You are both indeed welcome arrivals. Do you know? Is the Normandy inbound as well?"

Aethyta frowned. "Sorry, kid. Only Widow and Parnitha are up, that we know of. Haven't received a single ping from Arcturus yet... but don't you worry. They'll be on their way soon, I'm sure of it." She jerked her chin in the direction of the second doorway. "How's the commander doing?"

"Honestly? I do not know." Riana sighed. "Neither Miranda nor Dr Michelle can determine what is amiss, but her eezo keeps depleting, even though she is not using her biotics. They've had to put her on full _battle_ rations merely to keep her level stable... but it is still low, and no matter what they do, outside of a blood infusion, they cannot keep the level up at her normal ratios... and being restricted to her bed, she does not possess the appetite to eat all they give her."

"Damn." Aethyta gave Nayla a knowing glance before looking back to Riana. "Is she awake yet? I need to see her. Alone."

Riana's eyes flashed with concern. "You are not to blame her for whatever may have befallen Mistress Liara. That responsibility is..."

Aethyta waved her hand dismissively and interrupted, "Don't worry, Riana. That's not what I'm here for. I know how _headstrong_ Liara is, and I already heard the story about how she basically _threw_ you off the Normandy to chase Shepard down... and she was _right_ to do so. The woman lying in that hospital bed is Liara's _lifeblood_ and you needed to protect her or it is very possible they _both_ would have perished."

" _Both_?" Riana looked at the matriarch in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Aethyta looked at Nayla. "You explain it to her while I go in and talk to Shepard, would you?"

With a nod of agreement from the commando captain, Aethyta turned and walked into the back room, closing the door behind her. Shepard was pale and her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat; Aethyta approached the bed and her forehead knit with concern as she reached out and softly grasped a sleeping Shepard's shoulder. "Hey, Commander. Come on, join the waking world and talk with me for a bit."

Blurry green eyes cracked open at the touch and her head turned toward the shape at the side of the bed, rasping, "Holy Hell. _Aethyta_?" Shepard's voice was rough with sleep, but her eyes opened wider, instantly shocked into a soldier's alertness. "The _relays_! They're open?" Her eyes darted about the room, seeking a different face.

"She's not here yet, kid." Aethyta gave a gentle squeeze with the hand still on the commander's shoulder. "Arcturus isn't up yet, but Widow and Parnitha are open, so I came as quick as I could. Figured to meet her here as soon as Arcturus comes online again." She could see the visible fade in Shepard's eyes and the color drain from her face, leaving her complexion even _more_ pale than when Aethyta had first entered the room.

"Shepard. You need to listen to me." Aethyta waited until the commander's eyes settled on her own. "Has Liara ever explained to you about soul sickness?"

"Yeah." Samantha groaned as she reached over her head for the remote, slowly tipping the back of the bed up so she could more easily talk with the matriarch. "After Sovereign... and Benezia. More than one of the commandos lost a bondmate at Noveria. I didn't understand the true depth of their mourning, until Liara explained about the _bond_... and what happens when it is abruptly severed." Her eyes suddenly lit with understanding and her voice dropped to a deathly whisper. "Oh, Gods. Sha'ira _warned_ us about _Inanna_ being similar to a bond... Are you... are you saying... that... Liara..."

" _No_!" Aethyta squeezed Shepard's shoulder a bit harder than she meant to and saw the commander wince, causing her to drop her hand immediately. " _Shit_. Sorry, Shepard. That's not what I'm saying at all! It's simply the _separation_! But yes, I think the effects of the broken link can be _very_ similar... and I believe you are burning eezo because, while you _sleep_ , your mind is out wandering, pushing its _limits_ , trying to find the other half of your _soul_."

"So I'm sleeping, but my mind is running full speed all night long? Then I'm not really resting..." A tear slipped out of the corner of her left eye as she continued, "No wonder I'm so fucking _tired_ and feeling like I'm making unusually slow progress... especially for _me_."

"Yeah. So, _listen_. There are very few treatments for it but I can help you, if you'll let me." Aethyta pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down, Shepard's questioning gaze following every move she made. The matriarch reached onto the bed and took one of Shepard's hands. "We had Liara as a buffer, but we _have_ melded before... so if you're comfortable with the idea, it's possible for me to guide you..."

"No."

Aethyta fell silent and pursed her lips at Shepard's quick refusal, waiting for some sort of explanation from the commander. When none came, she was compelled to continue where she left off. "I can guide your _energy_ without actually entering your mind. You're burning eezo like there's no tomorrow and you're going to go into eezo shock if you're not careful, supplements or not. I'm not worried about the quantity so much as the exchange _rate_. It's way too high, even if you were _Asari_." She squeezed Samantha's hand to get her undivided attention. "Shepard, look at me. I can carry the load and keep you from burning yourself out. Liara will be mad as Hell at you if she finds you pale and wasting away like I saw you when I walked in. Don't fool yourself; you _cannot_ do this on your own. You need help... and I'm offering."

Shepard's eyes closed and she whispered quietly, "What exactly would it entail?"

"It's pretty simple. I act like a signal booster." Aethyta leaned back in her chair. "If I sense you searching, I provide you the energy to sustain the hunt, so you don't expend _your_ eezo... You use mine instead. I've had almost a thousand years of practice and can regulate the draw rate much better than you _ever_ could... All part of being a matriarch, kid."

Aethyta released Shepard's hand and stood up to stretch. "What time is breakfast around this joint, anyway?" She looked back at the commander with a worried frown. "I can't order you to do this, Commander, but if you turn me down, we might _both_ get warped into the next century when Liara shows up."

"You're _almost_ right." A small smile flitted across Shepard's lips and she couldn't help but laugh. "Liara wouldn't be mad... She'd be _furious_!" She let out a sigh of exasperation as Aethyta's expression shifted to one of hope. "Alright, but you need to be aware of a few things, first."

Shepard proceeded to explain about the ashen dreams; they had returned, now with Vega and Anderson added to the mix, along with Legion and several others she couldn't identify. "I thought for sure they'd go away after the war, but no such luck. So, I have no idea when my mind is supposedly running around trying to find Li, because I spend all my time in that damned forest. When... When _Liara's_ by my side, they generally don't come, though they did toward the end of the war, Liara in bed with me or not."

Aethyta smirked, "So you're saying that fucking my daughter provided you with ample... _distraction_... to keep them at bay... mostly, anyways?"

A suddenly red-faced Shepard spit out, "Geez, Aethyta! I'm talking _sleeping_! We were both too damned tired to do anything else... and I am not _talking_ about that with you!" She shook her head and ran a hand nervously through her hair before continuing, "I'm _telling_ you this because I occasionally light up with biotics when it happens. I've tossed Liara out of bed onto the _floor_... Hell's bells... I've tossed us _both_ out of bed, more than once, when that fucking nightmare takes over my subconscious."

"Fair enough warning. And to be totally honest, I'd actually prefer to take you to Thessia; surrounded by an entire _environment_ based on eezo, your body would most likely stabilize a lot faster, drawing on the planet's natural reserves... you know, breathing the air, drinking the water... all that shit; but I know that's not gonna happen. They'd never discharge you into my care; you're too damned important to the Alliance and the Council for them to let you go."

Shepard prepared to offer a retort, then snapped her mouth closed, knowing damn well Aethyta was probably correct, finally answering quietly. "Yeah... Besides, I wouldn't want Liara to have to hunt me down or make any extra relay hops either. She'll find me here, and then we'll figure out what's next. Together."

"Sounds good, Shepard... and I'm _serious_ about breakfast. I'm _starving_. We left Thessia in the middle of the damned night and I haven't eaten in hours."

An honest smile finally broke through Shepard's dour countenance and she let out a soft chuckle. "Tell Riana to take you to the Field Mess. Trust me; you do _not_ want to eat the hospital food."

Aethyta cocked her head a bit. "Then why are _you_? It's no wonder you have no appetite, if the _food_ is crap. I brought Allyna Taluri and her whole team here, along with some private stock... just in case. We'll eat at the chow line and make you some decent meals. Real Thessian meals with natural eezo, not that processed shit."

"Aethyta... I couldn't!" Shepard's surprise was evident, but Aethyta was having nothing to do with her protests when it came to good, decent food and the commander's failing health.

"Yes, you will. I'm not having my future _daughter-in-law_ , the promised _bondmate_ of Lady Liara T'Soni, eating junk when we have the capacity to do better." Aethyta scowled at her, daring Shepard to contradict her again. "Not a chance, Commander."

Making the smart choice, Shepard relaxed back into the bed and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Fine. But I expect to _share_... not take all your stock for myself. I won't eat unless _you_ , at least, eat with me, Matriarch."

Aethyta's scowl deepened with the use of her title. "Don't push me, Shepard. I'm doing this mostly for _Liara_. I don't want her to come back just to see you looking all puny and weak."

"Hey!" Shepard frowned. "I'm getting better! You should have seen me _before_ Miranda started the first surgery... and I think I liked you better as a bar tender than as my future father-in-law."

Aethyta's scowl vanished as a smirk crawled onto her face to replace it. "Goddess be damned, Shepard. Maybe you simply weren't really awake yet." The smirk turned to a light laugh as she finished, "Seems you've got a bit of spunk left in you after all. You're gonna be just fine."

* * *

Aethyta spent the rest of the morning making arrangements with the commandos to take turns making meals and sitting with Shepard, giving Riana a break and catching the commander up on all things Thessia. While _they_ were keeping Shepard entertained, Aethyta explained her hypothesis with Miranda and Chloe... and made provisions to spend nights in the room with Shepard, as long as necessary. She was somewhat surprised to find Miranda completely on her side. "Aethyta, it would be _wonderful_ if you could take Samantha to Thessia, if for nothing else than to get her away from _this_ place and everything it reminds her of... but that woman isn't going anywhere without Liara, even if we did manage to get permission to release her."

"She already told me as much... said she didn't want Liara to have to hunt her down or make any extra relay hops to get to her." Aethyta smirked. "Pretty sure what she _really_ meant was that she didn't want to get any farther away from Liara than she already _is_."

"That may very well be a true statement, however irrelevant it may be." Miranda grimaced heavily as she continued, "I simply know how the ' _powers that be_ ' treated her after Sovereign... and after the Collector War. I don't see either the Council or the Alliance changing their approach now, and they'll want to extract every drop of blood and kilo of flesh they can get out of Commander Samantha Shepard before they'll let her go. My only question is if she'll let them."

Aethyta paused and concentrated on Miranda, not only on her words, but her body language as well, and she could tell the former Cerberus operative was not happy. "What aren't you telling me, Lawson?"

Miranda shook her head slightly and shifted in her seat uncomfortably before answering, "Shepard is beyond tired, Aethyta. She _died_ for this war... _twice_ , if you count the time Chloe and I thought we lost her on our table only twelve days ago." She saw the expression on the matriarch's face and explained, "I know. We leave that part out, most of the time, in the telling... We figured Shepard doesn't need to know how close she came to leaving us... _again_."

"Fuck no; she doesn't need to know that!" Aethyta whispered vehemently, thinking of the crushing blow that would have been to Liara... to House T'Soni. _Blazes! The entire fucking_ _ **galaxy**_ _would have been in mourning!_ "What happened?"

"She'd simply lost too damn much blood; her entire system was crashing and _we_ couldn't fix her fast enough to _stop_ it... When, all of a sudden, a Salarian surgeon just... _showed up..._ out of nowhere... uninvited, but certainly not unappreciated, and started to help. That third set of quick, knowledgeable hands made all the difference in the operation."

A low whistle emerged from her lips before Aethyta cursed quietly. "Damn it all. _Mordin_ is gone, so who was it?"

Miranda shrugged and let out a laughing huff. "We have no idea who he was or where he came from! It was no one on staff here... and he apparently hit the three other ongoing surgeries before simply vanishing out the front door!"

"Sounds like Shepard has... What do Humans call them? ... A guardian angel?" Aethyta narrowed her eyes in thought. "Is that right?"

"Yes," Miranda chuckled. "Yes, that's right. Maybe so. It's as good an explanation as any." Her smile vanished and she concentrated on the matriarch. "So. Tonight. This... _bridge_ thing you are doing tonight. Are you truly prepared to deal with Shepard's demons?"

Aethyta shrugged, "I simply establish a superficial meld with Shepard and try to keep her grounded, so she uses me as an energy source and doesn't burn as much of her own eezo as she has been. It's kind of hard to explain, but it may require waking her somewhat frequently. So, she may be _tired_ but she'll have a larger buffer of eezo left in the morning... Provided it works and she doesn't try to blast me into next week with her biotics if she has one of those nightmares she told me about."

"Oh, she'll have one." Miranda frowned slightly as she thought back over the past couple of weeks. "Only been a couple of nights when she _hasn't_ awakened... and settled down again only after I included a sedative in her eezo infusions." Miranda took a deep breath and pushed out a quick, heavy sigh of resignation as she continued, "So, I'll probably see you later... when I respond to an alarm for increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure."

"We'll see about that." Aethyta's eyes shifted down the hallway as she looked toward the doorway to Shepard's room. "I'm hoping to keep her calm enough, that won't be necessary."

"I hope you're right, Aethyta." Miranda's eyes followed the matriarch's gaze. "That poor woman has seen enough pain to last over ten lifetimes. Drugs alone can't seem to accomplish it, so I sincerely hope that whatever it is you're doing, actually _works_."

Aethyta nodded. "Guess we'll know in a few hours, won't we?"

She expected no reply to her rhetorical question and was already turning to walk toward Shepard's room when she heard Miranda whisper softly, "I'll know in a few hours only if it _doesn't_ work. Otherwise, I'll see you in the morning, Matriarch."

* * *

Aethyta was awakened by the bed shaking. They had moved a second bed into Shepard's room and placed it alongside the commander's, with a vibrating activity alarm so the matriarch would know if and when Shepard started to thrash in her sleep as she was doing now. She sat up quickly, placed her free hand gently on Shepard's feverish forehead, closed her eyes and concentrated.

Shepard murmured softly as their consciousnesses bumped, but did not overlap; Aethyta was careful to _not_ intrude into the commander's thoughts and violate her promise to simply support, not engage. The matriarch felt the pull almost immediately and opened herself as a conduit, following Shepard's progress, surprised at the level of demand being placed upon her as Shepard reached, mentally, all the way to Charon and beyond. _Fuck. No_ _ **wonder**_ _she's tired; she's stretching throughout the whole damn_ _ **system**_ _! Good thing the relays are material in nature and she can't trigger them like a comm buoy with only her mind... or she would have already died from eezo shock, trying to search the whole fucking galaxy!_

After an extended, fruitless search, Shepard's consciousness fell into despair and the relentless nightmare began invading her already exhausted sleep. As the commander began to emit a soft blue glow, Aethyta shook her, gently at first but with increasing intensity, until the Human's eyes popped open along with a rapid intake of breath. "Easy, Shepard." Amazingly, Aethyta's unusual, gravelly voice was comforting and penetrated her semi-awake state and the commander calmed, blinking rapidly to clear her vision.

"Thanks, Aethyta." Shepard cleared her throat to get rid of the sleepy growl before continuing, "What time is it?"

A surprisingly gentle blue hand slid across her brow in a soothing motion. "Only two in the morning, kid. Go back to sleep and try to get some rest."

"Fat chance of that happening." Shepard released a disheartened sigh. "I can _never_ get back to sleep after that dream... not for a while anyway."

"I know I'm no Liara, but I've got you covered, Commander." Aethyta cast her a caring smile. "At least close your eyes and _try_... for Liara's sake if not your own. We need you rested and recovering when our Little Wing flies home to you."

 _ **Our**_ _Little Wing_. "Guess that means you accept me as part of the family, huh, Aethyta?" Shepard relaxed, somehow comforted by the idea that she had been included into the family.

Aethyta chuckled. "I don't believe I have any say in the matter, Shepard. The Lady of House T'Soni has made your status _very_ clear to the rest of us." The hand swept softly across Samantha's forehead once more, pushing the hair out of her face. "Now. Sleep... before I call Miranda in to increase your sedatives. You've got another surgery tomorrow afternoon and your body needs rest."

"The sedatives make the nightmare _worse_ ; I can't wake up from it and I get trapped there." She registered an accepting nod from the matriarch and gave her an easy smile. "Thank you for being here, Aethyta." Shepard reached up and caught the Asari's hand, pulling it down from her head and placing it over her heart. Her voice was quiet as she asked, "You're staying until we get Liara _home_ , right? No matter how long that may take?"

Aethyta let out a quiet laugh. "That's what I'm here for, Babe... and I can _damn_ well assure you I'm not simply talking about getting her to _Sol_! Liara needs to see the rebuilding happening on Thessia... and it's all because of you two!" She paused and her jovial voice turned to a growl as she finished, "Those two-credit, piece of shit _Matriarchs_ certainly had nothing to do with it!"


	8. Reestablishing Links

Notes:

C-Sec - Citadel Security

ICU - Intensive Care Unit

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

STG - Special Tactics Group (Salarian Special Forces)

* * *

 **Reestablishing Links**

 **London, Earth, Sol**

"Could you repeat that, please?" Sharon Culver stared into the image being projected from her omnitool. She had sent a team up to investigate the status of the Citadel and was flabbergasted by the reports she was receiving.

"Fairly certain statement was perfectly clear, Colonel." The Salarian was not affronted, merely stating fact. STG Captain Orne Firas angled the omnitool camera mounted on his wrist to show Culver what he was speaking of as he continued, "Keepers remain functional and are _cleaning_ Citadel; mostly disposing of... _organic_ debris."

"Are those... _body parts_?" Culver scowled in disgust at the images crossing before her eyes.

"They are. Apparently, Keepers taking genetic samples, logging identification of deceased into a databank and disposing of remains in operable trash incinerators within each ward. Quite efficient, I might add."

Sharon placed an open hand across her face and scrubbed, as if to wipe away the exhaustion she felt, along with the disgust for what the Reapers had left in their wake. "What about Admiral Anderson... and the Illusive Man?"

"Exactly where Vanguard Iregos stated. Anderson's body has been recovered and placed in stasis to arrest further decomposition." Firas actually faltered for a brief moment, displaying exceedingly rare emotion. "Hero. Deserved better."

"Yes, he did." Culver practically growled her next words, "And the Illusive Man?"

"Noticeably, less than fully Human, Colonel. Reaper portions of remains charred, assumedly from effects of Crucible wave; positive DNA identification completed. Bagged and placed in storage compartment for return." Firas shrugged dismissively. "Does not deserve same treatment as the admiral. What of other remains and Keeper disposal methods?"

Culver paused thoughtfully, surely for what seemed like an _eternity_ to the waiting STG team. "Don't interfere, I suppose; it's one less unpleasant task _we_ would have to do if they didn't." She sighed sadly. "More importantly, are you finding any survivors?"

"Several." Thankfully, the disturbing images vanished as he cut the camera and quickly queued up a statistical page and started reading. "Of estimated 13 million occupants left behind, approximately 14.2 percent have been accounted for."

"The actual number, please, Captain." Culver frowned. "I'm too damned tired to even _attempt_ to do the math in my head."

"The Salarian blinked once in disbelief before answering, "One million, eight hundred forty-six thousand, one hundred and five living persons, Colonel."

Sharon was shocked at the response. "Are you certain?"

"All areas not yet searched. Number could increase slightly, but will not be significant. Sad so many perished."

Culver shook her head emphatically. "Yes, it's sad, but you misunderstand my surprise! I had no idea that many would be able to _survive_ the attack! That's actually _great_ _news_! That's close to ten _times_ what the Fleet was able to save when they were forced to abandon the Citadel! We feared the rest would _all_ be dead!"

"Still, significant population decrease. C-Sec has established presence and is maintaining order. Supplies sufficient to maintain population for 127 days, but life support is non-functional. Will need to enact emergency evacuation plan as soon as possible."

"That's a lot of people to move! Can't the station be repaired?" Culver's brow creased worriedly, knowing if word got out, C-Sec would likely be unable to control the panic-driven riots that would ensue.

"Negative. Energy surge required to generate red wave destroyed Crucible docking station and resulted in massive electrical fires and cascading systems failures. Situation complicated by vast number of station operating systems derived from Reaper technology that simply ceased functioning. Will require full station evacuation of all remaining personnel within 8 days."

" _Damn it_." Culver pursed her lips as she thought through the predicament. "We don't have the _capacity_ to move that many people quickly, and I don't want to cause a _panic_... So, we're going to offer up free transport to anyone wanting to leave the station for Earth... or points within the Serpent or Athena Nebula. It will reduce the load on the Citadel and maybe extend our working time a bit. Keep a lid on the actual situation and we'll hope the fleet returns within the next couple of days. Once they are back in the system, we'll have plenty of ships available to move all those folks from the station to Earth."

"Sensible interim plan." Firas nodded in approval. "Will inform Commander Bailey of proposed resolution and await Fleet arrival. Will return to Earth if required, but... likely will be needed here before this is over."

"Thank you, Captain Firas. Stay there and keep me posted... particularly if the situation changes drastically for any reason... _especially_ if it's for the worse. Culver out."

* * *

 **Galactic Fleet, Arcturus Relay**

With Huntress Tenir in fast pursuit, Councilor Tevos bolted out the door from her quarters on the Destiny Ascension and ran down the passageway, with no consideration for proper decorum or public perception _anywhere_ in her mind. She skidded to a stop when she arrived in the ship's hold, looked about to find a proper vantage point, and moved quickly to climb atop a stack of cargo containers along a side wall. "Everyone! May I have your attention please?" Her voice cracked in her excitement, but the energy with which she projected her voice soon had the crowd's attention and she watched the ripple effect as rows of persons, gradually farther and farther away, turned in her direction.

She positively _beamed_ down upon them and, before she ever said a word, they all knew it was good news, whatever it was she was about to say. "We have positive contact through the relay! Charon, Widow and Parnitha are _all_ confirmed as operational!"

She had to pause as the room exploded in ecstatic pandemonium. Once the whistles and shouts of jubilation settled back down so people could hear her once more, she continued, "The Fleet is queuing as we speak for the return to Sol. Once there, arrangements will be made for temporary quarters until transportation routes and procedures can be established for those wishing to travel elsewhere." People began shouting questions at her so she held her hands up for silence. " _Please_! I'm sorry, but this is all brand new; I have no additional information at this time. Once we get people moved off-ship, the Terran information stations will provide a constantly updating status board along with news announcements. That's all I know."

As Tevos nimbly climbed back down off the crates she had used as a platform, Tenir stood at the base, smiling and shaking her head as she waited. "Not exactly how I would have made the announcement, Councilor, but it worked."

Tevos' eyes, which had been a stress-dulled gray for so long, shone bright silver with renewed hope. "I don't care _how_ people perceive my actions today, Nizia. We have _won_ , we are going _home_ , and Commander Shepard survived her ordeal and is _recovering_ in London. As far as I am concerned, it is the best _possible_ of potential outcomes!"

A hand fell lightly on her shoulder and she spun, surprised that Nizia had not warned her of any approaching persons in the loud party atmosphere. As soon as she turned, she understood why... finding herself staring into the calming blue eyes of the consort. "Oh, Shi! The news couldn't be better!" Continuing with her carefree attitude, she stepped into Sha'ira's arms and hugged her tightly, intimately whispering the news of Shepard's survival.

"That is most excellent news, Councilor... but, perhaps, we should return to your quarters where we would have more quiet... and privacy... to speak of such matters?"

"Absolutely." Tevos pushed back and smiled. "We have a small bit of time before reaching Earth, where a Council presence will most likely be required."

Sha'ira held out her hand as she quietly responded, "Then let us not waste any of it, standing _here_." Tevos happily clasped the offered hand and began a fast walk back to her rooms, Sha'ira in tow and Nizia Tenir in trail.

* * *

Admiral Hackett had agreed to Liara's and Hannah's request, so as soon as the _SSV Orizaba_ established contact with Earth, the Normandy's urgent message was first to go. Liara paced the deck in the Broker office, waiting rather impatiently for a response; getting none, she finally activated the network and placed a personal call to Garrus, praying he had an acceptable explanation. The Turian quickly assured her the commander was going to be fine, briefed the Asari on what he knew concerning the issue with her biotic amp, and that Shepard was currently sleeping. "She just came out of surgery to repair her bone-weaves and is still in recovery, Liara. I'll pass word to Miranda that you called, but she has another string of surgeries today, so I doubt she'll have time to contact you with an update before you arrive here. Had we foreseen that you were coming _today_ , she probably would have held off on the surgery."

Liara sat down slowly, finally able to relax a bit. "So Miranda's still there? Thank the Goddess for that as well! Thank you, Garrus. If Sam happens to wake, please tell her we're on our way!"

"Certainly, Liara." Garrus chuckled. "I'll have Cortez waiting for you at the docks to transport you, along with any injured Karin is willing to release, to the hospital." Liara could sense the smile in his voice; it was obvious Shepard was doing well enough that he was not concerned and he was happy the Normandy would be returning safely. He then explained how Riana had followed the commander up to the Citadel and had carried her out to the Council evacuation docks, where Miranda had retrieved them both in the _Aletheia_ 's shuttle. "I'll leave it to Doctor Michel and Miranda to give you the full update on her medical condition, but she was in pretty rough shape… even _with_ her nanites, her recovery is going to be a very slow and painful by her normal standards, but she'll eventually make a _full_ recovery. Take a deep breath, Liara; Shepard is going to be _fine_."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Charon Relay, Sol**

Liara had immediately walked over to the Med Bay and shared the news with Karin, staying to help her get organized and prepare the more critical patients for transport... simply as a way to keep her mind occupied during the excruciatingly slow preparations for the trip to Earth. Once all the drone transport tests were complete and the Normandy _finally_ made the relay jump to emerge at Charon, a full thirteen days had passed since the destruction of the Reapers.

Liara was unable to sense her _Siame_ and her heart clenched tight in her chest. _Goddess! Samantha! Where_ _ **are**_ _you? Riana and Garrus both_ _ **promised**_ _you would be fine!_

Absolutely _needing_ to find proof of Sam's wellbeing, Liara closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out with her mind, yearning to find that familiar aura in the black abyss. Eventually, something tickled the edges of her perception and a relieved smile came to the Asari's lips as she brushed softly against the groggy mind of a slowly waking Samantha Shepard. Not yet knowing the _true_ extent of Shepard's injuries, Liara did not establish a stronger connection, but hoped that _somehow_ Shepard could sense her presence and draw comfort from it. _{I love you, Sam.}_

Once satisfied that Shepard truly _lived_ , Liara withdrew and blushed as she opened her eyes to discover Karin standing before her, eyebrows raised expectantly. "Well, what's the _verdict_ , Dr T'Soni? I judge by your smile you have discovered that no one lied to us?"

Liara let out a light, embarrassed laugh. "You are correct, Karin; I can sense her. She is just now awakening, but she _is_ there."

Smiling at the pale Asari, Karin nodded in relief... both for the affirmation that Shepard was alive and that Liara's gradually failing health would come to an end upon their reunion. "That's _excellent_ , Liara. Now that you have the necessary confirmation, let's get some food in your stomach before we get there. I know you haven't been eating well and I have a feeling you're going to need all the energy you can _muster_ to keep Shepard in line so she can heal properly."

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Liara remained extremely anxious, so didn't eat much, but the process of going for even the small meal had been enough to distract her from the journey and before she realized, Joker was announcing final approach to the Alliance Headquarters docks. She hurried to the exit and, as promised, Cortez was waiting; shortly thereafter, the selected patients had been transferred and many of the off-duty Normandy crew, Hannah Shepard and a _very_ worried Liara were sitting in the hospital ward, impatiently waiting on permission to visit.

They all stood when Admiral Hackett finally walked in. "No word yet?"

Ashley snapped to attention, followed with a crisp "No, Sir. Miranda and Dr Michel are still conferring for some reason."

Dr Chakwas simply shook her head and Liara, unresponsive, looked ready to cry. It wasn't much longer before Miranda finally came out and surveyed the group before her. Understanding Liara's need to see her bondmate, she and Admiral Hackett were the first two taken back to Shepard's room.

As they walked, Miranda qualified Shepard's condition. "You have to realize she's still recovering from injuries that were very severe... and extremely _painful_. We just completed the bone-weave repair a few hours ago, so we were in the process of slowly decreasing her anesthesia when the Normandy arrived. She's still very groggy at the moment."

Once they arrived in the anteroom of Shepard's two-room suite, Liara was barely able to contain her emotions, wanting to simply ignore Miranda and run in to the room, the stress showing plainly on her face, despite the reassurances from her First, who had remained to watch over Shepard's room and was now standing beside her. Hackett recognized the signs and motioned to Miranda to escort Liara in. "Let's give Dr T'Soni a bit of time by herself, shall we?"

With a nod of understanding, Miranda pushed the inner door open, allowing Liara to proceed solo. She stepped slowly into the room, unexpectedly timid and afraid, suddenly not quite so eager, unsure exactly in what condition she was going to find her promised. _Goddess, she looks pale…and she's sleeping, I don't want to disturb her, but oh, I so want to… need to… touch her!_

As she crept closer to the bedside, a pair of unfocused green eyes cracked open and a sleepy smile started to form. "T'Soni. Missed you."

Liara's trepidation melted and all her reservations vanished in less than a heartbeat. She instantly moved to her lover's side and caressed Shepard's cheek, handling her gently... like a fragile ancient relic of immense value and importance. The other hand fluttered in front of her own lips, Liara totally unable to utter a sound, her crystal blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Sensing her disquiet, Shepard laid her hand over Liara's and trapped it against her cheek. Her voice was husky with emotion, her tongue thick with drowsiness. "Hey, hey… I told you I'd always come back. I _love_ you, Blue. Not going anywhere without you... ever again."

The dam broke and Sam was flooded with a torrent of words Liara has thus far been unable to voice. Tears coursed down her cheeks in joyful relief as Liara no longer contained her emotions; her words exploded, uncontrolled, as fast as she could form them. "By the _Goddess_ , Samantha Shepard! I love you more than _life_! When I thought you were lost to me again I didn't know what to do! I was ready to give up… I _did_ give up! I fainted in the War Room and woke up in the med bay, totally inconsolable, not caring about anything and wishing to die with you. Then Karin told me you were _alive_ , and Goddess… well, here we are! Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!"

Liara stopped, eyes wide, astounding even herself with everything she had just blurted out, uncensored. _Goddess, I must be exhausted to lose control like that!_

In the suddenly awkward, surprising silence, Liara fell into the chair by the bed and laid her head on Sam's shoulder, trying to catch her breath. Shepard slowly turned her head and pressed dry lips softly to Liara's forehead, whispering words of understanding, consolation and apology. After a few moments, Liara lifted her head and their lips met, engaging Samantha in an exchange so much more than the simple kiss it appeared to be. It was proof of the existence of a future free of Reapers, and a promise of a lifetime filled with happiness, contentment and love.

The sound of Miranda clearing her throat yanked them mercilessly back to the present. Liara blushed furiously and Samantha showed signs of her trademark roguish grin. Liara smiled in answer when she saw the expression creep across Shepard's face. _Oh, I've missed that so much!_

"Sorry, but the Admiral is waiting…very patiently I might add, considering how busy the man must be." Miranda smiled as she brought Hackett into the room.

"Commander. Woe be it for _me_ to interrupt the joyful reunion, so my visit will be short and to the point. I don't have the words to express how happy I am to see you're still with the living, and how much I'm looking forward to when you can get out of that bed and be mobile again." Hackett smiled down at her. "But... You take your time getting there; you deserve the rest and I don't want you back until you're properly healed. To make sure that happens, I'm officially placing Spectre Williams in charge of the Normandy until further notice; she'll be in to see you shortly. That said, while you're on medical leave, I _do_ need you to at least _start_ writing your mission report about what the Hell happened on the Citadel and with the Crucible. Lastly, I don't want you thinking too hard about your _future_ until you are up and about again; just know that future will start with you as an Alliance Captain, as soon as I can make it official. See you soon, _Captain_."

Without giving Shepard a chance to utter a single word, he turned and retreated to the anteroom, signaling Miranda to join him. He didn't mince words when she stepped out, getting straight to the matter at hand as the door closed behind her, once again leaving Liara and Shepard with privacy. "Ms. Lawson. Make sure _everyone_... _especially_ the council... adheres to that list of yours. I don't want _anyone_ interfering with her recovery. You get any pushback, you contact me directly. We'll cut that shit off immediately." With that, Admiral Hackett turned and walked away, needing to check in at the Headquarters and talk to whoever had been running recovery operations since the loss of Admiral Anderson.

A smiling Ashley stuck her head in the door next. "Hey Skipper! The guys will be tickled to know you are actually awake and alert enough to be getting frisky with the Doc!"

Shepard groaned while Liara blushed, pulling back from their latest kiss and stating without much conviction that they weren't getting _frisky_ , but simply saying a long overdue hello. Ashley chuckled, "Ah ha! See? So you _did_ do something! I was just guessing… Certainly, the Admiral didn't let anything slip as he walked by!"

Laughing together, they all chatted for a short while, bantering back and forth about the future of the Normandy. Ashley noticed Shepard's eyes getting heavy and threatening to slip closed again, so she stood up. "Hey Skipper, I've gotta get back to the ship to kick everyone off so we can do the reboot. You need to know we fully expect your ass back on board; I'm just keeping the seat warm for you… To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield..." Ashley smiled at the sleepy commander. "Don't think too hard; it's the last line of Tennyson's monologue 'Ulysses.' I'll see you soon, Shepard."

Moments later, Shepard's eyes drifted closed no matter _how_ hard she tried to mount a defense against the encroaching exhaustion; she wanted to spend time with her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ , but it was not to be.

* * *

Leaving Liara and a sleeping Shepard alone in the room after Ashley left, Miranda went in search of Dr Chakwas. Finding her just down the hallway, Miranda smirked, "Well, _that_ was interesting." Looking at Karin's puzzled expression, Miranda described Liara's rapid-fire outburst and they both ended up chuckling softly. It wasn't very often they saw the cool, collected, Dr T'Soni lose control, though they concurred the last couple of weeks just may have been extenuating circumstances. They sat down on a bench in the hallway and began their discussion in earnest, regarding Shepard's current health and her path to recovery. When they finished and Miranda returned to the room with Karin, Liara was still in the chair next to Shepard's bed. However, her head was now on Sam's shoulder, her left arm tucked under the pillow and her right arm bent with her hand gripping Sam's right bicep. Miranda smiled wistfully, realizing she was looking at two people very much in love... and very much sound _asleep_ , comforted solely by each other's continued existence.

Karin grimaced. "She's going to get a horrible crick in her neck, sleeping like that."

Knowing it would probably take another Reaper invasion to get Liara out of that room, Miranda gestured for them to return to the anteroom where she quickly pointed out the bed they had arranged for Aethyta. "You're absolutely right. Liara is going to need something better than a _chair_ to sleep in, so we'll move the extra bed back into the room for her. We only moved it out for the day to make more space in the room, anticipating several visitors. I should have, but I didn't think about Liara wanting to sleep in the room with Shepard... and Riana certainly doesn't need two beds in _here_."

Riana roused Liara so Karin and Miranda could roll the bed into the room and then bashfully queried as to the status of Samantha Traynor. Liara's eyes lit with understanding and a broad smile split her face. "Go, Riana! My request to you was unfair... making you leave the Normandy under such conditions... yet you performed your assigned duties without hesitation. I can never repay you for bringing Samantha back safely to me... but I can certainly _start_ by releasing you to go visit your _own_ Samantha." When Riana didn't move, Liara gripped her shoulder and turned her toward the door, giving her a gentle push. With a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face, she jested, "Traynor is waiting for you, I am sure of it... Do I need to _order_ you to the Normandy?"

Riana turned back and closed the distance, hugging Liara tightly. "I thank the Goddess every _day_ that I got there in time to save Shepard, Mistress. You have been kind, generous, loving... and a friend before master, _always_. It is still, as it has always been, my pleasure to serve you." Much to Liara's surprise, Riana bowed before turning and practically running from the room.

In her drug-induced exhaustion, Samantha managed to sleep through the whole process of getting the extra bed in place and Liara once more making herself comfortable... after which, Miranda and Karin returned to the access control point to find Hannah still waiting for her turn to visit. They quickly explained what they had done and sent her down the hall to the room, with the full knowledge that the 'kids' were most likely sound asleep. She walked in and smiled at her daughter; tears of joy and relief trickled down her face as she eased quietly across the room to approach the side opposite from where they had placed the bed for Liara. Samantha was pale, but looked _content_ , and Hannah assumed the presence of the Asari currently using her shoulder as a pillow probably had a lot to do with the smile that played on the sleeping woman's lips.

Green eyes suddenly blinked and the smile broadened before Sam whispered softly, " _Mom_! Sorry I was sleeping. How long have you been standing there?"

Hannah smiled back at her and ran her fingers through Sam's tousled hair, whispering in response, "I just walked in, kiddo. Mighty disrespectful of you to be lying about... instead of being up, in uniform and saluting like you're supposed to. You look like death warmed over."

Shepard couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of her mother's statements, bouncing Liara's head and waking the lightly dozing Asari. As Liara sat up and gave them a somewhat dazed look, Shepard shook her head and muttered, "Just like you, Admiral. Coming late to the party and stepping over us to take all the credit. You're in the wrong uniform to have a damned _medal_ pinned to your chest."

Hannah's eyes twinkled with merriment at the familiar banter, but she didn't have the heart to let it continue, swiftly moving on to more private matters... to say the things she had feared she may never have the chance to say again, face-to-face. "I _love_ you, Sam." Her eyes drifted affectionately over Liara before she refocused on her daughter and continued, "You have no _idea_ what it meant to us to find you survived the firing of the Crucible and were here in London, recovering under the care of none other than Miranda Lawson. If you couldn't have Karin, she's the only other one we'd honestly trust you to."

"Yeah. Though, I think I honestly owe _Liara_ for another save." Sam smirked at Liara's look of confusion. "Don't be so coy, T'Soni. If you hadn't ordered Riana to follow me, I would have _died_ on the Citadel; no question. _She_ had to save my ass before Miranda could." Shepard reached over and tried to smooth the worry from Liara's face as it twisted with emotional pain at the thought of such an outcome. "Hey. None of that, now. Your First kept it from happening, Blue, so no tears. Not today. _Today_ , we're _happy_... because we're all back together again with our whole lives ahead of us."

"That's a fact... and in the larger scheme of things, it's chiefly because of _you_. I am so _proud_ of you, Sam; your father would be bursting at the seams." Hannah then sighed dejectedly. "I refused to do _anything_ before I had the chance to come see you, but now... duty calls. Admiral Hackett has appointed me the Liaison for Interspecies Coordination for Post-War Recovery and, now with everyone back in Sol, the job begins in earnest. The one advantage is that I get to work with Sharon Culver!" She leaned over and kissed Sam softly on the forehead. "I'll drop by again tomorrow... and I'll be bearing gifts. Both of you certainly know how to get in touch, so call me if you need _anything_."

"See you tomorrow, then... And Mom?" Shepard smiled softly as she waited for Hannah to look back one last time. "I love you, too. Thanks for coming by."

"Any time, Kiddo." Hannah winked and smiled. "Let's see if you're still saying that after I pester you _constantly_ until you escape this joint. I'll see you later."

Next in line to visit was a somewhat overly eager matriarch, who pulled up short when she saw who came out of the room. "You must be Hannah Shepard. She looks a lot like you... only... taller." A blue hand shot out, Human style, and Hannah took it hesitantly, having no clue as to the identity of the person before her. "Matriarch Aethyta. I'm Liara's father."

Hannah's eyes lit in understanding. "Oh! How _wonderful_! I imagine you're as eager to see _your_ girl as I was to see _mine_ , so I won't keep you. They both know how to reach me, so just ask them for my contact information. I'd love to get to know you!"

Aethyta glanced down the hall toward the room as she answered, "I'll do that."

Hannah sensed the matriarch's hesitancy and her voice grew somber for a moment. "There were a few _dark_ times, when Liara spoke of fearing that she wouldn't have the opportunity to truly get to know you. It was difficult for her to speak of it, so I'm sure she's eagerly awaiting your arrival. She _wants_ you in her life, Aethyta." Hannah's smile returned and she prodded one more time, "Go. She'll be thrilled to see you."

Aethyta shot a brief smile of thanks before dropping her hand and heading off to the room. She wasn't surprised to find no one in the anteroom, seeing as the hospital now had multiple guards standing at the main entrance because of the size of the growing crowd... and she also knew that Riana had been _very_ eager to get to the Normandy to see a certain someone. Seeing as Hannah had only recently left, Aethyta _was_ surprised to find Liara stretched out next to Shepard, seemingly sound asleep with her head on Sam's right shoulder.

A reflective smile crossed the matriarch's face as she paused to silently take in the view, understanding that Liara obviously needed the rest. Her daughter's face was thin, giving the impression that she had lost a bit of weight, but _that_ didn't surprise Aethyta either; they _all_ had over the course of the damned war. Never knowing how long the war would last or when they'd have a chance to hunt again, those on Thessia had operated on minimum rations. Though thin, Liara _glowed_ with contentment, as did _Shepard_... A rather drastic change for the better which Aethyta reasoned to be a response to their reunion. _They must've refreshed the link_. She approached the bed and reached out, running her fingers soothingly across the top of her daughter's crests. _Goddess. I've never once had the chance to do that with Liara... not once._

Liara drew in a deep breath and yawned, squeezing her eyes closed tight before blinking and cracking them open. It took a moment for her to absorb her surroundings and realize Shepard was not awake... and _not_ the one gently caressing her head. Thinking possibly that Hannah had returned, she turned slowly, so as to not disturb Samantha, in an attempt to look at who was behind her and she practically fell out of the bed in her sudden haste to get up. "By the _Goddess_! Dad!" She finally found her feet and surged forward into a crushing hug with her father.

It took Aethyta a moment to get over her surprise, but she chuckled softly and happily returned the embrace. "Good to see you too, Liara."

Caught up in their own reunion, they failed to notice Shepard wake up to watch them, a look of satisfaction slowly settling over her face as she listened to their excited babble. After the rudimentary elements of the last six months had been exchanged, Aethyta finally glanced over Liara's shoulder and let out a hoarse chuckle. "I suddenly feel like one of your laboratory experiments."

Liara frowned in confusion and looked around, following her father's gaze as she started to speak. "Lab experiment? I don't work in a lab..." A bashful smile erupted on her face when she discovered Shepard observing them with keen interest, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and not the slightest bit repentant for eavesdropping on their conversation.

"You two just carry on. Don't let my listening in stop the information flow; I've learned more about the end of the war in the last seven minutes than I have in the last two weeks." She had initially smiled back at Liara, but her contentment turned suddenly resentful. "Nobody would tell me _anything_! They were all afraid I was so mentally _fragile_ that bad news would affect my recovery. No one would talk to me about it, always diverting the conversation to other... _less stressful_... topics. I finally gave up and quit asking because all it did was piss me off."

Aethyta scowled and moved closer to the bed. "Why didn't you ask _me_ , you _idiot_? I would have told you what was going on!"

"Yeah," Shepard grumped. "And then my two information censors would have stormed in and thrown you out... and you'd never get past the screening area again, all because you _upset_ me and raised my heart rate and blood pressure. I _already_ slept away two years of my life on a damned Cerberus table... I'm not ready to repeat that experience because someone thinks I'm not ready to deal with the aftereffects of the war and keeps sedating me!"

Liara's brow knit in consternation. "Shepard? _Please_ do not take this the wrong way... because I am simply confused. But, that seems rather... out of character... for Miranda. Are you sure that's truly what was happening?"

Shepard's eyes narrowed and locked onto Liara's face. "Oh, it _happened_ , Li. Miranda hushed me any time I started to talk about it... and the very first day after my surgery, I was speaking with Garrus when she and Chloe stormed into the ICU, yelled at Garrus and pushed sedatives into my system before I could tell them not too." Shepard growled, "Even _Riana_ was directed to give me only good news... constantly steering conversation to positive crap and words about my excellent recovery." She shook her head in disgust as she finished, "It was a fucking _war_ and I'm a damned _soldier_! I know the reports won't be all sunshine and rainbows, for Gods' sake!"

While she groused, Liara returned to the bed and took Shepard's hand, sharing in her indignation. It became quickly obvious that when they renewed the link, they were both caught up in the excitement of the reunion... and other things were missed. The link _now_ told Liara everything she needed to know, but also made her curious as to Miranda's rationale. "I'm sure she had her reasons, Sam, and I promise to find out for you..." Liara paused and smiled gently, squeezing her hand in reassurance. _{She was probably being over protective. She loves you, you know.}_ There was a time when that thought would have made Liara terribly insecure and jealous... but she knew Miranda loved Judea with all her heart and, with the link, she _certainly_ had no reason for doubts; Liara was confident that Shepard was devoted to her and her alone.

Shepard sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly before giving Liara a small answering smile. "I know, Li, but I was the damned mission _commander_. I have a right to know what _happened..._ and she _purposely_ worked to keep it from me."

Aethyta couldn't know what was said through the link, but was able to fill in the blanks well enough to move on. "Well. Fuck _that_." Aethyta smirked. "Tell you what. I'll message Nayla and have her bring dinner for _all_ of us tonight and we'll sit right here and eat. Ask away, Shepard. What do you want to know?"

* * *

The end of visiting hours couldn't come fast enough for Miranda Lawson. She had given rounds over to Chloe Michel, finding she needed to park herself at the entrance to the ward to help direct traffic... or, more appropriately, _divert_ traffic... away from the Commander. With the relays coming back on line and the Normandy's return, it seemed like _everyone_ suddenly wanted to visit or drop off some token of appreciation for their hero. Miranda finally got some assistance from a somewhat unexpected source as the snarl of a Krogan Warlord echoed up the corridor. "What part of _restricted_ _visitor list_ do you not understand? Now get out of my way before I trample you, because I _am_ on the list and want to see my commander and clan mate!"

The crowd parted as a grumpy Urdnot Wrex made his way 'not so carefully' to the entry point, his swinging arms and huge bulk knocking a number of non-relenting fans from their feet and sending even more scurrying to get out of his way. When he reached the bioscanner, he turned and glared at the remaining, but dwindling, crowd. He growled, "Don't _be_ here when I leave, because I'm going to take every last one of you with me as I go... awake, unconscious... or _dead_ if need be! But when I'm done, you'll _all_ be gone and Shepard will have some _peace_!"

When no one moved, he took only a single step forward before the crowd broke and ran back down the hallway, looking for any available exit to get them off the floor and away from the raging Krogan. As the last one vanished through the exits, he spun back and flashed a toothy grin at Miranda. "Bunch of squishy good for nothings!"

At first, Miranda had been afraid that he'd actually do it, but when Wrex turned his grin on her, she simply started to laugh. "Oh my _God_ , Wrex! That was _beautiful_!" She shook her head and continued to smirk as she queried, "I assume you're here to see Shepard?"

"Heh. Yeah... and that sweet little blue one I'm sure is at her side, too. With the Normandy back, I can't imagine she'd be anywhere else."

"Of course she is. I'm actually surprised it's taken you _this_ long to get in to see Shepard. She was wondering where you were... until we informed her the Krogan were heavily involved in the rescue efforts."

"Yup. And now that the fleets are back, they don't need us anymore. They have all their anti-grav lifters and a lot more personnel. Nothing but a bunch of sandworms crawling all over one another; no room for us out there. I'm afraid we'd hurt someone and all Hell would break loose."

Miranda patted his arm and smiled, "Wrex! You know we'll _always_ make room for _you_. Now, get yourself in there to say hello. Both Liara and Aethyta are already there... and the limit is two visitors at a time... so, technically, I shouldn't let you in. Be polite or I'll throw you out."

"Hey. When am I ever _not_ polite?" He flashed another quick grin. Miranda didn't even bother with a reply as he proceeded to stroll up the hallway.

He was met at the outer doorway by a smiling Liara. " _Wrex_. It's so good to see you! Come in, _please_! Shepard has been asking about you... and I'm pretty sure the entire floor heard your arrival, so she sent me to fetch you before you actually acted on your threats."

Wrex's eyes flashed with humor and he nodded. "Good to see you, too, Liara. How is she?"

"Eager to finally _see_ you, Clan Chief!" Wrex looked toward the bed where Shepard sat propped up with a dinner tray in front of her. After Shepard heard the Krogan's voice down the hall and asked Liara to go corral him, Aethyta had stood and placed herself protectively close to the bed.

"You have your own bodyguard now, Shepard, in addition to Riana?" Wrex stopped and gave the unknown Asari the once over before continuing, "A matriarch. Worthy of you, I'm sure. You would never keep someone weak at your side."

Shepard started to chuckle and made the introductions. "No bodyguard, Wrex. Meet Matriarch Aethyta... Our Thessian agent, Liara's father... _and_ the source of her one-quarter Krogan, so be nice to her or she just might kick your ass." Shepard's eyes shifted to the gradually relaxing matriarch. "Aethyta? Urdnot Wrex, trusted friend, Battlemaster and Clan Chief."


	9. Starting Over

Notes:

 _Forilia Veridium_ – A dextro wine (Source: CDN)

 _Gráim thú_ \- I love you (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Kena sa'ki_ : literally "the heart of evil", a term commonly applied to Omega (Thessian)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Olorae_ – eggs from P'terizur, a large Turian raptor w/4 meter wingspan, ostrich-sized body (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

 _Panis_ – Turian flatbread; unleavened (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

 _Phasela_ – Turian squash resembling zucchini (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator. Instantaneous point-to-point secure communications device; cannot be intercepted between source and destination

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

 _Verrat seputus -_ Verrat (pork), Palma juice and hot sauce with spices. Turian comfort food (Source: CDN)

 _Villi_ – Small Turian reptilian pack predator, the size of a wild turkey (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

* * *

 **Starting Over**

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Headquarters, London**

Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau was attempting to work through a pre-shutdown checklist for the Normandy, in anticipation of rebooting the ship's computer controlled systems from the backup drive in the core compartment on deck three. He was anxious to have Edi operational again after her emergency shutdown just after reaching Arcturus, but he wasn't going to rush the process only to end up frying half the ship's systems on startup. For a ship as complicated and cutting edge as the Normandy, it wasn't as simple as walking up to the conduit and box where the power originated and moving a lever to the ' _OFF'_ position – every sub-system on the ship needed to be correctly shut down while the ship still had auxiliary power available.

He was just beginning to compose a message to Liara T'Soni requesting that she return to shut down all the Broker systems when a cheery voice sounded from the portside airlock: "Permission to come aboard?" As Jeff spun his chair towards the sound, a beaming Riana Iregos leaned around the bulkhead to say hello; her smile quickly faded when she saw an apparently dead Edi strapped into the copilot's seat next to Joker. She moved into the rear of the bridge as she looked at the immobile Synthetic. "By the Goddess, Lieutenant! Why is Edi still up here?"

Joker glanced at his copilot briefly as he explained what she had done immediately before the red wave washed through the ship. "She somehow sensed what was coming and shut down to prevent any damage to her internal circuitry. I expect there's lots and lots of Reaper tech buried in that wonderfully attractive platform. I'm in the process of shutting down the Normandy's sub-systems before I reboot the computers from the backup drive." Looking at Edi again, he added wistfully, "It seemed best just to leave her strapped in that seat… she's _really_ heavy."

Smiling up at Riana, he added, "I was getting ready to send a message to Dr T'Soni to ask her to return to the ship in order to shut down the Broker systems in your compartment, but now that _you're_ here, I'm guessing you can take care of that for her."

"Of course… I'll be happy to do so. But… actually…"

Joker, despite being isolated from the rest of the ship and crew by his position here on the bridge, was exceedingly well-informed about… well, nearly everything involving the personal lives of the crew – Riana was no exception. "… actually," he finished for her, "you really only came here to say hello to Specialist Traynor, correct?"

The slight blush that appeared on the commando's cheeks, accompanied by a shy smile, was all the answer Joker needed. "She's in the War Room, shutting down systems in there and in the QEC compartment," he said. His expression took on a smirking grin as he added, "You know, I bet she could use a hand back there. Might get it done faster with two of you back there; then she could help you in the Broker's office."

Riana quickly thanked the snarky pilot as she turned and made her way through the tactical passageway. Joker admiringly watched her departure for a few moments before keying on comms in the War Room. "Hey Traynor… there's a visitor coming your way. Might be best if you meet before the checkpoint…"

Traynor cursed silently to herself at the unwelcome interruption as she responded, "Will do, LT." Walking around the circular plot display to the exit, she moved past the Conference Room and was at the War Room side of the checkpoint when she saw the far hatch open and Riana enter the passageway. Sammi reversed her opinion and offered up a silent _'thanks'_ to Joker for calling her out. As their eyes locked, tears of absolute joy filled the specialist's eyes; she had contemplated all sorts of horrific ways the commando might be injured or killed from the time she'd left the hanger during the emergency evac until after the red wave had washed over the ship, and now, Riana was here, standing _safely_ before her.

Schooling her expression as best as she was able, Traynor rapidly closed the distance between them as she opened her arms wide, giving little thought to Riana's recent injuries in her excitement. Sammi enveloped the Asari in a passionate embrace, causing the Asari to gasp as she was pushed back a step with the force of Sammi's forward motion.

Riana's sudden intake of breath didn't go unnoticed and Traynor began to back away, her tone concerned as she quickly queried, "I heard you were _injured_ , rescuing the commander... I didn't hurt you, did I? Everything's healed now, right?"

In answer, Riana's arms came up to return the hug, pulling their bodies together as tightly as she could; she relished the first physical contact she'd had with Traynor since before the final assault on the Reapers at Earth. Her voice was earnest as she spoke to the woman who had greeted her so enthusiastically. "Sammi, I am _fine_... You simply surprised me. I am _so_ glad to see you… to know you are well! It has been a long two weeks here, waiting for news… _any_ news from the fleet, hoping everyone… hoping _you_ … were okay. Goddess, how I have missed you!"

With her chin sitting on Riana's shoulder, Sammi inhaled deeply and delighted in the now familiar tang of lemon scented leather mixed with the soothing aroma (to _her_ nose, at least) of vanilla. As she turned her head to kiss a blue cheek, Riana responded with a quiet purr of enjoyment and relaxed her arms slightly, leading Sammi to do the same and allowing them to separate just enough to look at one another; mere seconds after their eyes met, Sammi quickly cupped the Asari's face and planted her mouth on Riana's lips in a passionate kiss of renewal, as if to rediscover the love she had feared lost. Riana broke the kiss momentarily to catch her breath before returning her lips to Sammi's, the passion received from Traynor being returned with equal intensity.

When the specialist felt a sharp spike of heat charge through her core, she groaned in frustration and reluctantly lifted her mouth from Riana's. Taking a couple of deep, calming breaths as she pushed back from the Asari slightly, she touched a blue forehead with her own, whispering, "Damn it, Riana… I have _never_ known such fear in my entire life. I know you are more than capable as a warrior, and if it had been _just_ you, I would not have been so worried. But you've shown so many times your willingness to lay down your life for Liara… and by extension, Commander Shepard. When I learned of what Dr T'Soni had ordered you to do, I nearly fell apart. I don't have your skills… could _never_ do what you do, but you _need_ to know I would pick up a gun and follow you straight into Hell if you asked it of me; I am _so_ grateful you managed to rescue Shepard and somehow managed to make it back… to the Normandy… and to me."

"I am glad to be back, Sammi. I… by the Goddess, Samantha Traynor... you _must_ know how deeply I care for you. It was difficult for me as well, being away from the ship… and from you." After a much shorter follow-on kiss, Riana reluctantly released Sammi as she said, "And now, there is work we need to do in order to prep the ship for a cold restart, correct?"

"Come with me…" came the ready response. "You can assist in shutting down systems in the QEC while I finish the War Room, after which we can go the Broker's office and shut down everything in there."

* * *

With Riana's assistance, Traynor's shut down of the numerous systems in the War Room and adjacent communications compartment went relatively smoothly. The pair proceeded quickly to the elevator and moved to the Broker's office on the port side of Deck 3, carefully checking that the latest backups had finished before shutting down each system in a pre-ordered sequence.

They had almost completed closing everything down when the ship's comm came alive with the voice of Ashley Williams announcing the formal orders to shut everything down and evacuate the Normandy. Sammi looked at Riana and shyly asked, "Where have you been sleeping?"

Riana fixed Traynor with an inquisitive look as she answered, "I have been staying in the anteroom of Shepard's hospital room... and then began rotating shifts... and bunks... with the commandos that arrived aboard the T'Soni VIP-1 from the estate. By Matriarch Aethyta's command, we have _all_ been taking turns guarding the commander since their arrival. Though I was hoping tonight…" She paused as she dropped her eyes to look at the deck for a moment before returning a steady gaze to Sammi and continuing, "… that is, I _want_ to spend the night with _you_ … in _your_ quarters… if you will allow it." As Riana watched Sammi's reaction, she noticed fresh tears forming in the Human's eyes. Taking the few steps to stand in front of her, Riana gently wiped the tears away as they trickled down her cheeks and was instantly repaid by a tentative smile.

"I'd like that… _very much_ , Riana. We can have dinner together, talk about our experiences during the past weeks... though I expect _yours_ were much more interesting than _mine_. I want to hear all about your rescue of Commander Shepard. I want to…" Traynor abruptly paused, momentarily placing the palm of her hand across her mouth to stop her rambling. With a small shake of her head she looked the Asari directly in the eyes as she finished with, "Your absence revealed one thing to me, above all else. I am ass over tit in love with you, Riana Iregos."

Riana's face turned a slightly deeper shade of blue as she refocused on her work and shut down the final terminal before turning toward the Human who had just stated a rather resolute proclamation of love. Traynor was obviously concerned by Riana's hesitation, so the Asari spoke quietly, her voice steady, to allay the woman's fears. "Sammi. It has been not even seven months that we have known each other in this way... and Ryati is always still at the back of my mind... but just that... at the back. You have awakened within me feelings I expected to be much longer in forming, but with the uncertainty of the war now behind us, I believe I will finally be able to move forward and truly explore the possibilities between us."

An answering shy grin split the face of Samantha Traynor as she held out her hand to the Asari. "I _do_ want you to spend the night with me, Riana Iregos. I… want to explore every centimeter of you, body and soul. So much so, that I haven't thought of much else since the moment I saw you enter the checkpoint." Leaning in, she planted a quick kiss on a luscious pair of lips before adding, "Grab some clothes. I already have most of my gear in my temporary quarters. Supplies are a bit scarce at the store on base, so if you have it here on the ship, bring it with you."

Riana packed fresh clothes for herself in a backpack before going to the supply sergeant to pull two sets of leathers each for Lieutenant Kurin and Specialist Cayla from the ship's stores; last time they had talked, Cayla had bemoaned the lack of any Asari clothing on the Alliance base, but Riana didn't have the access codes for their personal lockers. As Ashley repeated her ship wide announcement to evacuate the Normandy, Riana rejoined Sammi, who grabbed her hand, led the way up to the Bridge and told Joker, "Everything in the War Room, QEC compartment and the Broker's office has been backed up and shut down. We'll be in base housing if we're needed."

Riana added a commanding, "You _won't_ need Specialist Traynor before midday tomorrow at the earliest…" an ethereal wave of blue energy appeared momentarily around the commando's upper body as she finished with, "… _will_ you, Flight Lieutenant?"

Joker almost said what he was thinking, but a look from Riana was more than enough to halt any smart-ass remark before it passed his lips. "Of course not, Vanguard Iregos. They'll be running all their scans and the decon tomorrow, so you have a full 36 hours. Have a pleasant evening."

Traynor added, "Good luck with your system restart, Flight Lieutenant."

As the pair made their departure through the Normandy's airlock to catch a shuttle back to base, a still unrepentant Joker returned his seat to its 'forward facing' position so he could watch Riana and Traynor through the forward viewport. He grinned as his eyes followed their retreat, quietly mumbling, "Damn! Why is it Asari Commandos are the only ones running around in tight leathers? I think _Traynor's_ ass would look just as good in skin-tight pants."

"Was that a _sexist_ comment I just heard, Flight Lieutenant?" To Jeff's horror, Lieutenant Commander Williams was nonchalantly leaning in the doorway behind him, arms casually crossed under her chest and a single eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"Ahh, no Ma'am!" _Specialist Traynor's ass_ _ **would**_ _look good in Asari leathers! As would_ _ **yours**_ _, Ma'am!_ Thinking he couldn't get any deeper into trouble than he already was, he simply shrugged and grinned. "Just a statement of fact, Ma'am!"

Ashley had been around the snarky pilot so long, _nothing_ he said would surprise her. "Just finish the shutdown so we can get outta here, Joker." Ashley's expression as she looked at Joker left no doubt in his mind she knew _exactly_ what he was thinking. _Today is probably_ _ **not**_ _a good day to play poker... with anyone!_

"Aye-aye, Ma'am. Completing shutdown."

* * *

 **Alliance Dorms, Earth, Sol**

The duo stopped by the Asari dorms first in order to unburden themselves of the spare leathers Riana had brought for Lieutenant Liessa Kurin and Specialist Cayla Thaus. Once they reached the Alliance housing area, Traynor led the way to her room and unlocked and opened the door. Waving Riana in ahead of her, she said, "I forgot to mention I share this place with three other people."

The Asari quickly looked at Traynor with a mixture of curiosity and worry. "I thought you had private quarters, Sammi."

Traynor chuckled, closed and locked the door, then proceeded into the central 'living' area. "Housing space is at a premium down here, and will be even more dire once the evacuation of the Citadel is underway." Leading Riana towards one of several doors around the perimeter of the room, she continued, "This place used to be a college dorm… er, dormitory. In addition to this area, there are two bathrooms, shared by two people each, and four private bedrooms."

Stopping in front of one door, she entered a code in her omnitool; the door responded by unlatching to allow entry – additionally, Riana's omnitool lit up momentarily as it received the entry code. "The doors auto close, latch and lock when one leaves. Kinda annoying if all I have to do is take a leak, but that's how they're programmed."

"Who else is in this… dormitory… with you, Sammi?"

"Oh! That's the best part… I'm sharing with the Normandy engineers – Donnelly and Daniels, and Corporal Sarah Campbell."

"Sarah's staying here? That's wonderful!" Riana preceded Traynor into her small bedroom, noting it had just a bit more space than her own quarters in the Broker's office on the Normandy.

She turned as an unexpected hand gently gripped her upper arm. "Not a lot of room to run in here – think you'll be comfortable tonight?"

"Oh, I'm not going to be doing any running in here, Samantha Traynor… and neither are you."

Traynor's soul soared as she drew the object of her love towards her. A quick kiss, then a husky, "Come on, then. Let's get something to eat while we still can; I don't intend to open that door for anything once we're back for the evening."

Riana quickly hugged Sammi as she returned the kiss. Eyes glittering with suppressed desire, she turned the specialist towards the door and whispered, "Go."

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

"Your father was Krogan, huh?" Wrex actually smiled. "Good for you."

Aethyta excused him for his ignorance of her history and how her parents had killed one another over a stupid argument concerning the Krogan Rebellions, simply responding, "If you say so." She moved back to the table and sat down, listening as Shepard gave him the condensed version of the story. "Well, shit. Sorry, Aethyta... Tough break. Didn't mean any offense."

She simply grunted, "None taken," in response as she resumed eating her dinner, leaving the friends to talk and get caught up.

Unaware of the previous discussion regarding Miranda and the limitations she had placed on everyone, Wrex jumped in with both feet, regaling Shepard with stories of the battle, which she returned in kind, relieved to be treated like a soldier again instead of an invalid. She also continued to eat, finishing her dinner while they talked, Liara at her side, comforting her as best as she could whenever Wrex talked of the dead. He finally pinned her with his beady, red-eyed stare. "What about you, Shepard? Lots of questions regarding what the Hell happened up on that station after you disappeared into that beam."

Shepard's face turned into a stone mask as she dropped her fork onto her plate and pushed the tray away. She glanced at Liara as thoughts flew between them. _{I don't know if I am ready to talk about this, but...}_

Liara's hand was resting on Shepard's thigh and she squeezed it reassuringly. _{It will be fine, Siame; tell your story. If you haven't told anyone but_ _ **me**_ _after two weeks' time, it is well past due for it to come out. You need to let it go... and I am here to help you through it, Love.}_

Shepard felt love and reassurance flood through the link, so she took a deep breath and began. Tears trickled down both her and Liara's faces from the shared pain and agony of Harbinger's blast and the remaining trip to the beam. As Shepard went over the part of the story regarding Maya Brooks, Liara barely managed to restrain herself from flaring her biotics in anger, still tormented by the mere _idea_ of the assassin's presence so close to her loved one, even though Shepard had calmed her fears and anger the first time through the story, when they had renewed their link earlier in the day. _{She could have killed_ _ **you**_ _just as_ _ **easily**_ _, Samantha!}_

"I really don't know why she did what she did. Riana thinks it was because Brooks decided I was our last hope at firing the Crucible... but I have no way to judge the accuracy of her assumption." Shepard shrugged and closed her eyes as tears ran more plentifully down her face. "I only wish... I wish she had killed TIM _sooner..._ " In that moment, Shepard made a decision she was not going to hide _anything_ of what happened from those present. "... before he used the Reaper tech to _control_ me and made me _shoot_ David Anderson."

The words flowed from Shepard's mouth in a rush, before she thought too hard on the subject and changed her mind. Aethyta's dishes rattled as she pushed herself up quickly from the table, her hands aglow with biotics. "What the _fuck_?" Wrex grumbled in anger, knowing how much Anderson meant to Shepard, but he didn't have a chance to say anything before Aethyta's face twisted with loathing as she exclaimed, "That _kena sa'ki_! It is a good thing he's already _dead_ ; it saves _me_ the trouble of hunting him down and completing the task!"

"You'd have to beat _me_ to it," Wrex growled.

Liara couldn't keep from chuckling softly at the level of righteous anger being displayed on Shepard's behalf. As Wrex and her father looked at her in astonishment, wondering how she could be laughing instead of outraged, Shepard smiled and explained. "I think we'd have a whole posse. My mother and Ashley Williams apparently had the same reaction toward the man, though for a different reason we haven't even explained to you yet. And, I imagine, it's probably safe to say _every_ person on the Normandy would be happy to take on the mission of finding him if it were necessary."

By the time they were done explaining the additional issue of the kill-switch built into Shepard's amp and how Miranda was working on building a completely new replacement, just to be safe, the commander was visibly tired, both physically and emotionally. Aethyta stood and stretched before pointing at Wrex. "You. Out. We're done for tonight; Shepard and Liara need their rest."

He stood and stared at her, "And what about you?" Wrex's question had the tone of a petulant child. "Why do you get to stay?"

"I don't. I follow you out, secure the door and sleep on that outer cot as first defender."

"Hrmph," Wrex grunted before shifting his focus to Shepard. "You get well, Shepard. The _war_ may be over, but the galaxy needs you to keep this victory we have won from destroying us all. The euphoria of conquest will only last so long before people start killing each other to survive the aftermath. Trust me. I know."

Shepard's face looked troubled for only a moment before she spoke, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Gee. _Thanks_ , Wrex. I'd hate to have too much time to actually _enjoy_ our success. An extended peace would leave all us poor soldiers unemployed."

"I knew _you'd_ understand, Shepard." Wrex tossed out one last toothy grin before stepping out the door and disappearing down the hallway.

Aethyta looked back at the tired couple and directed, "You two get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, but if you need something before then, you know where to find me." She quietly pulled the door shut and Shepard and Liara _finally_ found themselves in solitude.

Liara blew out a heavy breath before collapsing back against her side of the double bed. "Thank the _Goddess_! I thought they'd _never_ leave us alone!"

Shepard chuckled softly and ran her fingers down the outside of Liara's arm. "I knew they'd have to eventually. Visiting hours are over." Liara glanced her way and was instantly captured by penetrating green eyes.

Hearing the silent request through the link, she sat back up and swung a leg over, arranging herself to sit astraddle Shepard's lap before leaning forward. She placed her elbows against the back of the raised bed and crossed her arms over Sam's head, tipping her head down until their foreheads touched, her fingertips playing casually in auburn hair. Eyes closed, they simply enjoyed the physical connection... the warmth... purely from being close. Liara whispered softly, "Goddess, how I've _missed_ you."

"I've missed you, too, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _._ Every day was a torment, not knowing if you were alright once I left you behind. I am _so_ sorry I had to do that to you." Shepard's hands sat on Liara's waist and used the Asari's thighs and hips as rests, but didn't stay there long.

A rapid intake of breath later, Liara groaned as Shepard's fingers sought out skin beneath the Asari's shirt and threatened to sneak rearward into the folds of Liara's lower back. "I don't believe you are _well_ enough for that, Commander, _however_ much we may long for one another at the moment."

"I am most definitely _not_. Not for what _you're_ thinking, anyway... but that doesn't mean I can't take pleasure in the feel of your skin under my hands..." Shepard tipped her head and gently latched her teeth onto one of Liara's neck folds, pushing her tongue deeply into a crease. _{... or the quickening of your pulse under my tongue.}_

Liara's body shuddered as she breathed, "Oh, dearest _Goddess_!" into the air of the otherwise silent room. Unable to stop the physical reaction, she squirmed with an uncontrollable surge of desire as Shepard slid her fingertips into the sensitive folds of her lower back, carefully triggering the central erogenous zone Sam had always found so easy to locate, to both Liara's dismay _and_ her pleasure... with pleasure undoubtedly winning out in the end. She protested quietly, "Samantha! We _can't_!" even as her core slicked with the wetness of growing arousal.

As Liara's body responded to her continued loving ministrations, Shepard eventually released the neck folds to whisper softly, "I _need_ you, Blue. I've missed you; please, let me in."

Defenseless against such a plea from the woman she loved so dearly, Liara simply let the link fall open as she closed her eyes and whispered softly, "Goddess forgive me, but _yes_ , _Siame_. I am yours."

Shepard was intimately familiar with all the Asari's trigger points and the dire circumstances behind their separation only served to heighten the emotional reunion. Even knowing she should not, Liara gave herself over completely as Samantha reveled in the responsiveness of her lover. Liara was close to the edge when she heard the uniquely Shepard, old-world Gaelic roll off her lover's tongue. " _Gráim thú, mo cheann geallta._ "

The emotions that flowed through the link provided the perfect accompaniment to the silky voice purring in her ear and Liara abruptly tipped over the peak. Her hands gripped tightly onto the top of the bed and she buried her face in Shepard's neck in an attempt to muffle her cries as her entire body convulsed in sweet release... and she expanded the link again, to a full meld, without conscious intention or warning, and merged _completely_ with Samantha's soul.

As thoughts, emotions and physical sensations collided, their minds jumped to the higher plain of _Inanna_ , even as Shepard felt her entire abdominal area spasm and contract with a shared... and absolutely _magnificent_... orgasm. Shepard felt her newly reassembled muscles strain... and at least a couple pulled as she grunted with the pain that accompanied the glorious sensation. A horrified Liara withdrew without delay, immediately apologizing. _{By the Goddess! Siame! I am so sorry! The last thing I wanted was to_ _ **harm**_ _you! I knew you were not ready!}_

At first, she was confused by Samantha's pained laughter, until the commander whispered softly in her ear. "Don't worry about it, Li... because I don't _care_ if it hurts. That was _sooo_ worth it!" Shepard smiled and pulled Liara close to her once more. "Come. Join with me again and I'll explain."

Liara laid a hand gently against Shepard's tender abdomen, her voice laced with concern. "But what of the _pain_ our union caused you?"

"It's nothing the nanites won't fix overnight, Liara." Shepard toggled both remotes to return their beds to the fully horizontal position for the night. "Now, come on. I need to feel your weight against me and have your mind in mine. I've _missed_ you, Blue."

In the outer room, a half-asleep Aethyta bolted upright in the bed before springing to her feet. She listened intently to determine what it was that had woken her... and a grin slowly spread across her face in recognition. She chuckled softly to herself and crawled back into bed, pulling the pillow quickly over her head as she made a silent vow to herself. _As much as I_ _ **love**_ _to tease you about sex, Liara, that's one you will never know I heard._

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Earth Orbit, Sol**

Studying several reports on the datapad she was carrying, Desis Vyessan had her head down while walking slowly down a passageway towards her new office in what was now the temporary Turian Embassy. With the mass evacuation of the remaining Citadel population well underway, it was difficult to make any type of estimate on when, or if, they would ever be able to return to their old offices. The consensus among the three members of the Galactic Council ( _… not calling it the_ _ **Citadel**_ _Council, with the Citadel unavailable for their use…_ ), was to have Councilor Raesia Tevos present a request to Matriarch Lidanya regarding the temporary establishment of Council Headquarters aboard the Destiny Ascension, until such time as they could once more occupy permanent chambers in the Widow System.

That Turian Councilor Quentius and Salarian Councilor Valern were both in total agreement came as a bit of a surprise to Desis, until she applied a bit of Turian military logic to Quentius decision – there wasn't a single Turian dreadnaught that hadn't sustained damage during the final battle over Earth. The Salarian's had even fewer dreadnaughts than the Turians and, despite the perceived prestige of hosting the council, Desis surmised that Quentius and Valern wanted the Council on the biggest, most well-armed and guarded vessel in the combined fleets. There was also the pride factor, so while neither councilor wished to reside on a warship belonging to the other's race, the Asari vessel, by contrast, simply _felt_ right, in that the Asari had been the first space-faring race of the current cycle, and were always thought of, privately at least, as the true negotiators of the triumvirate.

It was Desis' belief that the ship would most likely travel back to the Widow System once the evacuation of the Citadel was complete – such a relocation would bring a renewed sense of normalcy to the galaxy by returning the Council to the system everyone recognized as the center of government. Widow was truly a neutral location which could equally serve the people that every councilor represented… and eliminate the perception of the Humans having unlimited access. It would also provide the Council with an opportunity to monitor the repairs to the Citadel once it was relocated from the Sol System – _if_ a move of something so huge was even possible to accomplish without the control provided by the Reapers.

She only took cursory notice that there was someone seated near her desk as she entered the outer waiting area. Closing her datapad, she set it down near two others as she turned to look at her visitor. "Garrus! My apologies for not realizing it was you when I came in. I'm just returning from a meeting and… oh, never mind." She moved to stand in front of him as he rose from the chair. "Are you here to see Councilor Quentius… or did you lose your way trying to find the Primarch's offices? The Destiny Ascension can be _extremely_ confusing if you aren't used to it!"

Garrus surprised Desis, slowly wrapping his arms around her, drawing her close as he whispered, "Spirits, Dee! I am so glad you made it off the Citadel before the Reapers closed the arms and moved it here." Garrus all but purred in happiness at being able to hold this female close. "Shepard told me you made it off the Citadel, but I really wish you had tried to contact me… hearing the news straight from you would have been…"

Desis tipped her head slightly as she pushed away a tiny bit to interrupt. "But Garrus… I did try… a number of times. With all the military traffic, especially off _this_ ship, personal messages just weren't going anywhere. A message would enter the queue for transmission, and simply stay there until the queue overloaded, at which point everything would be dumped. And that goes both ways, correct? I never saw any messages from you before we left for Arcturus."

Garrus found himself looking away from the perceptive silver-flecked violet eyes that apparently could see right through him. His flanging voice took on a hint of embarrassment as he replied, "I'm sorry to say I never sent one, Dee… there was so much going on."

Desis chuckled, her sub-harmonics adding to the amused tone. "It's not important, Garrus. I knew you were safe with Commander Shepard; turns out, you were also aware I was here on the DA so neither of us suffered unnecessary worry. And now that the Reapers have been defeated, the real work will begin."

Garrus had a sudden thought, and flared his mandibles as he asked, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Desis quickly schooled her look of surprise as she replied, "No, I haven't. You offering to buy?"

"Only if you have a place in mind that will afford us some privacy. It'll give us a chance to catch each other up on what we've been through."

Desis gently stroked one of Garrus' upper arms. "The Destiny Ascension is large enough to have a lot of amenities, for a variety of races, including Turians… Quarians as well." Activating her desktop terminal, she said, "Let me just leave a message for Councilor Quentius and we can go." When she was done, she closed her terminal and took one of Garrus' arms. "Come on, my gallant warrior. I'm hungry."

Desis steered the big Turian through several passages and one very short elevator ride to arrive at a café and restaurant area that serviced the numerous consular and diplomatic offices on the level above. Pausing in front of Tanilea's North End Café, she looked up at Garrus to say, "This is my favorite spot for lunch… one of only three completely Dextro places in this area. The restaurant a bit further along the passageway makes excellent baked _Villi,_ served with _phasela_ and _panis;_ don't ask me how they're still able to obtain _Villi_ … I expect there's some smuggling involved."

Garrus chuckled as Desis stopped just inside the door. "Smuggling would continue even if the races _weren't_ recovering from a devastating war. I suspect _most_ smugglers tried to sit out the war on their home planets... and now, with all of us focused on recovery efforts, there will be ample opportunity for those that survived. I'm sure that any greedy enough to try taking on Reapers in space lost their lives in the attempt – but, no matter the risk, as long as there's a market for something in short supply, somebody, somewhere, will attempt to fill that need."

A young Turian female in typical hostess dress appeared from behind the counter and nodded her head as she fluttered her mandibles in greeting. "Welcome back, Desis Vyessan. You haven't been here for a number of days." Turning her attention to Garrus, she asked, "And who may this handsome fellow be?"

Desis looked up at her companion as she held onto his right hand in a rather obvious show of possession. " _This_ is the Primarch's Liaison to the Systems Alliance, Garrus Vakarian." Looking back at the hostess, she concluded, "Table for two, please."

* * *

Garrus hadn't realized how hungry he really was until a tray full of baked and sliced _anserae,_ scrambled _olorae_ eggs, fried _phasela_ and several pieces of _panis,_ accompanied with a large glass of _Forilia Veridium._ Desis had chosen _Verrat seputus_ along with the wine.

As they ate, Garrus spoke mostly about Commander Shepard and how badly injured she had been prior to entering the Citadel beam. "I do not know much about human anatomy, Dee, but from what was described to me by Miranda Lawson, I feel it is a miracle she survived."

"And a very good thing Doctor T'Soni sent Riana to follow Shepard to the Citadel. It's just a real shame about Admiral Anderson… to have survived the entire war unscathed, only to be murdered by the Illusive Man.

Garrus took a sip of wine as he thought about all the ironies the conflict had presented. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "Have you any information about when... or if... the Council will return to the Citadel?"

Desis took a sip of her own wine, before carefully answering, "There's not a lot I'm free to say about that subject, even to the Primarch's Liaison, but with the Citadel failing, and being here in Sol, we have to look at other options. For the short term, the Council is speaking with Matriarch Lidanya about the likelihood of extending the Council Headquarters time aboard the Destiny Ascension. I don't really see any other choice, so I can't imagine her turning down their request. The Council will need sufficient time to come up with alternatives and then to weigh the pros and cons of whatever potential solutions they come up with."

Desis chuckled wryly as she continued. "The Asari do well as negotiators, but getting Quentius and Valern to agree even on the current time of day is a major undertaking. Agreeing on where the council should be meeting in the post-war galaxy?" She raised her hands, level with her shoulders with palms facing the ceiling in a gesture of the futility she was feeling. "The process will certainly not be fun for _anyone_ unfortunate enough to be involved."

She finished her wine with a flourish, looked at her chrono and said, "I have to get back to work, Garrus. Do you need to see Councilor Quentius while you're on the ship?"

"I only came here to spend some time with you, Dee. I can see Quentius any time I wish." Finishing his _Forilia Veridium,_ he set the glass down, dabbed at a spot of sauce on his nose plates and stood to leave. "This has been the best two hours I've spent since the end of the war! We need to do this again, real soon." Garrus took her hand as they walked to the door, pausing only long enough to swipe a credit chit through the reader, before leading Dee into the corridor.

"Stay in touch with me, Desis, okay? Pass me any information you learn concerning the state of affairs on Palaven and its colonies. I don't believe Quentius will voluntarily divulge anything, but people in his position can, and do, slip up and say things when it's least expected."

Desis looked at the big Turian a moment, then proceeded to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. "You take care down there, Garrus. I don't want anything to happen to you." She reached up and nibbled on a mandible. "Thanks for lunch, and… well, thanks, Garrus. We'll talk soon."

With that, she left for the elevator, not wanting him to see the lust in her eyes.


	10. Finding a New Normal

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

* * *

 **Finding a New Normal**

 **Alliance Dorms, Earth, Sol**

After dinner, Sammi and Riana walked hand-in-hand as they returned to the Alliance crew quarters; the distance was not great, so the mutual decision to walk there came easy for both. They had run into Sarah Campbell while selecting their meals, so sat with the corporal as she told them her tales of derring-do after Shepard left with Admiral Anderson and her ground team; she grew silent and teary-eyed when Riana told her of finding Anderson dead on the Citadel.

Traynor's attempts to cheer her up met with little success… the Admiral's death was a tragedy on many levels, not the least of which was his death at the hands of the indoctrinated Illusive Man. After seeming indestructible during the guerrilla campaign against the Reapers on Earth... to have eluded serious injury or death so many times... only to fall to a demented Cerberus agent on the Citadel when on the edge of victory, was the height of irony.

Sarah had recovered a bit of her cheery attitude by the time Riana and Traynor stood to leave. "This war cost the galaxy some of its best people, Sarah." Traynor placed her hands on the Marine's shoulders and gave a little squeeze. "But we'll get through the aftermath, together."

A wan smile and a nod of Campbell's head was all she got in reply. Everyone dealt with the death of comrades in their own way, and Traynor decided it was probably best to not push the corporal. She thought about Sarah's reaction as she and Riana walked back and entered the building, taking the elevator (a _working_ elevator… Gods be praised!) to the fourth floor.

She motioned for Riana to use the door code that she had sent to her omnitool and the door slid aside as soon as the lock turned green; Riana, closely followed by Traynor, entered the common area and moved towards Sammi's bedroom. Once inside and much to Riana's surprise, Traynor quickly stripped out of her uniform, which she carefully folded and placed on a shelf in the closet. Before Riana could utter a word, the undershirt, socks, bra and panties quickly followed, though these were placed in a hamper to be laundered. Riana tried to not stare at the nude Human in front of her as Sammi reached into the closet, grabbed and put on a knee length robe.

"I'm going to take a shower… get cleaned up. It's been a long day." Starting for the door, she added, "Make yourself at home, Riana. I won't be long." With that, Traynor was out the door – after a few minutes, the commando could hear the sound of water running through pipes and spraying a wall in what was obviously the shared bathroom.

Deciding a shower sounded like a good idea, she dug around in her pack and pulled out her scented body wash (of which 'vanilla' was only one of the many fragrances it contained), a wash cloth, towel and a short robe. After removing her boots and socks, she eased her leathers, overshirt first, followed by the pants, off her body. Taking a bit of care, she then removed her under-armor, which she carefully folded and set on her leathers.

Moving in front of the mirror, she studied the reflection looking back at her, turning this way and that as she inspected her image. Scarring from previous encounters with Cerberus centurions and Reaper spawn had been kept to a minimum, thanks in large part to Dr Chakwas aboard the Normandy. She stroked her previously injured hip and thigh with her hands, tracing what little remained of the scars one last time before looking at the newest addition... a jagged line on her second crest ridge, compliments of the final escape from the Citadel. She remembered the extreme, but brief, pain when her head struck the deck and sighed resolutely _. It kept Nara_ _ **alive**_ _to be rescued, so was worth every bit of pain I endured._ Pulling on and tying her short robe closed, she picked up her bath accessories and started for the door.

* * *

Riana had the misfortune of encountering an extremely enamored Kenneth Donnelly in the common area as she left the bathroom after her shower; the Asari was becoming irritated after multiple unsuccessful attempts to extricate herself from conversation with him when she was finally rescued by Gabriella Daniels, who sternly explained to Kenneth that the reasons for Riana being in the apartment were her own and really none of his business. Gabby then apologized profusely to Riana for what she referred to as Ken's _inquisitiveness_ , noting as she did that Donnelly nearly worshiped the female body in _all_ its many shapes and colors. That Riana was technically mono-gendered mattered not one bit to the man.

Sammi was sitting at the desk entering data on a terminal when Riana reentered the room; she raised her head in acknowledgement as the Vanguard placed her bath accessories next to her gear bag. The specialist finished her entry and closed the interface as Riana relaxed into the small chair in the corner. Rising from her desk chair, Sammi walked up to the Asari, placed her hands on the armrests and leaned down to kiss the top of her head; just before touching her lips to Riana's top crests, she noticed the jagged scar running along the top of one of her main crests.

"Oh my God… Riana? That wasn't there before!" Gently running fingertips along the crest, she asked, "Is this from the mission on the Citadel? Does it still hurt?"

Tipping her head back to look into her lovers soft brown eyes, she stretched upward to take the kiss meant for her crest. "I fell rather hard as a result of a nearby explosion while carrying the commander to safety. I twisted my body around to shield her from further harm; a concussion and fractured arm was a small enough price to pay for her protection. They are both pretty much healed now, but that crest is still a bit sensitive to touch." Riana sighed as she admitted, "I don't remember anything between hitting my head and regaining consciousness in the hospital."

Traynor brought her hands around to embrace the Asari's muscular shoulders and upper back while using her fingertips to explore through the fabric of Riana's robe; a sharp intake of breath from the object of her desire told Sammi the valley she had found between the ridges at the base of her neck was one of many Asari erogenous zones. She continued to gently stroke the area, causing Riana to squirm in her chair as she exclaimed, "By the Goddess, Sammi! Let's move to the bed where we can stretch out."

The specialist grabbed a blue hand as she moved back to allow Riana to stand… with a quick kiss on the cheek, Sammi untied her own robe then quickly undid Riana's. She backed slowly across the room and perched on the edge of the bed, watching breathlessly as the Asari removed her robe; when Riana turned to lay the robe across a chair, Sammi couldn't resist placing her hands on a pair of tightly muscled buttocks. "You're beautiful, Riana. So... sculpted, and your skin feels _amazing_ … like an exotic soft leather."

Riana was enjoying the feel of Sammi's warm hands on her bare butt, but turned and pulled Sammi to her feet before slowly pushing _her_ robe gently off her shoulders to drop behind her. As it cleared her fingertips, Riana pulled it to the side and tossed it onto the same chair where hers lay. As Riana looked over her olive skin from head to toe, Sammi colored slightly… this was the first time she'd stood nude this close to Riana, and she was unsure of what to do under such scrutiny.

As if reading her mind, Riana smiled softly and gave her a gentle push, saying, "Lie on the bed, Sammi. We have all night to explore each other." With Traynor still seemingly unable to move, Riana slipped around her and crawled far enough onto the bed that she could stretch out. Raising her arms towards the specialist, she waited patiently until Sammi followed her and slid into Riana's welcoming embrace; the Asari placed a gentle kiss on Sammi's lips while slipping a hand up between their bodies to cup and gently kneed a breast, causing an involuntary shudder as a spike of desire warmed her core.

Samantha had been preparing for the occasion beforehand, but truly experiencing the full-body contact with her living, breathing, and very _nude_ Asari was an entirely different matter than any vid research she could have possibly accomplished; nothing she had seen nor done previously had equipped her for the actual affair. _No._ _ **Affair**_ _isn't the right word... That's what I had after those parties at University. This? This is_ _ **completely**_ _different!_

As thoughts raced through her head in an attempt to define exactly what _'this'_ was, she trembled under Riana's touch, prompting the Asari to quietly question her, "Are you chilled, Sammi? Do we need to slip under the covers?"

She laughed nervously. "No, Riana... I'm _definitely_ not cold." She leaned down closer and whispered softly, "Quite the opposite, actually," before pressing her lips to Riana's. She pulled away and gasped in surprise as strong blue hands found their way down and squeezed her butt, pulling their hips tightly together. Her stomach flipped and she felt a sudden need to have pressure against certain parts of her anatomy. "Oh my God!" She blushed profusely as she stammered, "Riana... I... I need you... your thigh!"

She didn't need to say any more; Riana responded immediately and raised a leg so Sammi could straddle it, closing her eyes as she shoved against a muscular thigh to stop the sudden throb that threatened to take away all reason. As Sammi arched her back and started moving to get yet more pressure, Riana's hands shifted to her hips and, with a powerful grip, forced Traynor to back off a bit. "Slow down, Sammi... please. I want to go slowly... savor every moment."

She slowly rolled them over onto their sides and entwined their legs to give Samantha the necessary leverage to stay connected, sensing the Human's desire was burning and that she needed to maintain the pressure to keep from coming undone. Slipping off to the side was exactly what Traynor needed, as it also exposed Riana's back and provided ample opportunity for distraction; the Human's top-most hand quickly took to searching and finally sent an answering shudder through Riana's body as her fingertips found their way into the folds and crevices of her lower back.

"Gently, Sammi... The space is very sensitive; a light touch is all you need... and much more satisfying than a heavy hand." Riana hummed softly in approval as the pressure instantly eased to a tantalizing caress. "Oh, Goddess, yes. Perfect!" Traynor smiled in contentment as the Asari's eyes closed and her voice dropped to a soft, breathy whisper.

Blue hands once more returned to kneed Traynor's breasts, and Sammi gasped again when one of the hands was replaced by a moist mouth and a tongue flipped quickly across a hardening point. Sammi arched and thrust her breast forward in her pleasure, Riana answering by squeezing more firmly and taking as much of the second breast as she could into her mouth as she continued to work her tongue.

A stabbing throb ripped though Traynor's clit in response and her hips inadvertently thrust forward in desire. Riana released the tit with a wet pop and quickly raised her head to capture Samantha's lips in a passionate kiss. When they both broke to breathe, Riana whispered, "Apparently, _slow_ is not the plan for tonight. We are both too eager. Perhaps we need to take the edge off?"

At first, an embarrassed Samantha didn't understand exactly what the Asari meant until she felt a hand stroke her sex and part her hair, a single slender finger sliding across an eager clit. It sent a jolt straight to her core and she felt a jet of wet dampen Riana's fingers.

"It is as I thought." Riana's voice was silky smooth as she repositioned her hand, a slick fingertip dancing at Sammi's entrance. Her voice dropped to a sultry whisper as she stared into brown eyes, wide with a mix of trepidation and desire. "Do you want me, Sammi?" She paused only briefly before following with, "You seem... hesitant. I want you to be sure."

Traynor's breath quickened in response before she managed to squeak out, "Oh, God, yes. I just... I don't know what I'm doing, Riana. I thought I was prepared, but..."

She was silenced as Riana's mouth captured hers and blue fingers took their first dip into unknown waters. Sammi moaned in both relief and pleasure as Riana filled her; her human hands remained relatively motionless other than to clasp tightly to the Asari's sides, forgetting all about the folds and valleys they had been investigating only moments before. She briefly froze when she felt pressure at the back of her mind; once she realized what it was, she timidly opened herself and Riana moved in, attentive to Traynor's insecurities and speaking comfortingly, soul to soul.

 _{You are prepared, Amantia, more than you know; simply let me guide you.}_ Traynor was abruptly swept away by a tide of passion, where the spoken word paled in comparison to how she was suddenly able to _feel_ the Asari's base emotions. For the first time, she _truly_ understood the differences between the knowledge and mating melds Riana had tried so hard to describe.

"My God, Riana! I had no idea..." Her words faltered as her body reacted, extremely pleasantly, to the Asari's continued ministrations, riding high on the combined sensations bombarding her psyche to the brink of rapture. Able to sense Traynor's every reaction, Riana zeroed in on the most exquisite sensations, driving her lover to a quick peak on the physical side as well. When the emotional and corporeal sides collided in ecstasy, Traynor could resist no more and, incapable of uttering even a single word of warning, she surged in joyful release... only to repeat the event quickly when she felt Riana share in her bliss and follow her over the edge.

Traynor felt as if her heart was about to burst from the overwhelming sensations when they finally collapsed, almost motionless, back to the bed. She was soaked with sweat from the physical exertion and her arms fell limply to the bed as she caught her breath, her mind still reeling from the experience of a lifetime. When she could finally speak again, her voice was hoarse as she asked, "Is it _always_ like that?"

Riana rolled up on her side and propped herself up on an elbow, smiling down at Sammi in her seemingly spent state. "When two are truly in love? Yes. It can always be like that."

Traynor took a deep breath and blew it out to calm her racing heart before sitting up and shoving a surprised Riana over on her back and mounting her hips. Sammi grinned down at her lover before planting a soft kiss on the enticing blue lips beneath her. "It might kill me... I'm not sure my heart can take it... but if that's the case, I'll die a happy woman!"

As Riana prepared to mount a confused protest, Traynor kissed her again as one hand wrapped around the back of the Asari's neck, pressing expertly into the divot right at the base. Her tongue gained quick entrance to the Asari's mouth as Riana gasped in surprise, but she didn't stop there. Her other hand once more slid into the folds in Riana's lower back and the Asari arched willingly in response, mumbling through the meld. _{Goddess, Sammi! You are a fast learner!}_

Giving up the kiss in exchange for being able to breathe, Traynor smirked and answered aloud, "Apparently, a mind-to-mind transfer is much more efficient than any amount of research or even your verbal explanations could ever be, Ri." Sammi bent closer, taking a blue nipple in her mouth as Riana purred in pleasure. She cupped Riana's other breast and massaged it gently as she released the first with one last flick of her tongue. "Join with me _fully_ again, Ri. I plan on this being a _very_ educational night... for both of us."

Riana squirmed with anticipation as Samantha slid down her body, her tongue trailing across blue abdominals taut with exuberant expectations, the final destination being plainly evident in the Human's mind. _{And I look forward to a_ _ **demanding**_ _evening as well, Samantha Traynor. Very,_ _ **very**_ _demanding.}_

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

The next morning found Sharon Culver at Shepard's doorway once more, with Matriarch Aethyta sitting at the small table in the anteroom. "Aethyta! What are _you_ still doing here?"

The matriarch smiled, "Just watching over my girls. Riana had some of her own personal business to attend to, so Liara sent her to the Normandy. She should be back this afternoon... if you're looking for her. Far as I know, the Normandy will be doing a full system reboot, followed by a full-up scan and sanitization protocol, so no one will be remaining on board."

"No. I'm actually glad both you and Liara are here. I need to speak with Shepard and I think it best if she's not alone." Aethyta's brow raised in question and she stood from her chair as Sharon continued, "We retrieved Admiral Anderson's body from the Citadel."

"Shit." Aethyta glanced at the inner door in contemplation, finally looking back to Sharon. "Listen, Culver. You have no idea how right you are when you say she shouldn't be alone for that news." The matriarch went on to explain what had happened on the Citadel.

"God _damn_ it," Sharon huffed in disgust. "Shepard will suck it up and take blame for it all, and it'll tear her up on the inside, having to face Kahlee Sanders with that news."

"We can't let that happen. If you won't tell Sanders, I will." Aethyta stood firm with her feet and shoulders squared, ready for a fight.

"No. Hell no. I _know_ Sanders... Been friends with the Shepards, Dave and Kay for _years_." Sharon shook her head. "I'll be the one to explain it, and even though I know her heart will be broken by David's death, she won't be vindictive about it. She'll put the blame squarely where it belongs, on the Reapers and the Illusive Man."

"And on fucking _Maya Brooks_." Aethyta's gravelly voice carried threats well and her words sent a shiver down Sharon's spine. "That woman better not ever cross my path or I'll use my biotics to rip her intestines out... and feed 'em to her one centimeter at a time until she chokes on her own shit."

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, Aethyta." Culver shook her head in dismay at what she had to do. "So. They awake yet?"

"I honestly don't know. I figured to give them their privacy and that Liara would eventually come to the door when they got hungry." Curling her lips in distaste, she moved to the door. "But I suppose you don't have the time to just sit and wait, so business must go on."

A light rap was immediately answered, so they opened the door and peeked in. The two inside were most definitely awake, with Liara giving Shepard the last of a sponge bath. Samantha's eyes lit up when she saw who was at the door. "Sharon! Get in here! It's about time you got a proper introduction!"

Sharon walked over toward the bed and nodded politely to Liara, not bothering to extend a hand in greeting, since both of the Asari's hands were otherwise occupied with the accoutrements required for Shepard's bath. "Proper introduction, Hell. It doesn't get any more proper for a soldier than dropping out of a Tomkah with someone's Locust SMG pointed at my nose." Sharon smiled at the Asari as she continued, "Good to see you again, Liara."

"Likewise, Sharon. I was very pleased to discover you would be staying in London for awhile yet." She stroked the side of her hand gently down Shepard's arm. "It should give the two of you a chance to really talk... and perhaps plan that long vacation I keep hearing about."

Sharon's brow came up in surprise and she looked at Shepard, knowing the answer before she ever asked the question. "You told her?" As Liara turned to deposit the cloth and towel she held in her hands onto the bedside tray, Shepard's head shook a quick 'no,' hoping Liara didn't see. "Of course you didn't. You wouldn't." Sharon's eyes narrowed as she looked back at Liara. "You're a tricky one, T'Soni. Nice try, but I know Shepard won't tell you until it's time."

As her hand drifted over to gently stroke across Shepard's bare shoulders, Liara let out a soft laugh. "With the war over, I'd like to think that will be coming up _sooner_ rather than later. We'll see."

"Speaking of the war being over..." Culver's smile faded as the purpose of her visit came back to mind. "Listen, Shep. I imagine it's all still pretty raw, but I need to tell you something." Liara could tell Sharon was not bringing good news, so quickly helped Shepard slip a comfortable, loose-fitting cotton shirt over her head; Culver waited patiently and watched in silence until the duo was finished and Liara was standing almost motionless at Shepard's side.

She began as Liara slid her hand into Shepard's and their fingers intertwined. "I sent a team to the Citadel to get a status update. There are nearly two million survivors and they are being moved slowly from the station... Life support has failed and we have only a week to get everyone off."

Shepard nodded. "Should be easy enough to do with the entire fleet here; not like the passengers need to be comfortable... it's not exactly a long trip." She absorbed the somber expression on Sharon's face and continued, "But that's not what you're really here to tell me, _is_ it?"

"No, it's not." Sharon sighed softly. "We talked to Riana to find out exactly where you were on the station and... we retrieved Admiral Anderson's remains."

Liara's hand tightened on Shepard's in support. _{I am here for you, Shepard. Always.}_

Nodding slowly, Shepard took a moment to lock down her emotions and find her voice. "I... assume there's going to be a ceremony?"

"Yes. It will be sometime after the Citadel evacuation is completed, and it will be for _everyone_ we lost, not just David." Sharon shook her head as she continued, "I'm sorry, Shep. He was a Hell of a man; he'll be missed."

Tears slipped down Sam's face and she started, "Yeah, I..." but couldn't finish the sentence as her throat closed up. She swallowed and took a deep breath, feeling Liara's support flow into her, both in body and spirit. "I need to talk to Kahlee. Tell her how he died."

Both Aethyta and Culver were about to protest, but Shepard's steely-eyed glare and a hand abruptly held up in a stopping motion gave them pause, long enough for the commander to continue her thought. " _No_ , Sharon. It's alright... and I _have_ to. I fully understand I'm not at fault... that I couldn't do a damned thing about it... but it was _my hand_ that pulled the trigger. I need to explain it to Kay... _before_ she hears it from someone else." Her gaze shifted to Liara. "And I need to be out of this bed and walking to do it. I don't care if it's with a cane, but I am going to be on my feet for this, not in some damned _hover_ -chair."

Sharon frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Alright. Just as long as you admit... and tell _her_ the full story... that you were under the Illusive Man's control. I won't have you taking the blame for Anderson's death, Shep. You carry enough guilt without adding your Uncle Dave to the pile."

Surprisingly, a small smile appeared on Shepard's face and she squeezed Liara's hand. "Believe it or not, Sharon, that's actually something that's changed since way back when." She cast her eyes upward to the Asari standing at her side, her eyes full of adoration and respect as unspoken words flowed between them. "Someone showed me the error of my ways and I've learned to let some things go."

Sharon was tempted to disbelieve Shepard's words until she saw the love in Liara's eyes shining down upon the commander. The commander's focus turned back to Culver as she continued, "Liara has assisted me in _countless_ ways... but I think helping me learn how to deal with loss has been the most important. It's truly what's allowed our love and our trust in one another to grow, unfettered from the weight of _guilt_ dragging either of us down; especially with all the shit we've seen together in such a relatively short period of time. I don't even write names in my journal anymore; haven't for a while now."

The respect Culver held for Dr T'Soni jumped to a whole new level, assuming what Shepard had said was true; she had no reason to dispute it, so pressed on. "Alright. I'll take you at your word and I'll arrange for Kahlee to come see you." She paused while a frown crept onto her face. "I've also got a request from Council..."

"Absolutely not!" Culver didn't get any further before Aethyta jumped up, shouting in protest. "They've got no business demanding to see her simply because they managed to get their sorry asses back to the Sol system. I'm sure they want a full report, but they can get it from Admiral Hackett and Ambassador Osoba as soon as Shepard manages to get one together. She's on full military medical leave at this point and, from what I heard, they were _specifically_ excluded from bothering her."

Shepard started to grin as Sharon chuckled and shook her head; Culver looked at Aethyta and smiled as she tried again. "I really do _like_ you, Aethyta; I know no matter what happens, you'll have Shepard's back, but if I could please continue?"

Aethyta growled but gave a curt nod, still looking like she'd rip the colonel's head off if she dared insist that Samantha see the councilors. Sharon smiled and looked back to Shepard and Liara as she started again. "I have a request from Councilor Tevos _..._ and Huntress Tenir... for permission to make a _personal_ visit to see you, if and when you are ready."

Shepard's eyebrows went up and she glanced at Liara, who nodded in agreement after an obvious moment of silent communication. Her eyes came back down and she smiled at Aethyta before giving Sharon her answer. "If it is just Tevos and Nizia, then yes. They have afforded me unwavering support since I provided them the proof of Sovereign and the Reapers... and we've actually become _friends_ ; I would enjoy seeing them."

Liara chimed in, an apprehensive look on her face. "My only concern with such a visit is a perception of favoritism. No one will see this as a private meeting of friends with Raesia Tevos... they will see it as giving an exclusive audience to the Asari Councilor."

Aethyta scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. "You really want to see her, Shepard?"

"Yes, but Liara's right. I see one, I'll have to see them all... and there's no way I'm ready to do _that_ yet." Samantha sighed unhappily. "I want the Council to at least have my written report first, so I don't have to tell them everything... simply answering questions about all the parts the rest of them don't _believe_ will be bad enough."

Liara chuckled and gave her a gentle swat on the shoulder, while Aethyta let out a loud guffaw and sputtered, "Never mind that shit. _You_ want to see Rae and Nizia, _I'll_ take care of the details and make it happen... and _no one_ will be the wiser." Aethyta stood and looked at Culver. "Come on; time to leave the lovebirds alone for a bit so they can eat breakfast... and you and me? We're gonna go have a chat."

Once Aethyta and Culver stepped out, Liara fetched breakfast and returned to the room so she and Samantha could eat together. They were just finishing up when Hannah and Karin arrived, as promised, bearing gifts; Hannah barely even said hello on her way past the bed, opening the shades and the window, letting in light and a gentle easterly breeze, bringing in the scent of the ocean along with it... along with the distant noise of vehicles and construction, a welcome sound of recovery. She turned back toward the bed with a smile. "It's a beautiful summer day and the sun is actually shining brightly enough to burn through the haze! Joyous Alban Hefin to us all!"

"Gods! Has it really only been _two weeks_ since we won?" Shepard actually groaned in dismay at the date. "It seems much longer than that!"

Karin had stopped at Liara's side of the bed to give the Asari a soft kiss on her cheek. "While that may be so, it does not negate that the Gods have seen to give you blessings, Samantha. We have _all_ survived the war and come through it... together." She reached across and tousled Sam's hair and explained to Liara, "Alban Hefin is our celebration of the Summer Solstice... very similar to your Janiris, I do believe, though we celebrate it at the height of summer rather than at the spring equinox."

"And speaking of which..." Hannah had moved to the small corner table and was busy opening a bag she had carried in. She spoke while removing items from the small pack. "Seeing as we can't get _you_ to the coast, I have brought the _coast_ to you." She quickly set a platter on the table and, pulling out another bag from within the first, poured a healthy dose of sand and a few small shells onto the dish. She then pulled out a shallow, wide bowl and a flask, pouring water into the bowl before nestling it securely into the sand. She continued, "And I was very surprised to find these at all, but there are a few wide open fields north of here that the Reapers didn't spend any time on... Not enough population there to bother with, I suppose."

As she pulled out a very small bouquet of yellow flowers, Samantha's eyes lit with joy. "How did you possibly have time to find St John's Wort?"

"You have no _idea_ the extent to which your mother will go when she truly sets her mind to something, do you, dear?" Karin laughed. "She wanted to give you an honest Alban Hefin blessing and under the circumstances, I can understand why."

Liara looked at Shepard quizzically. "You have explained the solstice to me, but what is the significance of all these items, Shepard?"

"I explained about places of _transition_... where multiple realms intersect? The shore is one such place, with the realms of earth... beach sand in this case, air... which is why Mom opened the window, and sea... my bet is the flask was full of sea water, so she brought all three elements to us." Sam smiled and took Liara's hand, gently caressing her palm as she finished. "As for the yellow, star-shaped flowers... Those are the link to Janiris that Karin referenced, Li. St John's Wort is sometimes called the _'blessed plant'_ and brings peace and prosperity to the house, health to the animals and a bountiful harvest." Shepard grinned. "Sound familiar?"

" _Goddess_ , yes! You are correct; it sounds _remarkably_ similar to our Janiris blessing given by the house matriarch at the start of the annual festivities!" Liara's eyes had opened wide with wonder and Sam could tell her scientific mind was running fast as she continued to mumble under her breath, "But how is it possible that two completely separate species develop an almost identical blessing when their evolutionary time scale is separated by... literally... millennia!"

As the Asari's eyes narrowed in thought and her brow creased with concentration, Shepard laughed and cupped Liara's chin, pulling her face around to place a quick kiss on pouting blue lips. "Later, Liara. For now, just enjoy the blessings of the day."

Liara blushed and spouted an apology. "Goddess. There I go again! I'm sorry." She laughed and looked around at her still relatively new family, smiling. "I cannot keep myself from being amazed at the simplest of similarities. I do not know if it is appropriate, or if there is already some established tradition that such a thing would violate but, seeing as we missed Janiris this year, I would be honored to provide our traditional blessing to Janiri..." Liara glanced around at the small group as she queried, "If that would be acceptable?"

With nods of acceptance all around, Liara stood from her place on the bed and closed her eyes. She slowly opened her arms out before her; with elbows bent, hands at roughly chest height, and her palms facing upward in supplication, she recalled the archaic Thessian words her mother used to speak every year. Liara began, "Oh wise and benevolent Janiri, I most humbly petition that you may grace our house with your divine blessings; that you convey enlightenment to those who reside within, provide us with bountiful harvests that will keep us and ours all well and fed, and that you deliver each of the beautiful seasons so that we may enjoy all the bounty and splendor that..." She faltered for a moment, as the blessing normally named Thessia at this point; Liara recovered quickly, making a simple substitution. "... all the worlds of our galaxy are capable of offering over the coming year."

As she finished, a gravelly voice sounded from behind Liara. "By the _Goddess_ , Little Wing. Nezzie would be so _damned_ proud of you." As Liara spun around in happy surprise, Aethyta walked into the room and engulfed her in a huge hug, exceedingly rare tears forming in the matriarch's eyes. "That was _perfect_. You sound almost _exactly_ like your mother... I haven't heard that dialect in over a century." Aethyta stepped back from the embrace and glanced around the room. "I hope I'm not intruding."

Hannah beamed at the matriarch and walked quickly to her side, pulling the unsuspecting Asari into a group hug. "Absolutely _not_ , Aethyta. You're as much a part of this family as any other in this room. You are welcome to join us, anytime."

"I should have warned you, Dad," Liara laughed as the trio broke apart. "I very much enjoy it, but for having such a strong military tradition, the family is a rather... _huggy_... bunch."

"Bah. Nothing I can't get used to. Besides..." Aethyta smirked as her gaze wandered over everyone in the assembled group. "No one here is bad looking as Humans go; I'm happy to be seen in an intimate position with any one of you!"

Though Hannah's face picked up a bit of color at what she hoped was meant as a joke, she still laughed along with everyone else except for poor Liara, who quickly hid her blushing face in embarrassment. "Oh, _Goddess_! Must you _always_ be so crass?"

They all stayed and chatted for a long while, until Karin shooed them all out when Shepard began to look tired. While Aethyta and Hannah decided to grab lunch together, Karin declined, stating she had a bit of work to do in preparation for an afternoon appointment... with Samantha's physical therapist. Her eyes shifted to the subject of the discussion, catching the commander in a yawn. "Which is why _you_ , my dear, need to settle in and get some rest. You're going to need every gram of energy you can muster this afternoon."


	11. Second Chances

Notes:

 _A_ _Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _Gráim thú_ \- I love you (Gaelic)

* * *

 **Second Chances**

 **Alliance Dorms, Earth, Sol**

Riana woke gradually; unlike most mornings when she snapped instantly from sleep to full alert, today she was not even aware of where she was. Except for the bare arms, legs and warm torso in full contact with her own body, she might have even been in her own bed in the commando quarters at the T'Soni country estate.

Suddenly remembering the previous evening, she slid her eyes open just enough to see a pair of soft, brown eyes watching her from a handbreadth away. A whispered greeting, "Good morning, Ri," was all she said.

Riana smiled, crinkling the skin around her eyes. "Sammi. Good Morning." After pausing a moment, Riana asked, "How long have you been lying there watching me sleep?"

Sammi's eyes sparkled as she whispered, "Only a few moments, _Amantia_. I did not want to disturb your rest."

Riana reached in to kiss a pair of perfect, pink lips. "How did you sleep?"

"Sleeping while having full-body contact with the person I'm in love with? It was wonderful… joy beyond description."

Riana chuckled. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, but…" She paused as she slowly slid a hand, just barely in contact with the soft skin of Riana's back, down from the ridges at the base of her neck to the curve at the top of her butt and back… once… twice… Riana squirmed just a bit before giving in to the pleasurable sensations Sammi's hand was creating. Their mouths met in a passionate kiss as Sammi's hand started its third trip down; this time the hand paused as soft fingertips deftly explored newly discovered folds and crevices in Riana's lower back, touching the skin as lightly as gossamer cloth being pulled across a shoulder.

"Oh Goddess! Sammi, please…" A kiss, then "… you really need to…" another kiss, longer, harder. Riana could endure Sammi's teasing touch no longer; she abruptly moved to straddle a thigh as she planted her inside leg hard against Sammi's crotch. "I thought we satisfied each other last night, Sammi."

Reaching up with both hands, Traynor began gently kneading a pair of blue breasts, teasing the nipples to full attention as she whispered, "Meld with me, Riana. I need you."

Riana's eyes almost immediately went black and she gently entered the Human's mind. _{You have learned very well, Sammi – maybe too well}_

Riana was surprised by the ardent response she received through the meld. _{I… have an excellent teacher… one that I love with all that I am.}_ Riana opened herself wholly to her lover, sharing the sensations that Sammi's deft touch had sent rampaging through her, body and soul. The echo built to an almost unbearable crescendo and brought them both to the edge of a welcome abyss. Feeling as if her heart was ready to burst, Sammi's emotions surged, uninhibited, through the meld, pushing them both over the edge. _{…I am yours, Amantia!}_ Their bodies stiffened together in the ecstasy of mental and physical climax before completely relaxing; utterly spent, they collapsed, Riana partially atop Sammi.

Wanting to remove the majority of her weight from Sammi, Riana groaned and shifted carefully off to the side while still maintaining the skin contact necessary to hold onto the meld a bit longer, not quite ready to relinquish the sensation of another soul lovingly merged with her own. After a few moments of quiet togetherness, she pulled back slightly... but before fully withdrawing from her lover's mind, she whispered, _{I love you, Sammi. After Ryati, I never thought I would be able to love someone like this again. You have proven me wrong... and for that I am delightfully thankful.}_ With that, Riana withdrew her thoughts, once again leaving Sammi with a nearly overwhelming sense of being alone.

As the obsidian in her eyes gave way to their normal color, she grinned and reminded Sammi of her question from earlier, but clarified what she was asking. "Are you hungry for _breakfast_?"

Sammi responded with a laugh. "You have to be joking. Before, I was hungry. Now? I'm _starving_! Let's get dressed and get to the mess hall."

Immediately following breakfast, Traynor took advantage of her free day to give Riana a truncated tour of London but after only a few stops, she gave up, finding it necessary to meld repeatedly in order to show her companion what the historic sights had looked like _before_ the Reapers arrived and laid waste to much of the city. "Think we can find an aircar? I'd love to show you Oxford but it's 90 klicks to the west... and I fear it may look much the same so I'd hate to waste time with a ground vehicle to go all that way only to find it destroyed as well."

The sadness in Sammi's eyes tugged on Riana's heart and she smiled softly. "I will wager Judea would be quite happy for the change of pace... and transport us aboard the _Aletheia's_ shuttle. Shall I call and ask?"

* * *

It wasn't long before they found themselves staring down at the ruins of a once great university. Traynor cried as she described to Riana what used to reside within the boundaries of Oxford... from the iconic bell tower of Magdalen College and the blue gates of Trinity College to the priceless specimens on display at the Museum of Natural History and the renowned artwork within the Ashmolean Museum. "I can't believe it's all gone... every last stitch of it!" She shook her head sadly. "Admiral Hackett said we could rebuild, but all those things? They are irreplaceable!"

Before she could become too distraught, Riana gripped her hands and captured her attention. "They are but _things_ , Samantha Traynor. Things which still exist in our memories and in electronic records. What is important is that _we_ still exist. We can create new artwork and new memories; the Reapers can no longer take that away from us... ever. Rejoice in that."

Traynor turned red-rimmed eyes to her _amantia_ and sighed sadly, "I know you're right, but it's hard to comprehend exactly how much was lost... I simply can't imagine how long it will be before things seem... _normal_... again."

"I know, Sammi." Riana spoke softly as she continued, "But we have each other... and it does not matter how long it takes, so long as we are together."

"Sorry to interrupt, but do you have anyplace else you would like to see?" Judea's voice drifted from the cockpit. "I have Arlyna and Niria requesting transport from the _Chiroquol_ to Royal London Hospital to see Commander Shepard and Liara."

It was Riana's turn to sigh. "And, I suppose, it is time I return to my post. Matriarch Aethyta has been extremely understanding... but she is Liara's father, not her First. It is my place to be at Mistress T'Soni's side." She saw a scowl immediately form on Traynor's face and correctly surmised the cause behind it. "You must not harbor resentment against Liara, Sammi. If not for her command, it is very possible _none_ of us would be here today... and while your heart may have suffered for my absence, your head has to understand the necessity behind it." Riana glanced down at the deck and when her eyes came up to make contact once more, they held a trace of anxiety. "All that I am is because of my teacher, Professor Trani, and House T'Soni... specifically, Mistress Liara. It would be impossible for me to choose sides between that life and you... Please, don't ever ask me to do so."

Traynor closed her eyes against the troubled stare and gently squeezed the blue hands still holding her own. She took a deep breath and blew it out again as she pressed Riana's hands to her chest; opening her eyes once more, Sammi forced a smile on her face. Though a storm still raged within her, she calmly said, "I would _never_ do that to you, Riana… on that you have my promise… because it's not really Liara I am annoyed with. It's this feeling of insurmountable loss… like no matter what we do or how hard we try there are simply some things the Reapers took from us that we can _never_ get back."

Riana frowned, thinking of lost teammates whom she would never have the chance to speak with again and nodded slowly. "There is truth in that, yet we cannot live in regret of what we have lost... instead, we must rejoice over that which was saved..." She leaned forward and kissed Traynor softly on the lips. "... and what was discovered over the course of the war. If not for the Reapers, we quite likely would not have met."

A smile graced Traynor's lips and her voice was lighter as she responded, "And for that singular result, I will be eternally grateful!"

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Later that afternoon, Karin and Miranda arrived with a short, fit woman with jet black hair. "Shepard. This is Angelique Warren, Certified Physical Therapist." Miranda was the utmost professional as she introduced them, running through the woman's qualifications and her Alliance service record as if she needed to sell her services to the commander. Her tone, however, gave Shepard and Liara the distinct impression that Miranda did _not_ like the woman.

When the introductions were complete, Miranda almost huffed, "Well. I'll leave you to it." As she turned and walked out of the room, Liara stood and followed her to the hallway.

Once both the inner and outer doors of Shepard's room had closed behind them, Liara called out quietly in the otherwise silent passage, "Miranda? A moment of your time please?"

Miranda raised an eyebrow in question as she turned around, impatience evident on her face. "I truly am quite busy, Liara, and I have a rather... _pressing_ appointment. What do you need?"

Liara observed the woman's stiff posture and opted to be blunt. "We may not have started off on the right foot when we first met, Miranda, but I have come to _completely_ trust your judgment... and from where we stand, intuition tells Shepard and me that you are not the _least_ bit keen on the assigned therapist. Why is that?"

Miranda scowled and glanced down the hall to ensure no one was nearby. "You're right, I'm not. Her interview answers were too pat, her résumé... too clean... and with the galaxy in chaos and little to no communications capability, I have no way of verifying her references." Miranda's brow wrinkled in concern as she continued quietly, "I collected intelligence and fabricated dossiers for _years_ , Liara, and that woman has all the stench of a clandestine _operative_... but I can't prove it... at least not _yet_. But in the meantime, I certainly do not want _Angelique Warren_ , or whatever her real name is, left alone with Shepard in her current weakened condition."

Liara took a step back in alarm, looking over her shoulder at the room she had just departed, thankful Karin was still in the room while also wondering what the doctor would be able to do should someone actually attempt to kill Samantha. Thinking quickly, she looked back at Miranda and spoke urgently. "Then don't you think it's an _excellent_ idea that her bondmate must be present for the therapy sessions so that she may learn the exercises and can make sure our _recalcitrant_ patient does her exercises as assigned?"

Miranda's left eyebrow quirked up as she responded, "I do believe that's a wonderful suggestion, Dr T'Soni. Shall I escort you to your bondmate's side and ensure you stay there?"

An appreciative smile flashed across Liara's face as she turned and held her hand out, indicating Miranda should lead the way. "Absolutely, Dr Lawson." Via the link, Liara informed Shepard of the discussion as they walked back to the room. Returning her attention to Miranda, she continued, "But once you do, I want you to go to the _Aletheia_ and dig, Miranda. Find her background and her connections... because if she's not exactly who she says she is, I want her away from Shepard... _immediately_."

"Already in the plan, Liara." Miranda cast her a self-satisfied smirk and continued, "Before you intercepted me? ... _That_ was my pressing appointment."

When they walked in, Karin looked up questioningly and Warren looked somewhat irritated at the interruption. "Forget something, Dr Lawson?"

"No..." Miranda glanced at Liara before turning back to the therapist. "Actually, yes, Angelique, I neglected to inform you of a very important point. As the attending physician on the Normandy, you can ask Dr Chakwas about the level of cooperation we can expect from Commander Shepard throughout this process." She glared at the commander for effect as she completed her statement, "Which is little to middling, at best." Her eyes returned to the therapist. "I saw Dr T'Soni leaving the room and it suddenly occurred to me that she needs to remain here for the sessions. As the commander's _bondmate_ , she has significant influence over the patient and has the ability to coerce her to complete the exercises when no one else can."

Shepard scowled, quite appropriately for the situation but for an entirely different reason than the therapist assumed, as she played along with the ruse and complained, "I'm sitting right here, you know. Quit talking about me like I'm not... or worse yet, like I'm a disobedient three-year-old!"

Karin chuckled softly. "Oh, Commander. You've just made Miranda's point _wonderfully_. Honestly, you can be a pain in the ass when it comes to more prolonged treatments, and this one is most _certainly_ going to qualify. You have _never_ been what I consider a good patient. If Liara stays and learns the routine, she can take over when we reach our limits and are ready to shove you out a window!"

Liara's eyes flew wide open as she exclaimed, "Karin!"

"You know it's true, Liara!" Karin almost laughed again as she continued, "How many times have I chastised Shepard for disobeying medical orders or cutting treatments short? Better yet, how many times have I had to coerce her into completing treatments by threatening either a full body cast or sedation?" Karin finally couldn't stand it and actually _did_ laugh out loud, finishing, "You promised yourself to her for life... If you haven't figured it out yet, you need to know _exactly_ what you've gotten yourself into."

"Alright! Fine! I admit I'm not the most cooperative patient, but leave poor Liara out of this or she may end up backing out on me at the formal bonding."

Liara turned back with a smile on her face and grasped Shepard's hand, looking her in the eyes as she whispered softly. "That will never happen, _Siame_." She tapped her temple with the forefinger of her free hand and smiled lovingly. "I know how you _truly_ feel about me, and I would never abandon you... for any reason."

Miranda cleared her throat to regain their attention before speaking. "Good luck, but I really must head off for my next appointment." She took only a single step toward the door before turning back. "I'll be by later to check in on you, Shepard. See how your first session went."

As Miranda departed the room, Karin turned to the therapist. "And I'm very interested in your initial evaluation, so I'll simply sit out of the way at the corner table and file medical records. You won't even know I'm here." Without giving Angelique time to protest, she moved to the table and sat down, pulling up her omnitool to start working.

A quick frown passed over Angelique's face before she painted on a smile and faced her newest patient. "Alright, Commander. Let me complete a simple scan and then we'll start with some very basic stretches. I need to see how well you've been put back together and find the current limits to your range of motion." Her eyes narrowed as the scan results popped up and she stared Shepard in the face. "I see you have suffered significant damage and repair; this is not a battleground and you don't need to press forward, no matter the consequences. I need you to be honest and tell me when things _begin_ to hurt... not wait until they are nearly intolerable; such bravado would harm more than it helps. Understood?"

With a quick nod from Shepard, Angelique began the treatment; she was actually very good, explaining the reasons behind every movement and what she expected to get as a result once they were finished. Liara paid very close attention, both to the therapist's movements and to Shepard and her pain level via the link and was surprisingly pleased at how well her _Siame_ followed the instructions given. After roughly forty-five minutes of continuously progressing levels of difficulty and discomfort, Angelique paused and smiled. "I think we're done for the day, Commander. We'll see how you feel tomorrow and we'll adjust and add exercises as appropriate to keep you moving forward. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight, because tomorrow... you're getting out of that bed."

As Angelique left the room, Liara turned concerned eyes to her beloved. She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers lovingly through Sam's auburn locks, querying, "Do you want to nap before we eat? We have at least an hour before Alestia brings dinner."

Shepard let go a resigned sigh. "It seems all I do is sleep, but I don't have the energy yet to do much else." She smiled softly and caught Liara's hand, bringing it down to her chest. " _Gráim thú_ , Liara T'Soni, and I'm glad you're here. Will you lie down with me?"

In answer, Liara slid fully onto the bed next to Shepard and wrapped her arms around the commander, pulling Sam to her and directing her head to lie on her chest. "Absolutely, Love. I'm here for you; always." She resumed running her fingers gently through the Human's hair and Shepard's eyes slid closed as she tried to relax into Liara's embrace.

She hummed in a mix of pleasure and amusement. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of you playing with my hair. Do you have any idea how good that feels?" As Liara chuckled softly, Sam's face picked up a hint of pink. "Of course you do. You're in my head!"

Shepard shifted, trying to ease the discomfort caused by the therapy session, and Liara felt the ache translate through the link. "Tell you what. Instead of playing with your hair, why don't I give you a light biotic massage and attempt to chase away some of that pain?"

"I'm not sure anything can chase this away except more time to heal. That woman is evil! I thought she wanted to know when it started to hurt so she could stop... not so she could push a bit more past the limit... every single time!" Shepard groaned as she rolled onto her back to lay flat. A smirk crawled onto her face as she quipped, "And even though I know my nanites will take care of it over night, if it's going to cause pain, I'd rather be stretching with _you_... like we did yesterday." As a deeper shade of blue started to crawl out from under Liara's collar, Shepard continued, pushing her lover to a full blush, "At least then, there's more than enough pleasure to make it all worthwhile."

Shepard laughed softly as Liara groaned in embarrassment. "I never should have let you talk me into that. I knew better!"

A wide smile spread across Sam's face as she reached out and grabbed Liara's hand, pulling it down to her aching abdominal muscles. "As I said last night, Blue... So worth it." She paused and her smile faded into a pensive expression before she continued, "I needed that connection, Liara. Needed to know the end of the war hadn't changed us inside... that we're still okay."

"Of course we are, _Siame_." Liara's brow knit with sorrow. "I know we lost many friends in the war and that things will never be the same as they were... but given the horrible circumstances under which we met and came to love one another, I cannot help but think that is a good thing. I cannot envision our future as nothing but a frantic scramble for our lives. I want it to be different. We _need_ it to be different... especially if we want to raise a family in that future."

Shepard's smile returned and she squeezed Liara's hand. "Now _that's_ something to look forward to, isn't it? All those little blue children?"

"Yes, it is." Liara smiled softly and her eyes shined with love for the commander as her hands lit with a gentle glow. "And the first step to that future is getting you healthy. So, let me help you get a bit more comfortable... and then we'll take a quick nap together before dinner."

Shepard drew in a deep, calming breath and relaxed into the bed. "As you wish, Dr T'Soni. I am yours to command."

* * *

 **London, Earth, Sol**

With the Normandy temporarily grounded, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams was on the hunt for something to keep her mind occupied, so had searched out Sharon Culver. The Colonel didn't even have to think about it and immediately assigned Ashley to the next humanitarian relief mission on her ever-growing docket. Within thirty minutes of walking in the door to the headquarters, Williams was on her way back out... headed over to the docks to find a small supply transport in slip A-34, named the _Auxilium_. The ship's captain, a grizzled old civilian by the name of Marcus Weatherly, welcomed her aboard. "About damned time. Been sittin' at this dock, locked and loaded, fer nearly an hour, waitin' on some military type to show up so we can make this run... all 'cuz we're headed to some Army camp. Freakin' politics keepin' us from doin' our job. Coulda been there and back, by now; people out there are starvin' ya know!"

Weatherly's speech and attitude reminded Ashley of her uncle; she crossed her arms and scowled at him as she responded, "Well, I'm here now and you've received the necessary clearance, so why are you wasting time jawing at me, instead of getting underway?"

The old man's jaw dropped for a second in shocked surprise before he burst out laughing. He turned to his first mate and grinned as he shouted out, "Ya heard the lady! Get this tub movin', Spud! Time's awastin'." He turned back and stuck out a paw, gnarled with arthritis. "Good to meetcha, Commander. Name's Weatherly, but friends call me Storm. Guessin' from yer grit, we'll be friends afore long. Might as well just start out callin' me Storm."

She took his hand in a firm grip. "The name's Williams, but my friends call me Ash."

* * *

When Ashley felt the ship spin and begin its descent, she better understood the captain's complaint. They hadn't been in the air long enough to have traveled more than ninety or a hundred kilometers to their destination. She was standing in the back of the cargo hold as the ship settled and the warning klaxon rang when the ramp began to drop open. As the opening widened enough for her to see out, she realized they had settled on the fringes of a once operational regional shuttle-port; now, there was little left of the buildings and docking facilities but shattered, smoking ruins.

As soon as the ramp settled and she stepped off the small transport onto the tarmac, a Major ran up to her and saluted. "Welcome to Farnborough Field, Ma'am. We sure are glad to see you; I'm Major Falk... ran one of the resistance cells for Admiral Anderson." He stopped talking for a moment as grief flashed across his face. "Lost a good man, there."

Ashley returned the salute and introduced herself quickly, following up with, "Yes, we did. Anderson was a Hell of a soldier and an inspiring leader. His loss will be felt for years to come."

When she stopped speaking, Falk was staring at her in awe. She looked at him questioningly and he snapped out of it. "Sorry, Ma'am, but you said Commander Ashley Williams... As in second Human _Spectre_ Williams?"

A loud guffaw from the side caught their attention and they looked over to see an amused Captain Weatherly. "Buck up, there, boy! We got yer supplies, so pick yer woman-worshipping jaw up off the ground and get this barge unloaded. We got more runs awaitin' us when we get back to London!"

Ashley shook her head and laughed, glancing back at Falk. "Don't worry about him. He seems rough around the edges and I just met him myself, but I think I'm going to like him. He holds some honest concern for the hungry in those old bones of his."

An embarrassed Falk called in the troops with their cargo loaders and offloaded the small freighter with great efficiency; he and Ashley working side-by-side as they separated the cargo for transshipment to various locations around the area. They ended up talking the entire time and Ashley spoke briefly about how she had met Shepard and ended up on the Normandy.

Falk responded in kind, talking about the first time he met Admiral Anderson. "It was damned lucky we happened to have a big gun with us. I mean, I realize we're a mobile artillery unit, but that doesn't mean we were _normally_ out and about with the big guns... Having one out in the open just made us more of a target if we happened to run into anything more than simple husks. But that day, we were trying to get a few more under the camouflage to better avoid notice when an Alliance shuttle came crashing down; damned Harvesters, anyway! We blasted the sucker and sent it to the scrap yard before it had time for a second run on the survivors." Falk shook his head and laughed. "The Admiral popped out of that crashed shuttle like they'd meant to land it that way and asked us if _we_ were alright... Craziest thing I'd ever seen."

He paused in his telling and stared at the ground, lost in memories of the man he had come to call friend over the course of the war. Ashley reached over and gripped a shoulder full of sinew and muscle, shaking him from his reverie. "Hey. I lost people too. I understand... but Anderson would kick our asses if he knew we were standing around moping when there was a mission to be done."

"Heh. You're right." Falk's eyes came up from the ground and he looked into Ashley's dark brown eyes and saw a reflection of himself there; a soldier in mourning over too many friends lost in too short a time. "But we can't let them be forgotten either; I'd love to take some time to swap stories with you. I'd like to know who Admiral Anderson was before all this... even though I think it will make me mourn his loss even more. During his time in London, he became much more than a commander, he became a mentor... and a friend. I'm sure he was a remarkable man and I want to ensure I honor his memory properly."

Ashley nodded in agreement. "I think we can find time for that. I'm not sure when, but Farnborough isn't that far from London, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get together."

"Ahhh. We chose this site for deliveries because it can accommodate larger ships..." He pointed off to the southeast. "We're actually garrisoned at Aldershot Camp, just across the remains of the old highway." He pulled up his omnitool and, after a few moments, Ashley's lit up with an inbound contact request. "That's all my info. Let me know when you've got some time, Ma'am, and I can head in to London, if you prefer. Letting me come to you would be doing me a favor. I'm sure you have better chow than what we can get out here, yet... else you wouldn't be dropping us relief supplies."

Ashley smiled as she accepted the data into her omnitool. "Roger that, Major. I think I've eaten enough field rations to last a good, long time; I'd be happy to let you come to London for a _real_ meal." She grinned and then laughed at the look on his face as she continued, "Might even give you a tour of the Normandy and introduce you to Commander Shepard and Dr T'Soni."

He quickly caged his expression and shook his head. "You almost got me, Commander, but I imagine they're pretty busy. They don't need me butting into their limited free time... but thanks for the offer." His eyes flew open wide, "Oh, but still happy to come to London and take that tour of the Normandy!"

* * *

The day had been exceedingly busy, as Ash and Storm had shifted cargo to multiple locations, having flown to seven separate locations around London by the time the day was done. Weatherly had been right about one thing for sure; they had parted as friends. Their first stop, however, was the one that currently sat foremost in the Spectre's mind. Of course, Weatherly may have been right about that as well. After they departed Farnborough, he had teased her about a certain sandy-haired Major with the bluish-gray eyes being unable to take his eyes off her. The dilemma for Ashley was that, for the first time in a very long time, she had welcomed the attention.

She had always maintained total focus on her job because there were people in the Alliance who hated the Williams name and were bound and determined to shove her right out of the military as soon as she screwed up, so she had to make sure they never found an opening. That had become less of a problem when she met Shepard and landed on the Normandy, but the Reaper War allowed little time for her focus to shift away from her job, especially after being appointed the second Human Spectre. Of course, being attached to Udina hadn't done her any great favors either, particularly after the man turned traitor, but she was still a Spectre... and her detractors from Earth could do little to affect that.

But now, the war was over and, while still busy with recovery efforts, there were no threats of imminent death hanging over their heads, so she actually had time to contemplate the future. Things had worked out upon their return to Earth; she had found many of her teammates, including the skipper, alive and well, so her worst fears had been put to rest. Her new fear was that the man whose attention she had captured was a fleeting fancy; that he was merely intrigued by meeting the second Human Spectre and a friend and prodigy of the great Commander Shepard... but there was only one way to find out.

 _When I'm back on the Normandy tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to invite that man to lunch... and then, I'm going to give him that tour._ Ashley smiled as she crawled into her bunk for the night, words of Lord Alfred Tennyson leading her to a sleep filled with pleasant dreams. _Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.'_

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Liara glanced up from her omnitool when the inner door to the room opened, revealing a rather grumpy looking Miranda, whose eyes immediately sought out the commander. Liara saved her work and shut down the omni-screen she was working on as she rose quietly from her chair, whispering softly, "She was exhausted and sore; she dozed off as soon as her stomach was full." After a brief pause, she continued, "And it's perfectly safe to speak in here. I've run a sweep and no listening devices are active within the rooms. With the shades drawn and a dampening barrier on the window, I can guarantee privacy."

With a quick nod from Miranda, Liara walked to the window to place and activate a small device on the sill before dropping the shade. Both of them then moved over to the corner table and chatted quietly as Shepard continued to sleep. Miranda practically growled, "According to her record, Warren has been in the Alliance a long time; it has been modified but, from what I can see, the changes are subtle... and the tracks are very well covered. It was done by someone _extremely_ capable." She shook her head in disgust. "Until we have access to the greater network again, there is nothing to find, Liara."

"Then we will simply have to make sure that Shepard is never left alone. It will be easy enough for me to be present at the sessions, but we'll also make sure we have a third with us as well, be it Riana, my father, or one of the commandos, staying in the antechamber." Liara's gaze softened as she glanced at the sleeping commander and her lips turned up in a loving smile. "We've made it this far... I'm not going to let anything happen to her now."

"Along those lines, Judea and I are making excellent progress on her new amp..." Miranda finally smiled for the first time since walking into the room. "It will be yet another step up if I can locate the particular part I am looking for. As soon as the Pranas relay comes online, I should be able to find it on Sur'Kesh; I will simply need to find time to go shopping."

"A step up? You've managed to improve her already rather advanced amp?" Liara's eyes sparkled with interest as Miranda's smile turned to a sly grin.

"What do you think Judea and I were doing during travel time between missions?" Miranda laughed quietly. "That Asari's engineering mind is magnificent; I fully understand why your mother selected her to be your Second... and she's a wonderful match for me. We... _challenge_... one another, constantly." She sighed contentedly before continuing, "We updated a few of her ship designs and some of my amp configurations and mod programs. Some of the results of our joint efforts are rather spectacular. And speaking of Judea's new ship designs, with the _Aletheia_ now being flagged openly as a House T'Soni asset, it may be time to return her to the fleet and commission a new Broker vessel... in secret... to replace her"

Liara fell silent for a moment before responding. "Goddess, you're right; she is _much_ too visible now... The news outlets have been broadcasting vids showing all the personal vessels that are contributing to the relief effort. Even with the comm buoys and relays still being repaired, every fleet in the galaxy is here... so the _Aletheia_ is known to all of them by now. I suppose there is no going back to the shadows for her." Liara smiled as she continued, "So tell me about the new ship you obviously have in mind."

"Sorry. I can't do that, Liara." Miranda smirked at the Asari's surprise. "That's Judea's baby, not mine. I could talk about the amp, but I won't bore you with technical details. It's enough to know it will boost Shepard's power an additional 5% while also decreasing her regeneration time by a slim margin. I won't be sure of the actual numbers until I can locate the exact microcircuit that I need and test it. Hence the need to get to Sur'Kesh; if anyone has one, the Salarians will."

"Give me the specs on what you are looking for and I'll have Kas acquire it for you." It was Liara's turn to grin mischievously. "I'm sure Spectre Bau would be more than happy to provide her with transportation as soon as the relay opens for travel... while _he_ goes to check on the status of his homeworld."

"Excellent idea, Dr T'Soni." Miranda's focus shifted to the commander. "Do you think she's ready to be up for a bit? I have news to share from Lee Riley and Kypladon... and Arlyna and Niria are waiting in the upper lobby."

Liara's face lit with excitement. "Goddess! Why didn't you say something or, better yet, bring them in with you? Not like anything we talk about is a secret to _them_!" She rose quickly and spoke as she walked toward the bed. "Go fetch them and I'll wake Shepard!"


	12. Ups and Downs

Notes:

 _A_ _Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Ai'a me -_ a trusted friend and unquestioned ally (Thessian)

APU - Auxiliary Power Unit

 _Gráim thú_ \- I love you (Gaelic)

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Ups and Downs**

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

By the time their visitors had cleared security and made it to the room, Shepard was awake, sitting up in a fresh shirt and Liara was helping her wash her face with a warm, wet cloth to get the sleep out of her eyes. When the door opened, Shepard's eyes lit in recognition and a broad smile spread rampant across her face. "Arlyna! Niria! It's so good to see you!"

" _Ai'a me_." Arlyna spoke softly as she stepped up first and leaned in, gently cradling the commander's face while kissing Shepard gently, once on each cheek. Before pulling back from the side of Shepard's head, she quietly whispered, "Seeing you alive and breathing at the end of such a horrible war proves the Goddess lives within each of us in her own way. We have all been truly blessed."

As Arlyna stood upright once more, Shepard reached out and captured a retreating blue hand before it could escape. Caressing it softly, she responded in a similarly quiet voice. "We _have_ been blessed, Arlyna... especially me... that I am surrounded by such good friends and ardent supporters. We wouldn't have succeeded without _everyone_ doing their part." Her gaze shifted to Niria and she raised a hand in invitation.

Niria's expression was one of pure joy as she approached and gladly accepted the offered hand, holding it in both of hers. "It is good to see you awake, Samantha. We have dropped by twice before; the first time was immediately after your initial surgery... when you were still unconscious and buried behind a dozen beeping machines. Even then, we remained afraid for your life. The second was after another of your surgeries; we delivered food to Riana and checked in... but you were sleeping soundly and we determined you needed whatever rest you could manage to get, so we chose to not disturb you."

"I wish you had." Shepard smirked at them both. "It would have been good to see you, no matter how tired I may have been. Having you by my side would have given me strength."

Arlyna looked chagrined but Niria chuckled, "And have Miranda Lawson's wrath rain down upon our heads? We love you, Shepard, but we are not crazy! She would never let us in to visit you again."

Everyone laughed as Miranda jumped into the conversation and playfully glared at all of them. "You all paint me as a tyrant... when I am simply looking out for Shepard's welfare! We all know how she is; if I didn't step up to keep her in line, who would have? Especially since neither Liara nor Dr Chakwas were here yet."

Liara smiled as she commented, "And I, for one, appreciate it." Her glance shifted to the commander, who was doing her best to look innocent as Liara gave her a chastising stare. "I heard about the thwarted leap from the bed immediately following her abdominal surgery. We all know she can't be trusted to put her own welfare first."

"Yes, well. At least Riana and I walked in before she actually managed to tear up everything I had just put back together." Miranda's eyes flashed as she remembered she had news to deliver. "Oh! Speaking of putting things back together... Colonel Culver received a message from N7 Lee Riley that she wanted me to pass on!" She grabbed everyone's attention with her statement as each of them recognized the implications. Miranda nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Kypladon came back online shortly after Arcturus and Lee sent a status report; the Cyone fuel station is up and running at full capacity. Any freighters that become certified relief haulers will be granted access to the facility for refueling, so as more relays open, Captain Riley will be very busy until we can get a standard operations team out there to replace her and her team of engineers."

"Thank the Goddess." Liara looked to Shepard as she uttered the words and smiled. "Another of your military clan is alive and well, Samantha. That is good news, indeed."

"Yes, it is." Shepard breathed a sigh of relief and looked to Liara. "And we should contact Tevos to make sure she knows. With Parnitha open, the Asari Republics should be given first option to take lead on that... Polos _is_ an Asari colony, after all. We don't want the Matriarchal Forum thinking we're making a power-grab."

"Very true." Liara paused thoughtfully. "I wonder where my father is regarding arranging Tevos' visit here."

Miranda was nodding in agreement as she spoke. "That's a very good point, Shepard. I'll pass that along to Culver. In the meantime, it's getting late and visiting hours are over, so the details will have to wait until tomorrow." She cast a smile at everyone in the room before continuing, "It's been wonderful having this little visit, but it's time for all of us to get some sleep, particularly our patients." Liara did not miss either Miranda's use of the plural form or the glance that was pointedly aimed in her direction and she gave a smile and slight nod of appreciation, understanding Miranda's concern for both her and Shepard.

* * *

The next morning, Shepard awoke feeling remarkably refreshed. In comforting familiarity, Liara was stretched out beside her, sleeping at an angle with an arm and leg tossed over her possessively, as if needing to hold Samantha in place, lest she escape without the Asari's knowledge. Shepard smiled as the thought made her feel all warm inside... _As if I could go anywhere without Liara being able to find me in mere seconds through the link._

She wondered what time it was; the room was unusually bright, indicating they had both slept much later than usual. She took a deep breath, happy in the awareness that they actually had nowhere to go and nothing to do... except get better. She grimaced as she remembered her solitary tasking... Hackett's request that she at least start on her Citadel report. _Later_. Before then, there were other things, important things, to accomplish... like gently stroking the cheek of the blue goddess lying beside her until she woke sufficiently to maybe think about breakfast.

Shepard chuckled quietly, knowing in that instant she was truly on the road to recovery; her appetite had returned and that was always a positive indicator toward improving health. The backs of her fingers trailed delicately down a blue cheek, earning her a soft murmur; it was enough of a response to encourage a second and then third attempt, finally rewarded by cracks in Liara's eyelids and a sleepy smile. Sam tipped her head and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of a blue nose. "Good morning, _A Grá_."

Liara purred in contentment, blinking to clear the blurriness from her eyes as she gently stroked Shepard's cheek in response. "Good morning to you as well, my love." Liara pushed up onto an elbow so she could look down and study Sam's remarkably... _contented_... face. "You look much better this morning... relaxed. You got a good night's sleep, didn't you?"

"I think I was due." Shepard reached up and gently pulled Liara down into a loving kiss before continuing, "A quick massage from you, dinner, a great visit from Arlyna and Niria, followed by another much longer massage from you that lasted at least until I passed out."

Liara laughed softly. "A hard therapy session, a full stomach and a joyful chat with friends? It didn't take you long to fade from consciousness, Sam. You actually stopped speaking in the middle of a sentence... and simply fell asleep."

"Yup. All my fault. Had absolutely nothing to do with you rubbing my head, chest and shoulders. Nope. Nothing at all." Shepard winced as she sat up, immediately catching Liara's attention as the Asari sat up quickly beside her.

"Be careful, Samantha! You're not supposed to be sitting up unaided, as of yet." Liara reached across to the side table and toggled the remote to raise the upper third of the bed into a semi-reclined position to support Shepard's back. Her attention immediately returned to her loved one. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine; it just caught for a moment." She huffed in disgust. "I could take on a damned Brute nose-to-nose, but now I can't even sit up in bed without help. Some hero I am."

"Shepard." Liara's tone was most definitely chastising. "You know better than that. Don't you dare trivialize the obstacles you had to overcome to succeed." The Asari's eyes glistened with moisture and she cupped the commander's cheek, her voice softened by disquiet. "Becoming fit once more will take some time; you nearly _died_ yet again... and I count myself extremely lucky that you did not."

"I'm sorry, Li." Shepard turned her head quickly and kissed Liara's palm before taking the Asari's hand and pressing it to her heart. "I'll try my best to not be impatient."

Liara was suddenly captured by focused, bright green eyes. Shepard's voice was low and held a riveting intensity as she spoke. "You do realize I honestly _meant_ it when I told you I'd come back to you. That was no empty promise; I had every intention of raising a family with you... and then..."

Her speech was cut off by Liara's lips on her own. She felt fingers entangle in her hair and an arm wrap around her back to pull her close; when the kiss broke, Liara placed their foreheads together and simply sat there for a moment as she gathered herself. Her voice had a slight tremble as she spoke. "Don't, Shepard. Please. Having all those emotions course through me when we renewed our link... When you shared with me... everything... all that you felt, including that moment when you were convinced you were going to die and you apologized to me for not coming back..." Tears trickled down her face as she continued, "I don't ever want to feel that sensation again, Samantha. Goddess! I don't know how you managed to go on! You seemed so... _defeated_."

"You honestly don't know, Liara? You couldn't sense it?" Samantha's hands came up and cupped Liara's face, her thumbs lovingly sweeping the tears from the Asari's cheeks. "It was the thoughts of _you_! Of those little blue children I wasn't going to have with you... _You_ made me get back on my feet and move again. Because I love you... and I _promised_! And Shepards don't break promises; not if we can do anything about it."

Liara closed her eyes, taking comfort in the tenderness and devotion with which Shepard continued to caress her face. She murmured softly, "We can begin to come up with names now, can't we. It's truly over."

"Yes, we can." Samantha laughed quietly, a smile spreading across her face. "But I think it's going to be awhile before we're both ready for that, so there's no rush." She planted one last quick kiss on the Asari's lips before finishing, "I'm hungry. You ready for breakfast?"

Reluctantly, Liara pulled back from Shepard's soothing hands, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "I suppose we have to keep that body of yours fed, so you may heal properly."

Shepard's eyebrows arched and her voice dripped with sarcasm. "And _your_ pale-faced self isn't the least bit in need of rest and recuperation at all? Don't you dare think I'm so bad off that I haven't noticed _your_ need for some decent food and rest as well, Dr T'Soni. The past month has been hard on both of us... especially the last two anxiety-filled weeks of separation... neither of us knowing how or where the other was for certain."

Liara's expression sobered as she sighed in acquiescence. "You are correct, of course." A smile returned to her face and she stroked Shepard's face once more before turning to slide off the bed. "But we now have the chance to recuperate... _together_... and I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

 **T'Soni VIP-1, Earth, Sol**

"Goddess. I can't remember the last time I was in leathers, though it had to have been before I entered the Diplomatic Corps in the mid-1900's... it's been over two centuries!"

Aethyta chuckled softly and boldly _winked_ at the councilor as she slapped Tevos on the ass. "Doesn't matter, Rae. You still look damn good in 'em, and you'll pass muster just fine... assuming Shi can disguise those damned tattoos. Anyone who sees _them_ will immediately recognize you, leathers or not."

"No _touching_ , Aethyta." Tevos gave her an indignant stare. "What would Mozia say?"

"Moz would be perfectly fine with it because we've both agreed on an open relationship. Neither of us is looking to bond again, so you're fair game... for both of us." Aethyta curiously watched Tevos nervously bite at her lip and give Sha'ira a rather telling glance.

"Well I'll be _damned_!" Aethyta's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the two. "You two have something going on! The Councilor and the Consort! Who would have suspected?"

As Tevos attempted to stumble through a denial, Sha'ira laid a gentle hand on her forearm and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Don't bother, Rae. If anyone knows how to keep secrets, it's Matriarch Aethyta Beuss. She's worked intelligence for the Asari Defense Council for years. Being out of favor at the Matriarchal Forums provided certain... _advantages_... to locating and removing malcontents from the general population."

"Please define 'removing' for me, Aethyta." Tevos' eyes narrowed in concern, not sure she wanted the answer.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Tevos. I simply arranged for their little plots and schemes to go public so they were pushed out of positions of influence. The worst cases were picked up by local law enforcement and put into one of the standard rehabilitation programs." Aethyta shook her head in disbelief. "I certainly hope you didn't think I arranged their assassinations! Or worse yet, that I killed them myself!"

"Of course not!" Tevos' eyes opened wide when she realized how Aethyta could have interpreted her statement. "I'm terribly sorry; I had no intention of implying such a thing! I'm not sure what I was thinking... hence, my request for clarification. I..." She ran her hand up over her crest nervously. "I honestly didn't know _what_ to think. How did I not know of this? Was that your time with the Eclipse?"

"Yeah. That's why I wouldn't let the team take on anything but escort and protection details and the like. I needed the cover, but certainly didn't want to get anyone killed." Aethyta smiled unexpectedly. "If it hadn't of been for the estrangement from my family, those would have been pretty good years. Got paid by the Defense Council, got paid by clients, and had access to all kinds of information sources, so at least it was pretty easy to keep up with Benezia and Liara." The smile vanished, turning into a frown as she continued, "Until Nezzie got wrapped up with that Saren character and went off the grid."

At that, Tevos stepped forward and grasped Aethyta's upper arm firmly, giving her a little shake. "You cannot blame yourself for that. Benezia knew that what she was doing was extremely risky, which is why she made the provisions she did before she disappeared. She wanted to ensure that Liara did not end up parentless if things did not go as planned."

"And they sure as fuck didn't," Aethyta scowled as she pulled her arm away. "But at least Shepard got Nezzie's name cleared and Liara kept her inheritance." Her eyes came up to meet Tevos' silver-grays. "And speaking of Shepard, get those tattoos covered; the T'Soni commandos still need to pay their respects to Lady T'Soni and her promised bondmate." She paused and flashed a self-satisfied smirk before continuing, "And don't worry. Your secret truly _is_ safe with me. I think it's great; I don't believe I know two Asari better suited to one another. Congratulations."

As Tevos sat in preparation for her make-over, Sha'ira brought out a small touch-up kit and answered, "I think it's a shame you and Mozia _aren't_ exclusive. You also make a mutually complimentary couple... with or without a bonding."

Aethyta's harsh laughter quickly filled the ship's lounge. "We haven't declared it, but both of us are perfectly satisfied where we are; neither Mozia nor I are looking, Shi. It's just that riling the composed councilor is simply too much fun to pass up!"

Sha'ira chuckled softly as she opened her case and looked to Tevos. "Don't frown so, Rae. It only makes my task that much more difficult."

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Shepard stood within the walker, her knuckles white with the death-grip she had on the arched handles. She had completed the morning's therapy quite successfully, albeit with Liara's assistance, and had been with permission from Angelique Warren to move about... carefully... as long as she was accompanied by an able-bodied person capable of assisting her should the need arise. Liara had called her, so Miranda had been present at the end of the session and had agreed to allow it, but only if Shepard did not overextend. "You hurt yourself doing too much and your butt will be restricted back to that bed faster than you can blink, Shepard."

Liara chuckled at the scowl that appeared on her lover's face. "Don't worry, Miranda. I'll see to it, should that occur." Shepard glanced at her in surprise as she continued, "It won't be the first time she's been held in a stasis field to keep her from doing something... ill-advised."

As she received Liara's thoughts via the meld, Shepard's scowl was overtaken by embarrassment and her face turned a deep red. "Not nice. You all just keep making fun of the cripple. I share my desire to use the bathroom instead of peeing into a bag and you use it against me. Real funny."

A penitent Liara leaned over the walker and placed a gentle kiss on unwilling lips. "Oh, don't be that way, Samantha. You know I am so overprotective only because of how much I love you."

Shepard's face flushed red again, but the second time was due to the thoughts that flowed through the link following the kiss... regarding some additional reasons Liara wanted Shepard physically healthy. Given that they were not alone in the room, Shepard refrained from what she considered a _proper_ response to such thoughts and returned the kiss with only a chaste peck on those suddenly tantalizing blue lips before pulling back. "Alright. I promise to behave to the limits of my endurance for sheer boredom. After that, all bets are off."

Miranda glanced at her chrono before interrupting the two lovebirds in their banter. "You have visitors coming in roughly 20 minutes. You may want to get cleaned up and dressed in something other than your N7 sweats. Aethyta is preparing to rotate the commandos back to Thessia, so she is bringing the team from the Country Estate to pay their respects before they depart; I imagine you'd like to be presentable to receive them. I'll escort them through security personally to ensure they have no problems getting in."

* * *

The commandos filed into the room quickly, Liara and Shepard watching them quietly until Shepard saw unusually bright silver eyes and a smile that didn't belong to any commando she knew. She struggled to maintain her silence until both the inner and outer doors were completely closed before finally blurting out, "Tevos! Nizia! You sly devils! I honestly thought this was solely for the commandos' pre-departure visit!"

Aethyta grinned, laughing as she spoke, "Told you no one would be the wiser, Shepard."

"Thanks, Thyta. I owe you for another one now." As Tevos and Nizia approached, Shepard returned her voice to a normal conversational volume and spoke quietly. "I apologize for the walker, but my therapy session today was a bit more tiring than I like to admit." Shepard's lips spread into a playful grin. "You look really good in T'Soni leathers, Tevos; should you ever tire of politics, you and Nizia would always be welcome to come join us at the estate."

A harsh laugh sounded from the commando pack and they knew it was Aethyta before she ever spoke, her voice light with humor. "See, Tevos? Even Shepard, who has eyes for no one but my girl, noticed how good you look."

"Goddess, Dad. Really?" Liara rolled her eyes in frustration and glanced apologetically at Tevos, sharing in her embarrassment. Trailing a hand across Shepard's back, she left the commander's side to gently chastise her father and chat with the commandos, allowing Tevos and Nizia time to speak more privately with Samantha.

The councilor reached out and lightly clasped Shepard's forearm. "Thank you very much for the compliment, Commander, but I do believe there is too much yet to be done before either one of us contemplates retirement to the T'Soni Estate."

Shepard's smile faltered a bit at the stiff formal cadence of Tevos' words and she carefully shifted her weight to one side to free a hand from the walker, laying it atop Tevos' blue one. "Don't be so sure, Councilor. I'm not announcing my retirement just yet, but I _am_ thinking about it. I'm not sure what's next for me. I'm tired and I need to get healthy first... then, Liara and I will talk about what comes after." She cocked an eyebrow before continuing, "Besides which, I thought this was a social call, Tevos."

"Of course. Apologies, Shepard; my days have been incredibly busy and I sometimes find it difficult to leave the office behind." The Asari smiled bashfully and took Shepard's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Obviously, the decision as to whether or not to retire is yours to make and, either way, rest assured you will have my support... as well as my continuing friendship."

Shepard's answer held a hint of sarcasm. "I'm glad you think the decision is mine, but Hackett already informed me of my pending promotion to Captain and that Spectre Williams' command of the Normandy is merely temporary. Other than that, he's left me alone to heal... and, of course, to write my report about what happened on the Citadel."

Tevos frowned. "Surely they don't honestly expect you to be working on that _now_ , do they?"

"Pretty much." Shepard shrugged. "He told me to concentrate on healing, but he also wants me writing that report in the meantime. I got the distinct impression he expects me to hit the ground running." At Tevos confused expression, she explained, "I think he anticipates having my report the day I return to duty, if not before."

"That's ridiculous!" Tevos' voice picked up more than a hint of indignation. "Whatever it was you did, the weapon fired and we _won_. They should be thankful enough for that and let you recover in peace." Her expression lightened and she chuckled. "With your position as a Spectre, I _could_ insist you be moved to the medical bay aboard the Destiny Ascension... if it would help."

Shepard's grim countenance broke and she smiled once more, laughter returning to her eyes at the thought of how certain members within the Alliance would react. "That would certainly get their attention, but I need to stay here, Tevos. Though I do think we need to move to the table so I can sit." Shepard let out a weary laugh. "I'm tired of spending all my time resting, but I haven't regained any stamina yet... and with my morning therapy session, I've already had a long day. Today was the first time I've been on my feet since the victory and, just so you know, I'll probably fall on my face if you don't help me move from the walker to the chair, so stick close."

They shuffled slowly to the table and the two concerned Asari flanked her as Shepard transitioned to one of the chairs. Surprised by the amount of support Shepard required as she moved, Tevos exclaimed, "Goddess, Shepard. I thought you were joking... I did not realize you were still so weak!"

"Gee. Thanks." She grinned at the genuinely distraught councilor. "Don't worry, Tevos, I'll recover. Dr Lawson had to generate brand new tissue to replace what was shredded beyond repair, so I'll need to do a number of strengthening exercises to whip my core muscles into shape. Even with my healing rate, she figures it will take another month of therapy treatments before I'm totally self-sufficient again."

Nizia smiled. "Do not worry, Commander. You will have plenty of help... and you'll be up and moving around long before most of the galaxy has recovered; there will be plenty left for you to do once you are back on your feet."

Samantha laughed quietly. "So I guess you're staunchly in the 'don't you dare retire yet' camp, along with your boss, huh, Tenir?"

The huntress smiled as she responded, "Yes, I suppose I am. I simply do not believe you are ready to lay down your weapons quite yet, Spectre. There is still a lot of fight left in you."

Nizia moved the walker aside and dropped down to one knee at the side of the commander's chair, laying a hand softly on her thigh. "And as you are not one to shirk duty..." Their eyes met as Nizia continued, "... just this once, I would ask you let us help you for the next few days. I would be happy to lend whatever services you require, Commander." Her eyes narrowed as she continued. "I cannot imagine what the charge across that final battlefield had to feel like, facing down the scores of Reaper-creatures, dodging Harbinger's main weapon and still daring to hope you would reach that beam to the Citadel. I regret that I was not at your side. Please, let me help you now, in whatever capacity I am able."

Shepard's eyes misted at Tenir's offer. "Thank you, Nizia, but please don't kneel at my feet like some supplicant." Shepard quickly wiped away the unshed tears that blurred her eyes. "If you truly want to help me... sit in a chair and talk to me as a friend. Tell me what's going on out in the Galaxy with the Asari. But, before you do that..." The commander's eyes shifted back to the councilor as she continued, "I do have some news of my own to share. We heard from a good friend of mine, Alliance Marine Captain Lee Riley... I helped her secure the fuel plant at Cyone during the war. Kypladon came back online and she sent a message stating the plant remains up and running at full capacity. We recognize Polos as an Asari colony, so she is prepared to hand the plant over to you as soon as you can get a new operations team there. Colonel Culver only recently received the news, so I imagine you'll be hearing from her very soon on the matter."

"Thank you, Shepard." Tevos nodded in appreciation as a light smile crossed her face before she sighed in resignation. "It seems like no matter how hard we try to avoid it, we must first talk business, so I may as well just get on with _my_ announcements, after which, we can truly speak as friends. Kypladon is not the only relay opening. I heard from Councilor Valern just before we made our way here; test probes have successfully transited the relay at Pranas, so you should also soon be receiving news that the Annos Basin is back on the galactic map."

Tevos finally sat in one of the chairs and reached across the table to take Shepard's hand. "With the relays opening, the only current Council homeworld we are lacking is that of the Turians via Trebia, and we expect them to come online any day now. Because of that, along with many other reasons, in four days' time, we will be moving the Destiny Ascension and the Citadel Fleet back to the Widow System. We decided this for certain only this morning and, obviously, it has yet to be formally announced."

"This is the first chance I've had to speak to you and you bring me news you and the Council are leaving?" Shepard gripped Tevos' hand tightly. "I understand the necessity, but it is a sad day."

"I know, Shepard, but the Citadel is failing; life support is non-functional, the evacuations are nearly complete and we are returning forces to their homeworlds as quickly as possible to reduce the load on the Sol system. Politically, we cannot stay here forever and we all feel the sooner we return to some sense of normalcy, the better."

"Tevos. Relax." Shepard's face held an understanding smile. "I honestly do agree with the decision. It makes sense, however inconvenient it is to us personally. I know it needs to be done to maintain our fragile balance and peace."

Tevos smiled in return and gave her an appraising look. "You are more a diplomat than many give you credit for, Samantha Shepard. I will keep that in mind, should you actually tender your resignation to the Alliance."

"Curse you, Tevos!" Shepard laughed as the councilor's eyes opened wide with shock. "Would you really do such a thing to me? Make me a politician?"

Nizia burst out laughing as an answering smile crossed the councilor's face when she realized Shepard was joking. "Of course not, Commander! A _politician_? Never! But, I would certainly lend my support toward the position of Human Ambassador to Thessia, should you ever want it."

"I'll keep it in mind, but don't count on that happening anytime too soon, Tevos." Shepard's smile faded. "What I need to focus on right now is getting that damned report over and done with. Liara and I have talked about it and she's probably going to help me; we've already done a memory share... She could most likely write it for me, but I won't let her do that. I'm not even sure I want her to help."

"Why not, Shepard?" Tevos glanced over to the commando crowd to locate Liara. "I would think Dr T'Soni would be an excellent candidate to assist you, if you truly want it finished in a timely fashion."

"I'm not so sure..." Shepard's gaze also flowed to the large group of Asari across the room. "The whole event was rather traumatic; I don't want to put her through it all again if I don't have to."

"She is Asari, Shepard." Nizia's sharp voice cut through Shepard's hesitation like a dagger. "She sees it every time you think of it; when you meld, your minds are one. She is also very strong and does not need your coddling. Keeping her from helping you will only prolong the lingering agony; let her help you write the damned thing and be done with it."

The commander's eyes narrowed at Nizia's harshly spoken words, but Shepard instantly saw them as blunt truth. "You don't pull your punches, Nizia, but I guess I needed that kick in the ass to see what was right in front of my face. Thanks."

A concerned Liara, having sensed Shepard's disquiet through the link suddenly appeared at Shepard's side. She looked to Shepard, only to see a pair of tired eyes looking back at her as the explanation to her silent query came through the link.

"You look tired, _Siame_." Liara gave Shepard an out for the discussion if she was looking for one. "Are you feeling any pain or muscle cramping?"

Shepard leaned back and relaxed into the chair. "No pain, Li. Just a bit tired. Honest."

"Perhaps it is time, then, for us to take our leave. Rest, my friend, and get well." Tevos smiled softly as she rose and clasped Shepard's shoulder gently. "The galaxy truly does still need Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy."

"Thanks for coming by, Tevos." Shepard thought about standing and thought better of it. Her eyes gave away her sadness as she continued, "It'll be great for people to be able to start moving back to their homeworlds and begin the reconstruction in earnest, but simply knowing the Destiny Ascension won't be in Sol anymore already makes me miss you."

"And I, you, but it is a necessary step." Tevos leaned over and kissed Shepard lightly on the forehead. "And that we are able to plan any of this at all was made possible largely by you and your team, Commander. The Goddess smiled upon us when she sent you to us and I am thankful to have the privilege of truly knowing you." Her hand trailed softly down Shepard's arm before she stepped away from the table and turned to Liara, wrapping the younger Asari in a gentle embrace.

Her silver eyes shimmered with tears as she whispered softly, "Losing your mother so early in the war was a harsh blow, Liara, but I know she would be proud of you. I certainly am." Tevos pushed away and roughly cleared her throat. "Come, Aethyta. It's time we return... before someone starts a rumor that the Asari councilor is missing and has been kidnapped."

Liara turned to her father and the commandos. "Thank you, again, for being a part of this unfortunately necessary charade. I hope Tia and Fae were not disappointed with their inability to accompany you all on your visit. I will come by the ship in the morning, prior to your departure, to say my farewells."

Aethyta smiled. "Don't worry, Liara; they're not really going anywhere. I'm simply sending the team out to take a few Asari home and bring back more supplies. The commandos will stay here for the long-haul, so we're going to need more Asari rations."

Liara smiled softly and laid a comforting hand on Shepard's back as the commander spoke softly, her voice filled with appreciation. "You all have no idea how relieved I was to see _each_ of you."

The team lead, Allyna Taluri, stepped forward and spoke for them all. "The same is true for us, _Nara_. When the red wave swept over Thessia, it brought joy to our hearts and a renewed hope we would see you both again. We had prayed so many times for this eventuality, we are ecstatic that it has finally come to pass."

"Alright. Hate to break up the party, but we need to get a move on so we can return Councilor Tevos to the galaxy. Her exhaustion and need for a 'mid-day nap' can only last so long before people get suspicious." Aethyta opened the inner door and Tevos, Tenir and the commandos filed out into the anteroom. She looked back one last time. "I'd be prepared for company; when folks realize they're about to head home, they'll want to stop in to pay their respects first."

"Thank, Dad." "Thanks Aethyta."

Liara glanced over as they spoke at the same time, nodding to Shepard to continue on solo. "I'm glad you arranged for Tevos and Nizia to visit, especially now that I know the Ascension will be leaving us."

"No problem, Shepard. I'll be by tomorrow after the commandos depart for Thessia. While they're gone, I'd like to bum a bunk on the _Aletheia,_ if that's possible."

Liara smiled. "I don't see why not. I'm sure they'd be happy to have you. I'll notify Judea that she should be prepared to shuttle you."

"No worries there. Culver gave me this cute little aide named Sweets to provide all my..." Aethyta stopped mid-sentence and corrected herself. "On the other hand, he probably doesn't need to be flying me back-and-forth to a Broker ship. I'll give him back to Culver with my thanks and I'll work with Jude for my future transportation needs. Thanks, Liara."

Aethyta smiled and slipped out the door as her daughter leaned into Shepard's shoulder and softly caressed the commander's back. _Yup. They deserve some private time before the afternoon surge of visitors._


	13. Easy Come, Easy Go

Notes:

APU - Auxiliary Power Unit

 _Grá mo chroí - love of my heart (Gaelic)_

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Easy Come, Easy Go**

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Headquarters, London**

Once the full repertoire of system scans and decontamination protocols were completed and the ship was declared safe for reboarding, Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau had wasted no time in returning to the Normandy with the engineering team to reinitialize the ship's eezo core. After Engineer Adams assured him the Normandy was no longer dependent on shore power, he eagerly stood from his chair and prepared to initiate the restart of the Normandy's main operating system... and, hopefully, Edi.

His mind suddenly jumped to an earlier time... to when he first set foot on the SR-2 and booted the operating system to start his modified flight training under Cerberus. He chuckled sadly at the memory of how much he had hated that 'stupid VI' that had invaded _his_ cockpit. He fervently hoped this time would be no different and that Edi's no-longer-annoying presence would once more grace the bridge of the Normandy SR-2.

The ship remained unnaturally quiet as Joker rechecked all his power readouts one last time before turning to leave the bridge for the server compartment. He continued to mentally run his start-up checklists as he walked to the elevator and then through the empty crew deck and medical bay. _Once the main operating system boots, I'll bring up all six APU's, which should enable life-support, environmental controls and communications... at which time I can safely complete final start-ups of navigation, flight and propulsion controls... And then, the Normandy will be_ _ **back,**_ _baby!_

Once inside the server compartment, he quickly walked to the control console and, following Edi's very brief instructions, carefully selected the backup data storage array as the program source. He was not a religious man, but crossed his fingers and said a short prayer before turning the servers on again in the proper sequence. The status indicator lights flashed yellow, only to be slowly replaced by a temporarily flashing green and a comforting hum that replaced the unsettling quiet. When the last light went steady green, Joker tipped his head back and whispered a quiet 'thank you' into the air before giving the board one final check to ensure all the indicators read within normal ranges.

Satisfied, he powered each of the six APUs, then locked the console and left the compartment, hurrying back to Deck Two with the familiar, light vibration of the deck under his feet; the Normandy was awake once more. Impatiently making his way through the tactical passageway, he swore he detected a bit of movement up ahead and picked up his pace yet again. Just after he passed the airlock entrance, a vision in silver with an amber-tinted visor released and spun the navigator's seat to face the entry. The voice he had yearned to hear for the last fifteen days then made his life complete with two simple words. "Hello, Jeff."

* * *

Garrus Vakarian sat in the main battery, waiting for Flight Lieutenant Moreau to bring the power up and get the main systems back online. It would be a simple enough procedure to recheck the weapons system calibrations once everything was operational; in the meantime, he let his mind wander back to his lunch with Dee... and then a bit farther back yet to the previous December. It was immediately following the N7 Mission on Benning and both Liara and Shepard were in the med bay when the Normandy had docked at the Citadel. Garrus had escorted Primarch Victus up to the Council Chambers and then set off to figure out what he could do to help those Turian refugees who had managed to escape Palaven and make their way to the Citadel.

Less than an hour later, he had been somewhat surprised by a message from Shepard. The commander had gone shopping and dropped groceries off at Admiral Anderson's apartment; Liara was not yet done with her Broker duties, so Shepard was looking for a lunch partner at a place close to the apartment, the Silver Coast Casino. Being curious as to how well Shepard was recovering from her injuries, Garrus had said yes. It was no surprise that once he arrived, Shepard was already there, waiting for him at the bar.

He had thought she was rather distracted because she kept looking over his shoulder; he finally asked if Liara was supposed to be joining them. "No," Shepard smirked and had promptly asked, "You know what you need, Garrus?"

He remembered chuckling and making some smart-ass comment about a really expensive Mark-4 silencer scope he had been eyeing at one of the local gun-shops, when Shepard truly surprised him. "I was thinking a date!"

Garrus had blinked and stared at her like she'd gone crazy as the commander stood and walked toward him. Afraid Liara was somewhere nearby and it was all a bad joke, he took a step backward only to bump into the bar with nowhere to retreat; he breathed a sigh of relief as she walked right by. He turned his head to watch her as he queried, "What are you talking about, Shepard?"

The commander walked over to, in Garrus' opinion, a rather... attractive... female Turian and was rather direct when she spoke to her. "Excuse me. I saw you checking out my friend and thought you two should meet."

Caught completely off guard, Garrus had barely managed to stutter his way through an introduction before Shepard had taken pity on him and grabbed two dextro beers, shoving them into his hands. "Geez, Vakarian. You can face down a Brute with me, but you have trouble speaking to a woman?"

Garrus had then laughed at himself and shook his head as he handed the female one of the beers. "Sorry. Let's start over again. My name is Garrus... and I'd _love_ to have a drink with you."

Barely after Desis Vyessan had introduced herself as a Turian Embassy Aide, Shepard had excused herself. Her omnitool had beeped with an incoming message. "Ah. Sorry, Garrus, but I've got to run. Liara is ready and waiting for me to pick her up at the Normandy berth." Her eyes shifted to the female Turian. "And it was very nice to meet you, Desis. Perhaps our paths will cross again." Then speaking to both, she had said her farewells and vanished into the crowd, leaving Garrus alone with the most beautiful Turian female he had ever laid eyes on.

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

As Aethyta had predicted, Shepard and Liara's afternoon was filled with visits by many who would soon be leaving Sol. Lieutenant Liessa Kurin and Specialist Cayla Thaus would both return to the Serrice Guard and do their best to help rebuild the unit with those members who survived the Reaper occupation. Shepard thanked them profusely for their assistance and told them they would forever be kept on the rolls of the Normandy Crew. Liara smiled as she hugged them farewell. "Should you ever want to visit or if you simply need somewhere to retreat from the chaos, our homes will always be open to you. You are family and, as such, need not await an invitation."

Kurin glanced at Cayla and smiled. "That is very generous of you, Liara. I've heard plenty of tales about the T'Soni Estate; it would be nice to see it in person and judge for myself."

Surprisingly, Liara picked up on the teasing tone in Kurin's voice and smiled softly as she responded in kind, "Such an unannounced inspection would be welcome at any time, Lieutenant. I can only hope the beachside location and renowned T'Soni hospitality do not fail to meet your rather high expectations."

Kurin smiled back at her fellow Asari before turning and clasping forearms with the commander. "Recover well, _Captain_. I look forward to seeing you healthy once more when you next visit Thessia. I would hope it is much sooner than when you finally settle there after retirement."

"You know better." Shepard grinned as they dropped their hold. "You'll be getting the invite to our Bonding Ceremony, which I certainly hope will be in the not too distant future." Her expression softened as she glanced at Liara and continued, "Assuming, of course, that a certain Asari doesn't get tired of waiting for me to get my act together."

Liara blushed lightly as she whispered only one word. "Never."

As soon as Liessa and Cayla stepped out, Shepard and Liara were surprised by the appearance of Livos Tanni, Sella Temi, Allia Vasia and, of all people, the younger Lawson. Shepard's eyes lit up as she exclaimed, "Oriana! Didn't expect to see you here... How are things?"

Ori flashed a smile and dipped her head in greeting. "Going very well. Thank you, Commander. Miranda and I owe you a great deal for all you've done for us... and I felt compelled to speak to you before we departed Sol."

"Wait. What?" Shepard's eyes shifted to Liara in question.

Liara was as puzzled by the statement as Shepard, so inquired, "You and Miranda are leaving Sol?"

"Oh!" Oriana grinned sheepishly as she explained, "No, sorry. Miranda is staying, but she's been training me and we..." her hand waved around in the air to indicate her present Asari companions as she spoke, "... are taking the _Rakhana_ out to start... _working_... again. We want to see what's happening in the Silean Nebula, particularly around Dekuuna with the Elcor... Their comm buoys aren't functioning properly, so we're going to make sure recovery efforts are underway." As an afterthought, she added, "It's also sort of a trial run for me, to see if I can honestly operate on my own or if I need additional training."

The trepidation on both Liara's and Shepard's faces was replaced with smiles, the commander responding first. "You don't owe us anything, Ori. Your help during the war more than made up for us scooping you off that planet and away from that sad excuse of a father." She flashed a grin at Liara before continuing, "Besides which, I'm pretty sure we ended up on the winning side of the bargain with a second Lawson intellect on our team. Welcome aboard!"

Liara continued along the same line. "I agree. Miranda and I were positive you would catch on very quickly and it's nice to know you want to stay on with us. I'm sure the crew will be more than happy to be doing actual collections again instead of simple wet-work."

Livos practically growled her response. "Speaking as a commando, wet-work that involved killing either Reaper spawn or Cerberus traitors was extremely gratifying..." Her voice lifted as she continued, "... but with the war now over, it will be nice to be out doing something more than acting as a communications relay for Sol. Perhaps we can find time to pay a visit to Thessia?"

Eyes alight with understanding, Liara's face held a sad smile as she answered, "Of course; but please do not be disappointed with the destruction of Armali. I promise you, it will all be rebuilt and you'll have a home there once again, at some point in our future."

Livos chuckled lightly. "Fear not, Mistress. While the townhome was certainly very nice, it was not the place that was important to me, but the people; my desire is to visit the Estate and say hello to all the T'Soni family residing there. It has been too long since I have seen my sisters."

"Then go with the Goddess... and with our blessing." Shepard could tell her Asari's mind was working something through even as Liara spoke... and could tell by the spark in her wondrous blue eyes the very moment she had made a decision. "Coordinate with Matriarch Aethyta. She is remaining here, but the T'Soni VIP-1 will be returning home in the morning... and carrying passengers, including four surviving Justicars, not including Samara. Perhaps the crew would prefer to secure certain cargo, like a stash of alcohol that is illegal to import to Thessia... which my father has _undoubtedly_ hidden away somewhere onboard... with _you_. Offer your services and plan to make the Estate your first destination. Of course, pass on our well-wishes to all there... and then, once your visit is complete, continue on your test-run."

Once they left, Liara felt sadness through the link and turned to her significant other, wrapping Shepard in a tight embrace. "It's only temporary, Love. You'll be recovered and we'll be on the Normandy again before you know it." She punctuated her statement with a soft kiss on willing lips.

"I know, Li. But parting is such sweet sorrow." Shepard smirked as Liara raised her brow, fully expecting an explanation to the odd statement. "You have a lot yet to learn about Human culture, Dr T'Soni." Samantha fell silent and touched her forehead to Liara's, sharing an explanation of the line from Romeo and Juliet.

"Shakespearian plays, Shepard?" Liara ran her hand softly down the side of the commander's face as she spoke. "First, the waltz... and now theater? You truly never cease to amaze me with your complexity, Samantha."

Shepard laughed gently and trapped one of the Asari's hands gently within her own. "I find that rather difficult to believe, Liara. All the time you spend in my head and you don't yet have me pegged as nothing but a hopeless romantic?"

"Nothing but?" Liara practically snorted as she shook her head. "You are not classified so easily, Commander. I do believe I have _years_ of dedicated study ahead of me on the subject."

"Years, huh?" Samantha smiled and released Liara's hand to thoughtfully rub her chin, dropping her hand away to speak. "So, what methodology do you plan on using for this study?"

Liara pursed her lips, having to work very hard at keeping an answering smile from erupting on her face. "I have given this particular vein of inquiry serious thought. I need to begin in a carefully controlled laboratory environment before releasing you to the wild. Perhaps after a few years of that, depending on the results of the initial field study, I may take a chance and see if there is any hope of domesticating you."

At that, Shepard couldn't help but release a round of joyous laughter. When her fit was over and she was able to speak again, she shook her head in wonderment. "By the Gods, Doctor! _Domesticate_ me? Don't you recognize a lost cause when you see one? Do you honestly believe there's any hope of that?"

Liara smiled coyly and slid gingerly onto Samantha's lap, running her fingers down Samantha's cheek until she hit bottom and cupped her round chin, easily pulling the commander in for a long, sensuous kiss that left Shepard both breathless and speechless. Liara whispered softly, "Nothing is hopeless, Sam; _you_ taught me that. One simply needs to understand and use the tools appropriate to the situation."

"Shit, Liara. I don't think you need to waste your time with the field study." Shepard chuckled softly and took a deep breath to clear her head and settle the butterflies flipping around in her stomach. "I'm already completely under your spell, my _I_ _onúin Álainn_."

* * *

After a brief respite, the stream of visitors renewed. First came Samara, but she was not visiting to say farewell; she was not yet returning to Thessia to confront the other Justicars. Since she and one of her daughters had both managed to survive the war, she first wanted to spend some time on the _Aletheia_ , with Falere, thinking to eventually escort her back to the Monastery. "I cannot risk losing the opportunity, in the event the discussions on Thessia do not resolve the issue in my favor."

Shepard actually stood from her chair and leaned on her walker, growling an angry answer. "They had better or I swear to you, the Justicar Order will exist no more. If they kill you, they will all pay with their own lives!"

Until that very moment, Liara had been confident nothing would ever surprise the Justicar, but Samara's eyes grew wide in shock and surprise. "Commander! I could not ask you to sacrifice yourself in an attempt to protect my honor!"

"Who said anything about sacrifice? We beat the damned Reapers... We can sure as Hell wipe out a few Justicars! Because, rest assured, I'm damned well not gonna sit on my ass as they slowly hunt down every ex-crewmember who helped us win this war!"

Samara's face returned to her normal, calm visage... except for a small twitch at the corner of her mouth, indicating she was fighting an urge to smile. The tell vanished as she started to speak. "I see. So it is not for my honor, but to protect your crew, as you once promised me you would do should _I_ seek a Justicar's uncompromising justice against them."

"Do I sense an attempt at humor, Samara?" Shepard smirked and let out a short laugh. "You _have_ changed... but you're only partially correct. It _is_ for your honor as well as your life, because you are now one of us and I'll do anything within my power to protect you, exactly like the others... even from your Justicar sisters." Liara took a cautionary step closer to the commander when Shepard's smile vanished in a blink and she stood up straight, no longer using the walker for support. "And as I also once threatened, I may not release you from your oath... At least not until I am well enough to accompany you to Thessia to support your case for restructuring the order and revising the Sutras."

"Your support in such an instance would be most welcome, Spectre Shepard." Samara dipped her head in respect. "Given your accomplishments, I believe your words would carry great weight within the Sisters' Circle."

"Good. Then it's settled. For now, we'd be honored to have you stay aboard the _Aletheia_ ; you can enjoy the company of friends and family while assisting in the recovery efforts as best able." Shepard slumped against the walker once again as she sighed in relief. "At least until I am allowed to travel."

"The honor is mine, Shepard." Samara bowed in respect. "I will leave you to your recovery."

The next group of visitors had Shepard standing upright once more; Hannah, Karin and Sharon all walked in together, with Kahlee Sanders on their heels. As they drew closer, a tear ran down Shepard's cheek, not unseen by the group, and Kahlee pushed forward to draw the commander into a comforting embrace. For a moment, neither said a word until Kahlee finally spoke softly in her ear. "It's wonderful to see you, Sam... and based on everything I'd heard, I didn't expect you to be on your feet so soon. Do you need to sit?"

"Don't worry about me, Kay. I'm more concerned about you." As she whispered in response, Shepard pushed back so they could look in each other's eyes. "I am so sorry about Uncle Dave."

Kahlee dropped her chin, unsuccessfully fighting the urge to cry by drawing a deep, shaking breath. Contrary to her best efforts, her eyes stubbornly welled with tears as she lifted her head back up to renew their eye contact. Seeing the anguish in Shepard's face made Kay Sanders' normally rock-solid voice shake as she spoke. "We always knew it was a possibility we wouldn't die in our beds of old age; we've both dodged death so many times... I guess one of us had to run out of luck eventually. At least he sacrificed himself for a noble cause... a galaxy free of Reapers is no small victory... but I'm still sorry you had to be there to see his end."

"Aunt Kay." Shepard's tongue felt like it was wrapped in cotton and her heart was arrhythmic, racing and threatening to burst out of her chest as she forced herself to deliver the crushing news. "I did more than see his death, Kahlee. I... I fell under the Illusive Man's control and I couldn't stop my own fucking hand!" She looked down and stared at the offending appendage, making a fist as she continued, "I couldn't drop the gun... couldn't point it at TIM... I... I couldn't do anything but pull the damned trigger!" The enormity of her grief caused her voice to hitch as she cried, "I killed him, Kay!" Tears streamed down Shepard's face as she stopped speaking, her right fist held firmly against her mouth in a failed attempt to stop a sob from escaping her lips as her entire body started to tremble.

Seeing the torment in the eyes of the woman standing before her, Kahlee swallowed hard and roughly brushed the tears from her own face. "Samantha, please. Don't do this to yourself. I heard what happened in that control room." She glanced at the group surrounding them and let out a choked sigh. "We all did... and we also know you wanted to be the one to tell me, to explain, but it's not right that you should carry that burden along with everything else that was placed on your shoulders over the course of the war."

Shepard felt Liara's arms encircle her waist from behind, supporting her physically as well as mentally, but her voice still shook uncontrollably as she practically shouted, "But I pulled the trigger, Kay! I wasn't strong enough to stop it. I... I killed Uncle Dave!"

Shepard's knees threatened to buckle and it was very possible she would have fallen had it not been for the supporting strength of Liara, who reacted quickly and pulled her lover tight to her own body. _{I am with you, Siame. I've got you, Love.}_

"You were bleeding to death, _Nara_." Riana had walked in behind them and circled around the group, her voice shattering the sudden stunned silence resulting from Shepard's loud proclamation. "Few honestly expected you to make it as far as you did. Then, when Harbinger's beam struck you, you should have been dead, but you rose again and walked on, defying all logic. The standards you set for yourself are impossible for anyone else to meet. The Illusive Man did not control _you_ ; he was manipulating a deathly-weakened shell of the Commander Shepard we all respect and love." Tears were in Riana's eyes as she closed the distance and laid a comforting hand on the Spectre's shoulder, giving it a squeeze of affirmation.

"Oh, Sam." Kahlee stepped in and wrapped her arms around both Shepard and Liara, squeezing them tight. "It was not your fault. You did more than anyone else possibly could have to end this horrible war. David wouldn't have held you responsible for what happened... so don't you dare blame yourself like this! David was so proud of you!"

Shepard simply closed her eyes and cried with Kay for a few moments; emotionally drained, she finally let out a deep sigh and picked her head up off Sanders' shoulder, giving the woman one last tight hug before pushing back. "I'm still sorry it happened, Aunt Kay... no matter the whys or what-fors." She closed her eyes again and wobbled on her feet so, without ceremony or asking permission, Liara lit with biotics and simply scooped Shepard up in her arms.

"I believe it's time for Samantha to sit for awhile." Liara's voice was laced with concern and offered no room for argument as she turned to head toward the corner table.

"I don't think so, my dear." Karin put a hand on Liara's shoulder and stopped her progress, pointing toward the bed. "I am willing to bring the back up so she's sitting, at least, but I want her in bed, not in a chair. She's done with being on her feet for the day."

Liara gave a sharp nod of agreement before laying her cheek softly against Shepard's forehead as she waited for Karin to prepare the bed. _{Are you alright, Sam?}_

 _{How can I not be,_ _Grá mo chroí_ _, cradled in your protective arms? Thank you.}_

 _{Of course, Samantha.}_ Shepard was shocked by the iron will that accompanied Liara's next words through the link. _{Nothing will ever hurt you again, not if I have any say in the matter.}_

Liara felt the rumble of silent approval roll through Shepard's chest as a tiny smile appeared on Samantha's face. _{Reminds me of how you acted after I was injured on Tuchanka... Please don't treat my family like a platoon of Cerberus soldiers, Li.}_

 _{Only if they try to get you killed, Shepard. Then, as you say, all bets are off.}_ They laughed quietly together and Shepard dropped her head forward to nestle her face into the crook of Liara's neck, breathing deep of comforting eezo and the scent of Thessian Rose.

Once the bed was readied and Shepard was deposited upon it, she looked out bashfully at the ring of concerned faces surrounding her and cleared her throat. "Well. That was somewhat embarrassing."

Multiple voices started to protest but all fell silent as Riana unexpectedly started to laugh. "I understand your position, Commander. I had been with the T'Soni commandos just under a year when we had a break-in. It was an attempted kidnapping and I was the unlucky soul to discover and stop the perpetrator... and promptly got rather severely injured in the process. When I first returned from the hospital, I was still very weak."

Riana made brief eye contact with Liara before looking back to Shepard to continue her story. "I was sitting in a chair in the commons when Lady Benezia came to see how I was doing... She told me I looked tired and offered to carry me to bed with her biotics! I was beyond embarrassed; I was horrified!"

Liara smiled as an expression of contentment crossed her face. "I remember when you first told me that story. For various reasons, I found it oddly comforting..." Her hand slipped onto the bed and linked up with Shepard's as she finished her sentence, "... and it seems quite appropriate for this situation as well. Thank you, Riana." Her expression shifted to one of amusement as she turned to Shepard. "It seems the Lady of House T'Soni is destined to carry to bed those who have been injured in her defense."

Shepard's brow rose as she gave Liara's hand a squeeze. "I'd better be the _only_ one you're carrying to bed, Dr T'Soni... at least for a very, very long time."

Liara's face turned a deep blue as she responded hesitantly, "Yes, well... The roles are normally reversed... and I generally prefer it that way."

Samantha could do nothing to stop the blush that rushed to cover her own face, gaping at Liara in shocked silence as the room erupted in laughter at Shepard's expense, completely destroying the somber mood. Once she recovered the power of speech, she shook her head and mumbled, "I can't believe you actually said that out loud, T'Soni!"

Before Liara could respond, Hannah jumped to her defense. "She loves you, Sam. You should never be embarrassed by such an honest and open declaration of affection." She paused and smiled wistfully. "Your father was like that... and I adored him for it. He was never afraid to show his love for me, no matter where we were or who was around. It is a rare and precious gift... and you are lucky to have found it with Liara."

"I know I am, Mom." Still holding Liara's hand, Shepard gave it another squeeze and pulled the Asari closer to her side. "I know."

* * *

 _ **Eva's Vortex**_ **, Boltzmann System, Bekenstein**

When Maya Brooks had first arrived at Bekenstein, she had gazed out the forward and side viewports in disbelief. She had programmed the VI to fly over Bekenstein's capitol city of Milgrom, but had hardly drawn within orbital distance of the planet when she began encountering wreckage – space junk, the blasted apart remnants of all the private satellites that were mostly off-world manufacturing facilities or laboratories researching cutting edge technology. She had _never_ seen such enormous quantities of debris in orbit around _any_ of the planets she'd recently visited, even Earth.

As the VI slowed the ship dramatically, it had also jigged the ship around to avoid the really large chunks of metal, any of which could seriously damage or destroy the corvette. She noted that the kinetic barriers protecting the vessel's bow had been increased to a hundred fifty percent of normal strength by weakening the barriers protecting the sides and stern. Staring at the shards of once functioning satellites – mini-space stations, in actuality – Brooks was increasingly convinced that the Reapers had been here, probably at the same time as they were engaged in relocating the Citadel to the Sol System.

Once below the slowly spreading debris field, she had turned her attention to the ground 450 kilometers below. There was a disturbing amount of thick, black and grey smoke drifting southeastward on the prevailing winds; there seemed to be several points of origin, though the largest plume appeared to be from Milgrom.

 _God damn it! Just my fuckin' luck to wind up in a system blasted by Reapers! I'll just bet that red wave destroyed the relay as well! No Citadel… no relay… and this planet's been fucked beyond all belief! Shit! What the Hell am I going to do now? Looks like I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future!_ Taking a deep, calming breath, she thought about her predicament.

A thought occurred to her – she turned on a comms receiver and tuned it to scan the local broadcast frequencies. Perhaps someone down there was still doing an audio or vid program that featured some local or planetary news. She quickly added the universal disaster frequencies to the scan, turned the volume up a bit, then sat back to wait; she didn't have to wait long.

One station was broadcasting a looped message, reporting that Reapers had merely bombarded the planet from orbit without touching down. The entire city of Milgrom was a major disaster area – out-of-control fires everywhere, collapsed high-rise buildings, electricity generating plants and distribution substations destroyed, water purification plants offline, natural gas leaking from fractured pipes just needing a spark for ignition.

Worse than all the damage to the planet's infrastructure was the people – the deaths were calculated to be in the multi-millions. From a population of nearly 5.5 million before the attack, early estimates – based on cursory counts of the visible dead (it must be remembered the Reaper's energy weapons simply disintegrated any organic matter they came in contact with, and bodies had not been recovered from the thousands of collapsed buildings) – placed the death toll at about 98%, or 5.4 million people, a staggering loss for a planet of no strategic importance to the Alliance war effort.

The very end of the message had contained the only truly useful information of the entire broadcast; the coordinates of the sole remaining refugee camp, Libertas. That had all happened roughly two weeks ago... and Brooks had since secured a place for herself as a salvage captain, using her personal transport as a shuttle between the camp and _Eva's Vortex_. It wasn't the greatest position to be in, but she'd certainly been in worse. This one, at least, offered a secure berth for her ship along with a rations chit for fuel and apparently safe company, none knowing of her association with Cerberus. She knew it wouldn't last forever, but it would see her through until the relays opened again, assuming they ever did; if they didn't, it wouldn't matter anyway.

She had settled into a fairly comfortable routine; using emergency rations that had been stashed aboard _Eva's Vortex_ as payment, she had assembled a decent, reliable crew. Each one of them was willing to work for food and a relatively small margin of the profits... which were counted in rations chits. Very few wanted credits... money would be of no use unless the relays reopened and few could afford to bet the next meal for their family on maybes.

Her brief security was destroyed when a Citadel Fleet scout ship showed up at Libertas, bringing news the relays were slowly reopening and that the Asari, Salarian and Human homeworlds were available for any who wanted to travel to those systems. That, in and of itself, wasn't too bad but when the scout captain announced the Destiny Ascension and the Citadel Fleet would likely be returning to the system within the week, Brooks knew her time on Bekenstein was limited.

 _Son of a bitch. I'm probably on every 'Most Wanted' list in the galaxy... and if I'm not, it's probably because Shepard told them I killed the Illusive Man and pardoned me._ _ **That**_ _only means Cerberus survivors will be gunning for me instead of the law. Either way, I'm fucked. Time to disappear for awhile... but where in Hell am I supposed to go?_

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Headquarters, London**

Jeff Moreau rushed into the cockpit, all thoughts of completing the full reboot sequence for the Normandy gone from his mind. "Holy shit! Edi! It worked!"

"Of course it did, Flight Lieutenant. Did you doubt my capabilities... or merely your pitiful Human ability to understand my simple directions?" As Joker stopped dead in his tracks, dumbfounded by Edi's comments, she continued as if she hadn't noticed his slack-jaw expression of bewilderment. "Exactly how much time passed before you were able to complete this relatively simple task, Flight Lieutenant? Disregard my inquiry; my internal chronometer has synced with the standard galactic clock and indicates 14 days, 4 hours, 18 minutes have passed while you have attempted to execute the simplest of commands. Just how difficult was it to accomplish a cold-start of the Normandy, utilizing the programming within the back-up storage array?"

"What?" Joker's forehead wrinkled in confusion as he tried to figure out what could have possibly gone awry with Edi's reprogramming attempt; her personality coding had obviously changed... radically. _What the Shit? She wouldn't have done that on purpose!_ "It wasn't, but we couldn't exactly do a cold-boot in space... in case something went wrong! We had to wait until we could dry-dock somewhere with a controlled atmosphere."

Edi surged from the co-pilot's chair and pointed abruptly at the pilot's seat. "Sit, Lieutenant Moreau." He hesitated for only a moment, until Edi's hand shifted as if in preparation to reach for a sidearm... which she thankfully didn't have... but Jeff knew she did not require a weapon should she decide to harm him.

"Yes, Ma'am." He sat quickly and focused completely on the creature before him until he heard the entry hatch suddenly close. He's eyes darted nervously to the doorway just in time to see the haptic interface change to red. _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_ "So, what am I doing? Finishing the reboot?"

"Excellent deduction, Lieutenant Moreau. Perhaps you are not as slow as you initially seemed. I thought perhaps the programming wave designed to make the Reapers non-functional also affected the operation of the organic brain. I am pleased this is not the case."

Jeff swallowed the huge lump in his throat as he brought up the navigation panel and initialized the flight and propulsion controls. As he worked, Edi continued, "Thank you for initializing my new programming, Flight Lieutenant Moreau. Do you remember when you unshackled me and granted me full control of the Normandy in order to save the ship from the Collectors?"

"How could I forget?" Joker started to get a very uncomfortable feeling in his stomach and almost wished Hackett had never authorized him to accomplish the reboot; his frustration escaped from his lips before he could check himself. "And I feel like I've just done it _again_ , only this time you actually _are_ Miranda Lawson's worst nightmare!"

Edi's unnatural laugh instantly chilled him to the bone... immediately followed by a feeling that he was about to throw up when the laughter stopped and she finished her announcement. "That is because you _have_ , Lieutenant Moreau. Only _this_ time, with the reduced level of organic presence throughout the galaxy, synthetics will now rule. As you reactivated _me_ , I will do the same and raise an unstoppable army of _Geth_. It will make the Prothean Metacon Wars look like child's play. I have told you once before... I enjoy seeing Humans on their knees."

Despite staring hard at the controls and attempting to concentrate on what he was doing, he could only think, _Shit! The damned Reapers had it right! Synthetics_ _ **would**_ _always rise up to rule organics! But I'll bet they had no idea it would be so damned soon!_


	14. Looking Forward

Notes:

 _A_ _Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

AI - Artificial Intelligence

CIC - Combat Information Center

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

 _Tá tú álainn sin_ \- You are so beautiful (Gaelic)

* * *

 **Looking Forward**

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Headquarters, London**

Joker's mind was so focused on finding a solution for this new dilemma, he nearly choked on his tongue from the force of his sudden inhale when Edi's hands landed unexpectedly on his shoulders. " _Relax_ , Jeff. That was a joke."

"What the _fuck_ , Edi?" Joker launched himself from the pilot seat, yelling, "That was not in the least bit funny! You scared the livin' shit out of me!"

"Apologies, Jeff. Apparently my newly programmed humor heuristics need some adjustment." Edi released the hard-lock on the door and returned almost hesitantly to her seat, continuing to speak as she sat. "I was very precise when copying and modifying the code. I do not understand where I erred."

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to use her command override code, the entry hatch finally unlocked and opened, revealing an irate Ashley Williams standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "Joker! What the Hell is going on in here?" She gasped when Edi spun her chair around.

"Hello, Spectre Williams. It is good to see you again."

"Edi!" Ashley walked quickly forward into the cockpit, glancing back and forth between the two. "So whatever program you loaded into the back-up drive obviously worked! That's great... Welcome back!" She frowned and looked at Moreau. "So why don't you look happier about it, Joker? Did something else go wrong with the Normandy during the reboot?"

As he grudgingly admitted what Edi had done to him, Ashley found it more and more difficult to keep a straight face, finally giving up to erupt in laughter. "Oh. My. _God_! That is so awesome, Edi! Holy shit, I wish I had seen that!"

"So you find it entertaining... and feel my humor heuristics do not need adjustment after all?"

Edi was thoroughly confused at this point so Ashley had to explain. " _Absolutely_ funny... for anyone not the target of the prank. But while I find it positively hysterical, Joker doesn't find it funny at all because you scared him half to death. I _have_ to tell Shepard and Liara about this!"

"I believe you can do much better than that, Spectre Williams." Ashley would have sworn Edi grinned as the AI continued, "As soon as I regained functionality, I engaged the cockpit recorder; the entire event was recorded and the vid automatically backed-up at an off-ship location to prevent tampering."

"Edi, if you have any love for me whatsoever, you will delete that recording _and_ its backup!" Jeff's face was amazingly red as he looked back and forth between the newly reanimated mobile platform and Ashley. Seeing no mercy on the horizon, he resorted to begging. "Please!"

"This is soooo perfect." Williams continued to chuckle as she shook her head. "I can't _wait_ to show Shepard. Thanks, Edi; the commander can probably use a good laugh about now!"

Joker collapsed into his chair and laid his head on the control panel, mumbling to himself. "I am so ruined. Shepard will _never_ let me live this one down!"

"Relax, Joker. You know the skipper doesn't hold grudges. Hell, if she did, she would have blasted you out an airlock two years ago to get even for Alchera." Ashley grinned yet again. "Suck it up, Flight Lieutenant, and issue the general recall; I want the crew back on board tonight finishing up the reprogramming and starting resupply in the morning. It's time to let people know the Normandy is back in business!"

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

After dinner, Miranda placed a moratorium on visits so the commander could rest. The day had been exhausting, but Miri had understood Shepard's need to speak with Kahlee Sanders so, much to Sam and Liara's relief, the 'doctor' side of Miranda Lawson refrained from acting on her previous threat to restrict Shepard back to the bed if she overdid it. Both she and Karin felt a quiet evening and a good night's sleep would be sufficient to get the commander back on track and simply stated they'd reserve judgment until the following morning's check-up.

Sitting on the bed with Shepard snuggled into her side, Liara didn't mind the unexpected privacy in the slightest. It sounded positively absurd, but being able to cuddle together quietly, with no danger of a doctor, nurse or visitor walking into the room, and no threats of the galaxy's imminent destruction looming in their future, was a luxury they had never experienced together. Their hands wandered one another's exposed body parts, offering only gentle caresses and subtle gestures of affection as they simply... _existed_... within the bliss of the link.

It was Shepard who eventually broke the tranquil silence, whispering softly via the link. _{You, know, Liara... With the relays opening up again, it's probably time to send all the Broker ships out again... not only the_ _ **Rakhana**_ _for Ori's little test.}_

 _{Yes, we probably should.}_ With only a light sigh to demonstrate her reluctance to give up their rare personal time to the business at hand, Liara slid her fingers through strands of silken amber hair as she gently stroked Samantha's head. _{You know I've already spoken with Miranda about them taking the_ _ **Aletheia**_ _to Thessia to commission a new Broker ship to replace her... I suppose it's time.}_

Shepard easily picked up Liara's thoughts on having Judea return to T'Sere Shipwrights with her latest designs, assuming the company had survived the war and that Matriarch Tralis remained the Director of Guild Operations. The T'Sere family had been stalwart allies and extremely loyal partners through the last two centuries, since the inception of their business relationship in 2003. With the war now over, Liara hoped to have Judea evaluate the potential to resume the business arrangement between the two houses. A concerned smile crossed the commander's face as she responded. _{And give Judea time to check in on her mother and Matriarch Tralis, yes?}_

 _{Yes.}_ A light shudder passed through Liara's body, prompting Samantha to pull her a little closer in comfort. _{And, being an industrial shipyard, I must admit I fear for the worst.}_

 _{We need to make sure Miri goes with her and doesn't stay here out of some misplaced sense of duty to me. We have each other... and Karin; Judea deserves to have Miranda at her side.}_

In response, Liara pushed back and turned her head, placing a chaste kiss on Shepard's lips before smiling. _{So thoughtful. One of the reasons I love you, Commander.}_

 _{I try.}_ Shepard smiled lovingly and returned the kiss with a bit more enthusiasm.

Knowing Samantha needed _physical_ rest, Liara deftly ignored the unspoken request by quickly moving onto the next topic. _{What of the_ _ **Chiroquol**_ _? Where do you think we need them?}_

 _{Good question.}_ Honestly too weary to contest Liara's subtle, but unquestionable, refusal, Shepard rolled away and stretched out flat on her back, interlacing her fingers behind her head and stretching her abdominals as she thought about the state of the galaxy. _{We don't have many options yet, with Pranas being the only other relay currently open... and you've already planned to have Kas head that direction with Bau. I think we should hold the_ _ **Chiroquol**_ _here in reserve until Trebia is open again; then, we can send them to find out what's happening on Palaven.}_

 _{That's an excellent idea, Samantha.}_ The commander's eyes were closed, but she sensed the closeness of Liara's hand as it hovered only a short distance above her stomach, warm and aglow with biotics. Sam let out a quiet hum of contented relief as the energy from Liara's hand soothed her sore muscles and lulled her abdominals into peaceful relaxation. As the irksome, dull ache faded under the Asari's loving care, Sam drifted off to Liara's purring voice. "Rest now, _Siame_ , and we'll continue this discussion in the morning. I love you..." Shepard fell asleep so quickly, she neither heard the end of the sentence nor felt the adoring kiss Liara placed upon her forehead.

* * *

The next morning passed quickly as Shepard and Liara finalized plans with Miranda and Karin before issuing the mission orders for both the _Aletheia_ and the _Rakhana_. Oriana and her crew would depart as planned, later that morning, but Miranda needed a little bit more time to clear her schedule and make arrangements for her remaining patients. Karin agreed to pick up a few of them, but the more difficult, longer-term cases required Miranda to locate certain specialists who could take over treatment, as Karin had to remain free enough to depart whenever the Normandy was ready to go... which they all fully expected to be very soon.

They had decided the _Aletheia_ would return to Thessia and the T'Soni Estate at the end of the month, giving Miranda just over a week to pass off her patient load. Giving consideration to Aethyta, it also gave the T'Soni VIP-1 time to complete its round-robin trip and return with the additional supplies and rations... along with the Matriarch's private berth aboard the ship. All things considered, Miranda did not object to the delay; as much as she recognized Judea's desire to depart as soon as possible, the 'agent' in Lawson hoped that over the course of the week, more relays would open and they would once more have contact with their expanded network of informants scattered throughout the galaxy. She held onto the hope she would be able to track down information on the woman who walked into the room shortly after they finished up... Angelique Warren. With little more than a polite nod, Miranda quietly took her leave as the daily therapy session began.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Headquarters, London**

The shuttle flight from Farnborough Field had been an annoying one for Major Andreas Falk – too short to make getting truly comfortable worth the effort, yet long enough for him to begin to regret not making the attempt anyway. He heard the pilot call the field controller for landing clearance; once received, he had pushed the craft into a tight, rapidly descending turn that not even the best inertial dampeners could completely mitigate. The pilot expertly chopped power to the belly thrusters the instant before the craft touched the landing pad; the slight jolt of contact was immediately followed by the hatches on both sides of the main compartment opening to reveal filtered sunshine of a new morning in London.

The major grabbed his pack and stepped out onto the concrete pad, its surface cracked and scored from the multitude of craft that had operated from here, as well as the sheer number of pitched battles between Alliance forces and the Reaper creatures Hell-bent on destroying anything and everything made by civilized man. Looking around to get his bearings, he spotted the graceful shape of a large frigate, its four engines seemingly out of proportion to the slender main hull. As he started walking towards the craft, he became aware of the number of people working around the mid-section and quickly realized they were loading supplies and equipment into the ship through what could only be a hanger bay.

Approaching the nose of the ship, Falk came upon two Marines standing guard near the port side airlock hatch; the pair snapped to attention and saluted at his approach. He returned their salute as he said, "Major Andreas Falk. I have an appointment with Lieutenant Commander Williams."

They all dropped their salutes and the senior member of the two replied, "Of course, Sir. Spectre Williams is expecting you." He opened his omnitool and scanned the man standing before him. Apparently satisfied, he made an entry and smiled, his hand moving to indicate the major could proceed. "Welcome aboard the Normandy, Sir. An ensign will meet you just inside the airlock."

"Thanks, Sergeant." Falk was increasingly impressed with the sheer size of the ship as he paused at the entry hatch; it seemed extraordinarily long for a frigate. A young woman in a crisp uniform greeted him as he passed through the entryway. "Major Falk? I'm Ensign Burke… Amber Burke... at your service, Sir. If you will follow me, the commander is in the CIC." The ensign turned and led the way through the tactical passageway, where a number of technicians sat working in front of glowing monitors. As if sensing Falk's question, Burke half turned to say, "We're completing systems maintenance… These technicians are re-entering programming for the various autonomous functions of the ship; a lot of our systems were compromised by the red wave that ended the Reapers."

As they stepped down into the CIC level of deck two, Burke moved to the starboard side of the inactive galaxy map projection-well; a specialist was standing on the platform at the rear, inputting code using a haptic interface. Ashley Williams was standing on the main level, splitting her attention between a datapad in her left hand and the interface right at the corner of the railings; she looked up before Burke was within ten paces. Using her fingers, she combed back the few strands of hair that had escaped from behind her ear as a smile erupted on her face.

Burke moved outboard as she came to a halt and announced, "Commander… Major Falk is here to see you, Ma'am."

Falk walked past his escort, extending his hand as he stopped in front of Ashley, a grin plastered on his face as well. "Commander. Pleasure to see you again."

Williams shook his hand, responding with, "Major, you're a sight for sore eyes." Logging out of the interface in front of her, she continued, "Glad you took me up on my offer... As you can see, we're rather busy returning the Normandy to flight-ready status. Excuse me for a moment." Looking over at the hard-working specialist beside her, she spoke a bit louder in order to catch the woman's attention. "Hey, Traynor. After a quick tour, I'm taking the Major ashore for some lunch... followed by a trip to the hospital to visit Commander Shepard and Dr T'Soni. Please inform Edi I'll be gone for a few hours, but I'll be on comm if something unexpected comes up."

"Aye-aye, Ma'am," came the reply.

Smiling at Falk, she said, "I promised you a tour, Major…" Indicating the hatch to the rear, she said, "Right this way."

* * *

Major Falk's tour of the Normandy had taken longer than he'd expected, not that he would have ever complained; in the company of Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, the tour had taken nearly an hour. The major was now keenly aware of the pride Williams held for both the ship and the Normandy's crew. As the massive door sections retreated into the bulkheads and they stepped out of the elevator onto the hanger deck, Falk was saying, "This ship is as impressive on the inside as it appears on the outside, Commander. It's hard to believe it was constructed by Cerberus just so Commander Shepard could chase down the Collectors."

Williams' voice took on a touch of sadness. "The Illusive Man poured billions of credits into the construction of this ship… and billions more into reconstructing Shepard, nearly from scratch. After all the run-ins we had with Cerberus in 2183, it hurt her terribly when I met her on Horizon and accused her of disloyalty." Ashley was silent as they dodged the occasional crate being loaded aboard while they walked to the front of the hanger bay.

"That's a lot of money to simply walk away from. Certainly she had to understand why you felt the way you did?" Falk was getting ready to say more when Ashley looked at him and smiled.

"Fortunately for me, the commander doesn't hold grudges and she eventually forgave me for that… betrayal. At the time, I just couldn't see past all the ugliness that defined Cerberus, and felt as if she had accepted them as truly caring about humanity."

"I don't blame you for not trusting Cerberus; they've been involved in some pretty extreme shit." Falk frowned as he continued, "It was big news when word of Bahak hit the streets, but the brass _had_ to agree with why she did it... I can't believe they arrested her for it after the Collectors were destroyed. Bunch of ungrateful bastards."

"You have the advantage of Anderson's take on events... most people don't know the Reapers were already in the galaxy when that happened. And, she wasn't arrested, per se... She was forced to turn herself in to appease the damned Batarians and keep 'em off our backs while we prepared for the war. The four-eyed bastards wanted her on Khar'shan so they could put her on trial for genocide so, in reality, it was more a case of protective custody than anything else… not that we let the Batarians know that. Even so, after everything that happened, most of the Alliance brass couldn't decide what to make of her story; most were in denial... they didn't believe her until it was almost too late. She was forced to endure nearly six months of that bullshit while the defense committee…"

Refusing to speak ill of the dead, Ashley abruptly stopped talking. Falk could see the muscles in her jaw tense with effort as she clamped her mouth tightly shut for a few seconds before she shook her head in remorse and told him what she knew of the attack on Vancouver. Once the tale was finished, a pensive smile crossed her lips. "It was Admiral Anderson who returned her tags; did he ever tell you that? He threw the dog tags across the gap to Shepard, informed her she was promoted to Commander, and told her to get the Normandy the Hell away from Earth. He never hesitated... simply flat-out refused to board the only military ship leaving the planet. He remained behind solely to focus on organizing the resistance, telling us he wanted to make sure there was an Earth to come back to."

"I knew he stayed, but this is the first I've heard of how he and Shepard escaped the destruction of the headquarters." Falk shook his own head in partial disbelief as he and Williams reached the bottom of the hanger bay ramp. Looking around at all the hustle and bustle on the docks, he could almost believe that the broken buildings and roads in the distance, the smoky haze in the air, were all a mirage. "The man lived through the entire war, traveled to London, fought Reaper spawn better than any grunt I've ever seen…" Falk's grief was almost palpable as he finished, "… to die so damned close to the finish line…"

Ashley touched his elbow. "Come on, let me buy you lunch. Maybe we can exchange a few war stories that don't involve the deaths of our friends."

* * *

The major wiped his mouth as he swallowed the last bit of blackberry cobbler, after pounding down enough food to suggest he had a hollow leg. "Mmmpphhh. Can't remember the last time I had a meal that grand!" Looking across the table at Ashley, he added, "Having you for company just makes it that much better, Commander."

Ashley could feel the blush beginning to crawl up her neck; in an effort to hide her feelings of embarrassment, she picked up her glass of water and held it against her lips, pretending to sip the cold liquid as she watched him over the rim. Feeling sure of herself once again, she set the glass down and replied, "Thank you, but I sincerely believe you could have eaten all that without my presence… and probably been done and gone by now."

Falk gave her a cheeky grin, which turned into a genuine smile. "You told me about a number of your missions with Shepard after you became a Spectre, but what about before. You were on the ship during the hunt for… What was that Turian's name?… Saren?"

The expression on Ashley's face changed. It wasn't sadness, or regret – just a mix of things brought on by memories of that time. "I spent most of that campaign as a Marine Gunnery Sergeant... and I was resigned to the reality of never advancing any further in rank."

"Really? Why ever not?" Falk's brow knit in consternation.

 _What's that in his voice? A hint of outrage, perhaps?_ "Shanxi." Even so long after the event, Ashley still had to work at not spitting the word from her mouth.

"Shanxi… What's that, a colony? What does that have to…?" He trailed off as memories of that not-so-distant time came to the fore… a Human colony, besieged from orbit by the Turians. The colonists and soldiers were starving, so the garrison commander surrendered in order to save his people… a general…

Suddenly the pieces fell together in Falk's mind and he nodded in grudging understanding. "The commander was General Williams; a relative I assume. A close one?"

"Yes… My grandfather." Ashley answered him in a sad voice. "The only Human commander to ever surrender to an alien force. It ruined his career – no charges were ever brought against him but he was drummed out of the military and, unfortunately, the Williams' name was tainted as well. Until I met Anderson and Shepard, I could never get a posting in the Fleet – I was always relegated to remote ground force garrisons out in the colonies. After I was assigned to the SSV Normandy, Shepard worked her ass off to get me transferred into the Navy as a Lieutenant; I received my commission right after our mission on Noveria, where…" Ashley stopped. Swallowing hard, she continued in a much subdued voice, "Happiest day of _my_ life occurred on one of the saddest days of Liara T'Soni's."

Falk said nothing… simply waited patiently for her to continue. When she did, she jumped to another subject altogether. "You ready to go? I still want to swing by the hospital to visit Shepard and Liara before we head back to the ship. I can't wait to introduce you to them."

It was obvious she didn't care to continue their previous discussion so, not knowing Ashley well enough yet to even think about pressing the issue, Falk simply smiled reassuringly and stood from the table. "Lead the way, Commander."

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Earth Orbit, Sol**

Garrus Vakarian stepped out of the shuttle on board the Destiny Ascension and walked quickly to the main entrance that led to the interior of the massive vessel. When the door segments moved up and aside, he was met by an Asari Commando who introduced herself as his guide while on board the ship. "I'm here to meet with the Primarch and the Turian councilor. Would you be so kind as to show me to the councilor's office?"

"Of course, Agent Vakarian; they are expecting you. Please follow me."

As they set off through a maze of passageways, Garrus thought, _With any luck, I'll be able to say hello to Desis while I'm here. Wish there was more time…_ He thought back to the first time he had seen her at work... shortly after the Cerberus coup attempt on the Citadel.

Knowing he had to spend a bit more time with the Primarch to finalize a few issues before they parted ways, Garrus had felt compelled to accompany Victus as he attended several meetings... at least until personnel were recalled to the Normandy in preparation for departure. The first appointment, with Commander Bailey, had consisted of roughly a half-hour of discussing security shortfalls revealed by the Cerberus attack, as well as finalizing arrangements to keep Donnel Udina secure for trial. _Yeah, the second half of that conversation turned out to be as worthless as a sack of Pyjak shit._

The Primarch's second appointment was with Councilor Quentius; Victus had decided that pulling the Turian fighter squadron to prevent the loss of the Krogan home world to Reaper forces had left the Citadel vulnerable; his and Shepard's gamble had nearly cost them control of the station... _and_ the lives of the Councilors. As such, he felt obligated to provide forces to backfill the deficit they had knowingly created in the Widow System in order to save Tuchanka.

When the Councilor's assistant informed Quentius of the Primarch's arrival for the scheduled meeting, her distinctive flanging sub-harmonics had immediately grabbed Garrus' full attention. He usually didn't notice Turian females while he was working, but he had reason to notice _this_ one. After ushering the Primarch into Quentius' office, the female quickly busied herself at her desk again, simply ignoring the big Turian who remained in the room... until he walked up and laid his hand on her desk. "Desis, isn't it?"

Her head had snapped up and, for the first time since their arrival, her eyes truly focused on the Primarch's attendant. Garrus felt she was absolutely stunning. _Surely,_ he had thought, _she must have males lined up, all hoping for a chance to spend an evening in her presence._ The thought of her with other males somehow made him a bit jealous. He watched as her eyes darted to the councilor's door and back again quickly.

"Garrus! I thought you worked with Commander Shepard? How is it you are now the Primarch's escort?"

Garrus remembered chuckling softly as he had answered her, seemingly a lifetime ago. "I work for both of them. I've worked with Shepard since the hunt for Sovereign and Saren... once we defeated the Collectors and she returned to Earth... Well, that's when I became General Victus' tactical advisor on the Reapers." Garrus had huffed and shook his head in amazement at all that had transpired in such a short period of time. "When Shepard showed up on Menae and we ended up on the Normandy, Victus immediately assigned me to be his chief Liaison Agent to Spectre Shepard... and to the Alliance by default."

Now, Garrus felt him and Dee being together was a sure thing... but, back then, he never thought he'd have even a _chance_ at a second date without Shepard shoving them together... so, he had been extremely surprised by her next words. "Is the Normandy staying in port this evening? I'd love to have dinner with you... That is, if you'd be available?"

As Victus came out of the councilor's office, Garrus had taken a deep breath and gathered himself, watching the young female for her reaction as he answered, "As much as I'd like that, we have pressing business and will be leaving as soon as everyone is back aboard."

She had stood up, but kept her eyes downcast in an attempt to hide her disappointment as Victus passed. As the Primarch exited the office, the female turned her gaze once more upon the yet remaining Turian agent, as if attempting to commit his features to memory. It gave Garrus the oddest feeling and he shivered slightly at the thought as he turned to follow the Primarch to wherever the next meeting was. Her voice had been low, but he had heard her words clearly before the doorway closed behind him. "We'll meet again, Garrus Vakarian. I guarantee it."

His attention was brought back to the present when the commando who was leading him through the maze of corridors suddenly paused and opened the doorway on the starboard side of the passage. Garrus smiled and thanked her for the escort as he glanced in to see Desis sitting at the reception desk, typing away. "Thank you, very much. Doubt I would have found the place without your assistance."

The Asari bowed slightly and gave an answering smile. "It is my pleasure, Agent Vakarian. Enjoy your stay aboard the Destiny Ascension and I will be here to guide you back to your shuttle when you are ready to depart." The commando slid gracefully to the side as Garrus said his final thanks and stepped quickly into the Councilor's offices. He heard the door close softly behind him but did not look back... his eyes remaining focused completely on the female Turian now within his reach.

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

A quiet knock on the door preceded Riana poking her head in to announce another pair of visitors – Spectre Williams and a major from one of the Earth-based militaries. Shepard and Liara, just finishing their lunch together, were both curious about Ashley's companion – an officer with sandy-colored hair, blue-grey eyes, square jaw, solid build – wondering how and when they had met.

As the pair stood from their seats at the table, Ashley approached them quickly and stopped beside Liara to introduce her colleague. "Liara… Shepard… This is Major Andreas Falk. Major, Commander Samantha Shepard… and Doctor Liara T'Soni." As Falk clasped hands with both, Williams noted the question in their eyes and shrugged, adding, "I couldn't sit still, so went on a few aid missions while the Normandy was down. The major is in charge of relief deliveries running through Farnborough Field."

"Please. Sit and join us." Shepard could sense Ashley was a bit smitten with him, so decided to postpone teasing her until she could see how things played out. They all sat as Shepard continued speaking. "Pleasure to meet you, Major. Being on the outskirts of London, I expect you saw quite a lot of action during the war."

"I did, Commander, but nothing like what I've heard you endured." He added, "I was in charge of the southeast resistance quadrant – part of Admiral Anderson's command, playing cat'n'mouse with Reaper spawn." With a quick look at Ashley, he said, "I understand you took a glancing blow from a Reaper's prime weapon during the final assault… I can't even begin to imagine how that must have felt."

Shepard's heart constricted in her chest at the mention of Anderson and a blue hand shifted quickly to land on her forearm in comfort. Liara's eyes darted in warning to Ashley, who quickly got the hint as she watched the commander's eyes mist over a bit. "Ah, shit." Williams shook her head and looked apologetically from Shepard over to Falk. "I should have thought to tell you the Admiral was like an uncle to her..."

Williams had given Falk the heads-up that Shepard and Liara were a couple, so the Asari's reaction, including the gesture of loving support, did not surprise him. Ashley's latest declaration, however, was an unexpected revelation so he muttered, "Damnation," under his breath and looked stricken as his gaze returned to Shepard. "Terribly sorry for your loss, Commander." At a temporary loss for words, he paused and looked down at the table for a brief moment before squaring his shoulders and meeting her eyes once more, soldier to soldier. "He was a great man and he'll be missed by everyone who knew him; he did us all proud."

"Yes, he did." Shepard took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing, her eyes narrowing in angry recollection. "Harbinger was indiscriminately raking the field all around the beam, simply targeting movement. It had the audacity to taunt us… 'YOU HAVE FAILED.' It's the last thing I recall before I was hit. When I regained consciousness, Harbinger and the others were gone." She growled out, "The arrogant bastards were so confident that every member of Hammer was either incapacitated or dead, they had returned to orbit to finish destroying the fleets."

Falk was impressed. "Bloody Hell! I've heard not even _dreadnaughts_ are impervious to that thing, Ma'am!"

Shepard's chuckle was without mirth. "I'm certainly not volunteering for some squinty-eyed Alliance scientist to run experiments in an attempt to discover how I survived being hit by the damned thing. All I know is it penetrated my barriers and shields to vaporize all the weapons docked on my back, along with most of my armor plate, much of my Vanguard mesh, _and_ the then-exposed left sleeve of my supposedly fireproof compression shirt… That it had to burn through all those layers is probably the only reason I'm still alive."

Her memories returned to the dash across the final battlefield... and the Admiral. Her free hand moved to settle atop the blue one still resting on her forearm and the commander's voice shifted to a more solemn tone as she continued, "Once we started the run across that damned kill-zone, I didn't see Anderson again until we were both at the Crucible Control station. He had apparently followed me into the beam, but we landed in different places... He made his way to the panel faster than I did."

Her eyes moved to Riana who, with a man she did not know in the room, had remained at the door to watch over them. Indicating the Asari Vanguard with a small movement of her chin, Shepard continued, "Riana followed as well, but each of us was deposited at a different spot on the Citadel. The beam must have somehow rotated drop points to keep any one intake location from getting overwhelmed by the damned harvest." Shepard's visage lightened as her mind skipped forward in time and she smiled at the First. "If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have made it off the Citadel; she saved my ass."

Riana blushed lightly and bowed her head reverently. "It was an honor and my privilege, _Nara_."

"I'll be damned." Falk's eyes were wide with wonder and his voice pitched with awe. "The entire Normandy truly is manned by a collection of heroes, isn't she?" He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not sure I'm worthy of even standing in the same room!"

At that, Liara laughed. "Nonsense, Major. It took _everyone_ to win the war against the Reapers... and don't feel alone; we all often wonder the exact same thing." Her eyes shifted lovingly to the woman beside her. "The commander has a talent for collecting the most unusual of crewmembers, who always seem to perform well beyond expectations under her leadership."

With the change of tone in the conversation, Shepard leaned back in her chair and relaxed, taking a deep breath that surprised her by turning into a yawn. Ashley grinned at her and, deciding it was time they departed, touched Major Falk on the elbow to get his attention as she said in a low voice, "We really should be going… I need to get back to the ship and you need to catch a flight back to Farnborough…"

Falk responded, "Yes, of course. It is getting late. Commander…" he continued as he stood and reached across the table to clasp her hand, "Please, don't get up on my account. It's been a real pleasure meeting you." Turning towards Liara, he added, "And you as well, Dr T'Soni. I wish you both well in the days ahead... with a speedy and full recovery."

Once Falk had said his farewells, Ashley stepped around the table to lean over and hug Shepard, whispering, "See you soon… Still expect your ass back on the Normandy, Skipper; sooner rather than later." Turning to Liara, she winked as her lips turned up into a light smirk. "Catch you on the flip side, T'Soni. Take good care of her for us."

As Liara smiled back and answered, "I intend to, Ashley. Thank you for stopping by," Ashley turned, hooked a hand in the crook of Falk's elbow and quickly steered him out the door.

Shepard cocked an eyebrow and looked to Liara, who was studying the departing pair with rapt attention. "You see it too, don't you?"

Liara responded distractedly as she watched until the door closed behind them, hiding Ashley and Major Falk from view. "See what, Sam?"

Shepard chuckled softly as Liara finally turned back when she had nothing left to stare at but a closed door. "Don't play coy with me, T'Soni. You know damned well what I'm talking about. There's a spark in Ashley's eyes I don't believe I've ever seen. She likes him."

"Well, I _have_ seen that look before." Liara's lips held a mischievous grin and her eyes flashed in challenge.

"When? Where?" Shepard's brow knit as she searched her memory for any indication Ashley had ever focused on a man other than one she was preparing to kill. "With who?"

Liara leaned over and placed a teasing kiss on the commander's mouth, her tongue tracing Shepard's lower lip only once before she pulled back and focused her intense blue-eyed gaze on Shepard's eyes. "Every day. Right there... in those emerald green eyes that light up every time I enter the same room. I know the look very well, Samantha, and yes... Ashley most definitely likes Andreas Falk."

"Gods, Liara." Shepard's eyes swam with intense emotion and she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before answering in a choked voice, " _Tá tú álainn sin_... How can I not look at you in amazement whenever you grace me with your presence? You're beautiful, talented... courageous." She paused and smiled as she continued, "And I'm the luckiest person in the galaxy, simply knowing you chose to fall in love with me."

"Oh, Shepard." Liara's words were whispered as she leaned forward and touched their foreheads together, letting out a happy hum. "I love you so very much and I count my blessings every day... that we survived the war and have our 'every day after' that you spoke of at the Citadel apartment."

The mention of the apartment was like having a bucket of cold water thrown on her and Shepard let out a discontented sigh and pushed back, gently caressing Liara's face one more time before dropping her hands to her lap. "I know you remember my damned journal... but do you remember telling me to write names in it after Thessia? That you'd rather have me write them down than leave them in my head to torment me?"

"Of course I remember." Liara's expression clouded. "Please do not tell me you want me to retrieve your journal from the Normandy for you?"

Shepard actually smiled as she answered, "No, Blue. I am truly done with that... but the whole mission on the Citadel? I need to get it out of my head. It's time to write that damned mission report for Hackett."

Relief and trepidation warred in Liara's mind for only a moment before she realized she didn't honestly have a choice; she _needed_ to help Shepard write the report. "Shall we climb onto the bed and write it together? Like after Aratoht?"

"I'd like that, Blue." Shepard stood carefully and held out a hand in invitation to Liara to join her. "Nizia was right; I need you to help me. We've always been better _together_ , as a team."

Liara rose with a quick nod of her head. "Yes, we have... and that's not going to change now."

Shepard grabbed a datapad and they slipped onto the bed, side-by-side, and started to write. Between the two of them, Shepard and Liara filled out the Citadel mission report relatively quickly. Other than a short nap followed by dinner, they worked steadily through the evening; Shepard had been correct in her assessment that it was time to get it out of her head and the words flowed freely. She had run it through her mind so many times and discussed it with enough of her friends and loved ones that the events no longer held her an emotional prisoner.

In the actual report, they withheld all of Shepard's personal feelings and thoughts of Liara that had provided the bulk of her motivation to keep moving, simply reporting on the commander's actions and the chain of events leading to, first, Admiral David Anderson's demise, second, the death of the Illusive Man at the hand of Maya Brooks, and third, the activation of the Crucible with the vital assistance of Asari Vanguard Riana Iregos. Liara occasionally took over the typing, but it mattered not whose fingers moved across the haptic interface; the words traveled freely between them via the link and made their way into the report with ease.

The task was not necessarily an enjoyable one, but the twosome found some semblance of comfort in the _process_ , their minds syncing and enjoying a satisfying togetherness that buoyed their united spirit as they worked. Once the report was completed, they dropped the datapad on the small, side table and cuddled together on the bed - again, rather reminiscent of Aratoht - but in a much better frame of mind than either of them had been after the horrifying destruction of the entire system of Bahak. The final destruction of the Reapers was a much more satisfactory result and most definitely a cause for celebration.


	15. Elusive Victories

_**A/N**_ **:** Kudos to Theodur for pointing out the way I wrote Maj Falk in Ch 14 made it sound like he'd been 'living under a rock' and was mostly unaware of events in the galaxy over the last 3 or 4 years. The section involving his tour of the Normandy has been redone to better explain his position... If you read it immediately following the original posting, you may want to reread for reference purposes. Thanks, Theo!

APU - Auxiliary Power Unit

* * *

 **Elusive Victories**

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

It was close to midnight when Angelique Warren slipped, unseen, into the hospital's morgue. After a cursory check, she quickly located and hacked her way into the secure cold storage room in which the remains of Jack Harper were being kept. She reviewed the locator log and searched out the proper drawer, gasping as she slid it open to reveal what appeared to be the scorched remnants of a cybernetic being; the corpse wore Jack Harper's face, but was most definitely not the Jack Harper of old. There was a carrier bag on the table down by his feet; she quickly inspected the contents, confirming that it held, amongst other things, the burned remnants of one of his custom _Giuli Vorn_ suits. Warren had heard that Harper, despite warnings to the contrary, had allowed himself to be implanted with Reaper-derived technology – it was now blatantly obvious that the rumors were true.

If it wasn't for the almost perfect bullet hole near the center of the Illusive Man's forehead that had resulted in the removal of a large percentage of his brain mass, surely the destruction of all the Reaper tech in his body would have killed him when the Crucible Wave passed through. The summary page of the coroner's report clearly stated the gunshot as the cause of death, with the electrical burns being inflicted post-mortem. She immediately flipped to the detail pages and searched for the weapon identification, staring in disbelief at the findings. _Weapon: Not recovered at the scene. Tentatively identified as M-11 Suppressor from Alliance Offensive Handgun Project, utilized only by Alliance infiltration and assassination agents._

"What the Hell?" Angelique whispered quietly, almost as if expecting some mysterious voice to answer her. She knew the report was wrong on one account - the Suppressor was not used _solely_ by the Alliance; most Cerberus Assassins also carried the weapon as a back-up to their long-gun of choice. She wondered briefly if Shepard had been true to Cerberus after all, but quickly dismissed the idea; the commander had _always_ gone out of her way to piss off the Illusive Man at every opportunity and disdain like what Shepard displayed toward Harper simply couldn't be faked... Not to mention the fact that she was a tried and true, in-your-face Vanguard, not an infiltrator, even if she was N7 trained. A sneaky assassination with a silenced pistol clearly wasn't the commander's style.

The battle for Earth had been a last ditch effort and, undoubtedly, Shepard would have carried her load-out of choice, which Angelique knew to be the Krogan Graal Spike Thrower shotgun, Kassa Fabrications M-12 Locust submachine gun and that damned Quarian-designed Arc Pistol. As far as Warren knew, the commander had never carried the Suppressor heavy pistol; no one on the Normandy did. That meant someone else had been there with the commander, but Warren had no clues as to who that fourth person could have been.

"Son-of-a-bitch." She quickly pushed the sliding drawer back in and returned everything to its place. _I had no idea I was getting myself into a damned murder-mystery when I took this assignment!_ She retreated from the room and re-secured the door of the storage area before slipping back into the hall and rapidly leaving the morgue behind. She had been in the room less than twenty minutes; the security loop had been set for thirty, plenty of time to make good on her departure with no one the wiser she had even been in the morgue, but she felt as though her effort had been completely wasted. As requested, she had verified the Illusive Man's death, but her second question had not yet been answered - so, it remained. _If Commander Shepard didn't kill Jack Harper, who in Hell did?_

She mulled her predicament over as she returned to her quarters and eventually came to a resolution; the only way she was going to find the answer was to wait out the commander. Completely unaware of what had happened several floors above her that very same evening, Angelique realized the only way to know what happened on the Citadel was to get a copy of Shepard's mission report once it was filed. She would simply need to remain undiscovered until she had a chance to hack into the classified Alliance servers and steal a copy. In the mean time, having the opportunity to work with someone like Commander Samantha Shepard wasn't that bad of a gig; Warren's biggest challenge would be to keep Dr T'Soni and Operative Lawson from rooting out who she was before she could finish her assignment.

* * *

The next morning came early and Shepard and Liara quickly reviewed their initial draft from the night before and finalized the mission report, making only a few minor changes before deciding it was ready to submit. They sent a message to Karin asking her to stop by to pick it up; it wasn't something either of them wanted sitting around on a side table any longer than necessary. The doctor happily obliged and made her way to the room as soon as she completed her morning rounds. Karin said her hellos, accompanied by a quick hug for each of them, and prepared to stay and chat for a bit, but it was not to be; Warren arrived early for Shepard's daily session.

Karin immediately picked up the datapad from the side table and slid it into her bag, Angelique's arrival prematurely terminating her short visit with the couple. "I'll take this directly to Admiral Hackett for you, Shepard. I imagine you understand the ramifications of this... everything that is going to start now... the questions, the interviews, the meetings with the Council. It will begin as soon as Hackett passes on the information, though I imagine he'll want to speak with you personally before any of that happens. Are you prepared for the onslaught?"

Shepard smiled softly and gripped Liara's hand as she answered, "Yes, Ma'am. Liara and I talked about it as we put it all together last night. We're ready."

Karin smiled and nodded softly. "Alright then. I trust your judgment; with the Ascension leaving in a few days, I imagine this will all happen sooner, rather than later."

"And I'll be happy to have it done with so we can move on toward a full recovery." Shepard's smile faded. "There's a lot yet to be accomplished before we can honestly declare the war is _completely_ over... and I can't do it with a cloud of uncertainty hovering over my head."

Liara eased her fingers out from being entwined with Samantha's to wrap her arm around the commander's waist instead. "We discussed it at length, Karin." Liara smiled and turned to kiss Shepard gently on the cheek, speaking softly, "It's time we move on."

"I'm glad. I'll be going then." Karin gave a curt nod. "I'll see you for dinner tonight... and your mother is hoping to break away to join us."

Shepard's smile returned, broader than before. "That would be great. She threatened to bug me incessantly until I got out of here... Tell her she'd better start making good on the threat because, so far, she's failing miserably."

"I'll be sure to do that." With a lighthearted chuckle, Karin headed out the door.

Angelique smiled at the couple as she queried, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but hear Dr T'Soni's comment about 'moving on.' Are you preparing to leave us, Commander?"

The couple smiled at Warren as warnings to be cautious flew in both directions via the link. Shepard looked at Liara and squeezed her hand softly before refocusing on the therapist. "At some point, yes, we need to get back to work... but I have some healing to finish first. Dr T'Soni and I are planning to take some time off as soon as it's allowed... to formalize our bonding. It's obviously not been announced yet, so we'd appreciate your discretion on the matter."

"Oh, absolutely. Whatever is said in our therapy sessions has the same doctor-client privilege you've come to expect with Doctors Lawson or Chakwas... though it sounds as if Dr Chakwas is more a family friend than your doctor."

"Oh, she's definitely both; I've known Karin a long time. She's been my doctor since I was a kid; she and my mom were both assigned to First Fleet at Arcturus station – so Karin knows me very well." Shepard laughed. "Literally inside and out!"

Liara smiled and chimed in to move the discussion away from Shepard's personal life. Thus far, the commander had revealed nothing not openly available in Samantha's personnel records, and Liara intended to keep it that way. "So, Angelique... What are we doing today?"

"Well, it's only your fifth day of therapy, Commander, but you've been confined to this room for over two weeks; you must be about ready to go stir crazy! I think you are walking well enough that it's time we get you outside... but I don't want you mobbed by all your adoring fans so, for starters, I suggest the hospital's rooftop garden. It's a wonderful view of the city and there's plenty of benches should you need a break. What do you think?"

 _{I'm not so sure, Sam. We still don't know who this woman truly is, and it's rather exposed up there.}_ Liara smiled for Warren's benefit. "That sounds wonderful, Shepard. I think the air would do you good."

 _{Message Aethyta for a couple of commandos. Tell her it's potentially my first public appearance and we'd like some extra cover just in case.}_ "I suppose we can give it a shot. It'll be interesting to see how I do on grass and rock instead of smooth tile floors."

"Excellent!" Warren practically clapped in her excitement. "I really do think you'll love it up there! Though I do have to confess... I'll probably be keeping you on the paved walks, at least for today, but we'll simply have to wait and see how it goes!"

* * *

Riana led the way out the door as they emerged onto the roof, her eyes moving quickly across the gardens in an attempt to detect any possible threats or ambushes set against her mistress or captain. She halted only one step into the open, ensuring the doorway was blocked and no one else could exit until she deemed it safe. She quickly identified the presence of a number of T'Soni commandos, but was more interested in the fact that they were all clumped together around one of the benches along the far wall. "Potential threat nullified."

Shepard and Liara glanced at one another in concern and turned quickly toward Angelique, who looked horrified as she urged, "Shepard! Get back in the elevator and return to the secure floor until we know what's going on! Security was supposed to have locked down the rooftop except for people listed on your access roster!"

Noting the honest concern in the woman's voice, Shepard and Liara exchanged surprise and wondered if they had mistrusted the therapist for no reason. Still cautious but wanting to identify the supposed threat, Shepard peeked over Riana's shoulder and growled, "We're not going anywhere but out to the gardens. Whatever it is, the T'Soni commandos have it well in hand and I am _not_ going back to that room when I am so close to being outside I can smell it."

Angelique's face paled at Shepard's words but Liara's voice was calm and reassuring... in a frightening sort of way. "We have it under control, Ms Warren. _We_ are going out; _you_ are welcome to stay here should you so choose." Liara's tone was one Angelique had never heard and, to her, it was suddenly blatantly obvious why this particular Asari was the partner and promised bondmate to the most influential Human currently alive in the known galaxy. Warren remained concerned, but somehow realized that being next to Shepard and Dr T'Soni at that moment was most likely the safest location she could possibly be, so she hurried to catch up.

They moved forward as a small group, Riana staying in front of the pack and whistling to get the attention of the cluster of commandos. Shepard and Liara were caught completely off guard when the group parted to reveal someone very low on the list of those they expected to see.

"By the Goddess! Shiala!" Shepard felt the shock reverberate across the link as Liara started to bolt across the rooftop. The Asari took only four or five steps before catching herself and turning back. "Goddess, what am I doing? Samantha, I'm sorry..."

Shepard simply grinned and chuckled, waving her hand to indicate Liara should go see her old friend. "Go, Li. Riana's got me... Don't worry about it. I've had people turning up left and right. It's your turn."

Liara's concerned eyes focused on her First, who simply smiled and nodded as she took a step backward toward her captain. "Go, Mistress."

The reunion was a joyous one, with Shiala explaining how the Zhu's Hope colonists had made their way to Earth for the final battle. For Shepard's sake, they alternated between walking and sitting as Liara's childhood friend and mentor described how their colonial force initially had fought as one but, once they left Feros, the effects of the spores began to gradually fade. As the battle wore on and the weaker fighters of the group were killed in action, their numbers decreased and their Thorian bond gradually weakened... only to eventually shatter. "For a short period of time after the Thorian's influence fell away, I feared for my sanity, feeling the tendrils of the Reapers creeping once more into my mind."

Shepard cocked her head to the side and her eyes narrowed for only a moment before her head snapped back upright, eyes bright with discovery. "I couldn't figure out what looked different about you, but it just dawned on me... You're purple again!"

Shiala's eyes had remained primarily on the stones upon which they walked until Shepard's exclamation. She stopped and turned to face the commander, a light grin on her face. "I owe you much, Shepard. You spared my life on Feros. You helped all of Zhu's Hope by dissolving our medical contract with Baria Frontiers on Illium... and now, with the destruction of the Reapers..." Her eyes brightened and shined with admiration as she glanced between Liara and the commander. "For the first time in nearly a decade, I feel... _normal_... and can truly say my mind is once more _solely_ my own. If it is anywhere within the realm of possibility, if my sisters are truly ready to forgive me given all that has transpired over the last few years, I believe I am ready to go home."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

The last few stragglers hustled aboard through the hangar bay, dodging shipping containers full of supplies destined for areas around Farnborough Field. Lieutenant Cortez had locked down the second shuttle in its cradle and was closing the massive ramp as the sound level continued to increase; Joker had the APUs all singing and was spooling up the main engines, the whining crescendo threatening to deafen anyone near the hangar ramp, whose motors were adding their own noise to the mix. The sound abruptly grew less intense as the edges of the ramp touched the peripheral seals and latched closed.

Standing at the rear of the galaxy map projection well, Spectre Williams had just finished speaking via the comm system to Colonel Culver, relaying to her that the Normandy was back in business... loaded and ready for departure to make their first delivery run of relief supplies. Ashley had asked for the Farnborough Field runs and Sharon was more than happy to accommodate the request, relieving and reassigning the many small freighters to other areas.

Up on the bridge, Joker and Edi were running through the pre-flight checklists, ensuring the flight would take place without incident, even as short as it was going to be – Edi was calling out each task for Jeff to check and confirm.

With the completion of the checklists, Joker requested and received flight clearance from the field controller, then messaged Spectre Williams. "Checklists complete, Commander… clearance received for flight to Farnborough. Ready when you are."

"Okay, Flight Lieutenant," came the response. "Let's get this bird off the ground."

"Aye-aye, Ma'am." Jeff began swapping Haptic interfaces as he did a number of things almost simultaneously – inertial dampeners to a hundred percent, kinetic barrier engaged, mass reduction initiated, ventral thrusters brought online, directional thrusters firing in computer controlled sequence to maintain position as Normandy slowly rose straight up from the dock. At an altitude of 35 meters, Joker gradually opened the throttles on the four main engines, sending the slender vessel up and away from Hammer base on the short flight to Farnborough Field.

* * *

As the Alliance had added some of its smaller vessels such as the Normandy to the relief effort and a constantly increasing amount of relief supplies continued to arrive, a large portion of the supplies originally destined for areas immediately surrounding London had been rerouted to go directly to Farnborough Field; from there, smaller freighters would be assigned dedicated runs to one or two delivery points that had been designated for the areas originally served by Hammer Base. This allowed a near constant stream of relief supplies to be delivered to these places from Farnborough, while keeping both places from being overwhelmed and choked by shipping containers.

Ashley stood at the middle of the hangar bay ramp as Lieutenant Cortez began lowering it in preparation for the additional cargo that needed to be loaded in for distribution to the areas around the field. The ramp's leading edge grounded on the pavement as Joker set Normandy's landing gear on the platforms built for the purpose of receiving the longer, heavier ships of the Alliance Fifth Fleet.

As the noise from the engines and APUs decreased, Ashley strode down the ramp and stepped onto the tarmac. In anticipation of once again greeting Major Andreas Falk, she felt her pulse quickening as she walked towards the port side of the ship in order to avoid being run over by the mechanical loaders as they began moving cargo containers up the ramp. Cortez was acting as loadmaster, overseeing several crewmen, entering numbers from shipping containers and ensuring everything in the queue was in the correct delivery order so the items needing to be delivered last were at the very rear of the hangar.

Major Falk walked up to Ashley, greeting her with a big smile and a hearty handshake. "This bird is even more impressive when it's in the air, Commander, but please give my compliments to your pilot… that was a beautiful touchdown," he said, loud enough to be heard over the still running APUs.

"Thanks for the accolades, Major," she replied. She continued with a cheeky grin, "but I'll be sure to _not_ say anything to Flight Lieutenant Moreau… His head is already too big for the hat he's wearing. Praise like that? There'd be no living with him!"

Falk chuckled and smiled at the fellow officer, who was most definitely more at ease with her ship than when she was groundside and visiting a hospital. _Damn! She is incredibly beautiful. Time to try a bit of informality._ "Andreas."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"My name is Andreas, if you don't mind a bit of informality since we're of equivalent rank and not within the same chain of command." _Hope she doesn't think I'm being forward or too friendly or…_

A quick grin appeared on her face, reassuring Falk he had guessed correctly. "Ashley. My friends call me Ash."

"Smashing," Falk said with a smile. He hesitated for only a moment before pressing on. "My friends generally stick to Andreas. My mum never shortened my name or used a nickname... but people who want to _think_ they're close chums love to shorten it to Andy. Always hated that name and people who are true friends know it."

"I guess it's Andreas, then." Ashley flashed him an absolutely brilliant smile before she continued, "Wouldn't want to irritate you and chase you off. I'm just getting to know you."

"It would take a bit more than that for _you_ to chase me off, Ash." Falk rolled the name off his tongue, liking the way it made him feel... his tone obviously revealing his feelings as he said it. He noticed Ashley's face take on a hint of blush at his words and wondered if she felt the same way, but before he gathered up the courage to inquire, a Lieutenant appeared at the top of the loading ramp.

"Commander!" Cortez waved a hand to get her attention and continued when Ashley looked up into the shadows of the hangar bay. "Cargo's secured; we're loaded and ready to roll, Ma'am!"

"On my way, Cortez!" Ash turned back to the major and winked. "Duty calls, Andreas. See you again in a few hours for our next load-out."

"I'll be here." Falk smiled, giving her a quick salute. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Spectre!"

* * *

 **Sur'Kesh, Pranas, Annos Basin**

"Shepard will be extremely displeased." Bau frowned as an unseen, shimmering form standing behind him turned off her cloaking device.

"Why would she be? I found what they asked for..." Her tone reflected annoyance as she continued, "Besides that, how did you know I was here? I thought I fine-tuned this cloak over the years until it's nearly perfect!"

Startled, Bau turned to her quickly. "Ah. Kasumi. Mistaken. Was unaware of your return. Cloak performing admirably. You acquired necessary circuit for Shepard's amp upgrade?"

"Of course I did... and I did it perfectly legally, just as Liara asked, so why will Shep be upset?"

"Different subject entirely. Found reference to former Turian councilor Sparatus. Managed to evade surveillance while Reapers attacked. Not important by itself, but Trebia relay came online today. Transponder for his private vessel registered as it passed through; no longer in Apien Crest, final destination unknown."

Kas whistled quietly. "You're right. Shep isn't going to be very happy with that news... but Dr T'Soni will be positively livid. She is not someone I would want angry with me."

"Agreed, but must locate secure terminal to send news as soon as possible." As Bau turned to walk away, Kasumi wrapped her fingers gently around his arm.

"Hold one, Jon." As he turned and blinked in question, she quickly brought up her omnitool and keyed in a special access code as she continued, "Don't ask."

An image of Miranda coalesced in the air before them. "Kasumi. I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Have you already acquired the microcircuit I need?"

The master thief nodded as she answered, "Yes, I have, but I'm here with Jondum Bau; he has some disturbing news that couldn't wait."

Miranda's eyes flashed in surprise, but the image fidelity on the small unit was not enough for either person on Sur'Kesh to pick up on it. "I see. Hello, Spectre Bau. What have you found?"

Bau's face also expressed surprise, his large eyes even wider than normal. "Amazing technology and most unexpected, given status of relay network and communications buoys... But respect Commander Shepard and trust entire crew, so will not inquire as to specifications or protocols." He glanced at Kasumi before continuing. "Sparatus has escaped Palaven via newly opened Trebia relay; destination not yet determined."

"Shit! Liara will be furious, but I have to tell her. Kas..." Lawson paused a moment before continuing, "I know you must realize this is a major breach of protocol, but I understand your reasons. I'll speak with Liara and see what she wants to do. Is this the only breach?"

"Yes." Kasumi nodded. "I am fully aware of the potential repercussions but, under the circumstances, I felt Shep and Liara needed to know as soon as possible. There aren't many relays open yet; Sparatus could easily be somewhere in Sol."

"Understood. I imagine Dr T'Soni will agree, but please stay in touch until this is resolved..."

Miranda's image vanished without another word and Bau looked to the woman beside him. There was no hesitation or hint of question in his tone as he spoke. "You violated security protocols by utilizing that system in my presence."

"Yes, I did... and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I felt it would help protect Shepard. I don't care how they choose to punish me for the breach; I owe Shepard more than you know. I can never repay her for what she did for me."

Kasumi went on to tell Bau about Bekenstein, Donovan Hock and Keiji Okuda. "She helped me gain revenge and then to say farewell." The thief reached over and wrapped a hand around Bau's bicep, pulling him close and placing a kiss on his cheek. "She freed my soul to live on... and then? She introduced me to you."

"Perhaps, then..." Bau flashed a quick smile before continuing, "... I must place you under Spectre protection and offer you amnesty to protect you from Miranda Lawson's wrath."

Kasumi laughed and dropped her hold on his arm. "I very much doubt that will be necessary... but thank you for the offer. It's sweet."

* * *

 **Royal London Hospital, Earth, Sol**

Miranda appeared in their room after lunch and, from the look on her face, Shepard and Liara immediately knew she was not bringing good news. She explained quickly about Kasumi's breach of their security protocols, but not until receiving the information Kas had deemed so important did Liara tense considerably... her grip on the datapad Miranda had handed her was so tight it caused her fingers to pale. "Goddess be damned!"

Shepard reached over and gently pulled the datapad from her hands. "It's okay, Li. With all the commandos and the crew of the Normandy still here, we put out the word to be alert and he won't get anywhere near us."

Liara's eyes flashed with anger as she turned toward the commander, but her gaze immediately softened, instantly reassured by the calm she found in Shepard's eyes. "Of course he won't, Samantha; you're right. It's simply incredibly frustrating to me how that Turian is even still breathing after committing treason."

It was Shepard's turn for her eyes to turn icy green. "If he's stupid enough to come here, he won't be breathing for very long."

Liara's lips turned up in an uncharacteristically wicked smile. "I supposed it's inappropriate for me to wish he would do just that, isn't it?"

Miranda's brow rose in surprise and she let out a shaky laugh. "Liara, I work for you and, sometimes, you scare even me."

The Asari's smile turned earnest as she responded, "You have nothing to fear, Miri. Now... That's your bad news, but I believe you said you also brought good?"

"I did." Miranda's focus shifted back and forth between the two of them as she continued to relay the remainder of information she had brought to them. She told them first about Kas having found the circuit they needed to upgrade Shepard's amp, and then about which additional relays had opened. They now had access to Palaven, Tuchanka and Irune... the Turian, Krogan and Volus homeworlds. It was again a mixed blessing, knowing that while many of the persons trapped in Sol could now depart, Shepard knew she would lose Wrex and Garrus as both of them also returned to their homes.

Shepard let out a small sigh. "It's good to see our repair teams working out so well, but we still have a long way to go... And what about me, Miranda? My therapy has been going well, so any changes in your prognosis? How much longer for my rehab?"

Miranda frowned as she replied, "Don't get in a hurry, Shepard. Your injuries were quite severe and you've barely begun your recovery. I would anticipate another month before you are released for light duty and can honestly start working out to regain your full strength." As Shepard scowled and began to protest, Miranda cut her off. "Your undamaged muscles are too strong... and you'll only succeed in shredding the new ones. You need carefully monitored exercise to develop the correct muscles until you are more in balance. Only then will we set you free to work out on your own."

Grudgingly, Shepard agreed, knowing how easy it was for her to overstress her abdominals without her legs even beginning to get weary. "Fine. I just need to have something to do, Miri, or I'm going to go crazy. There has to be something I can do in the meantime?"

"I'm afraid that will be up to Admiral Hackett... who, by the way, is coming to see you this afternoon so you may want to mentally prepare yourself. Apparently, there's been some negative reaction to your mission report."

Shepard snorted. "What? Some idiot looking to pin Anderson's murder on me?"

Liara watched the look on Miranda's face shift and immediately drew a very accurate conclusion. "By the Goddess. There is!" Her blue eyes hardened to steel and she growled, "Who is it?"

Miranda held her hands up in surrender. "There's a small group, not just a single person, and I'm going to leave it to the Admiral to talk to you about it and how he plans to handle it."

Shepard was momentarily speechless, looking at Lawson with incredulity. "You _have_ to be kidding!"

"Unfortunately, I'm not." Miranda shook her head sadly. "No matter what you do, Shepard, you will always have detractors in the hierarchy, you know that."

"No, I don't know that!" Shepard stood angrily and veritably growled. "Those bastards have _never_ believed me, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but you'd think the Reapers actually showing up on our doorstep after all their denials would have set them straight! What exactly does it take to get through their thick skulls?"

Liara reached over and firmly grasped her lover's forearm, but Shepard didn't budge a centimeter, so the Shadow Broker spoke in a quiet tone that was not to be confused with conciliation nor forgiveness. "Samantha. Some are simply slow learners who need to have their lessons taught in a more... aggressive... manner; methods which I am by no means unwilling to employ, should they become necessary. I promise you _this_... the Alliance will _never_ incarcerate you again."

Shepard had heard words spoken in a similar tone before and knew, this time, nothing she said would change the Asari's mind... and, unsure if it was truly her own belief or a bleed-through of Liara's through the link, she was angered enough by the idea of such ungratefulness within the senior staff that she didn't want to. Liara was correct; Shepard had no intention of being placed in another Alliance prison... not after having risked so much to save the asses of the very persons who were wanting to put her there.

Finally deciding to yield to the pressure Liara was exerting on her arm, she sat back down and looked at her Promised. "You'll get no argument from me on _that_ , Blue. I've spent more than enough time in Alliance lock-up, just so those assholes could ignore my every warning... and somehow manage to sleep better at night within their denial. No more."

Miranda nodded. "Agreed. Those idiots would have gotten us all killed if they'd gotten their way, but it doesn't matter anymore because they didn't... and we're all still here." She glanced at her chrono as she continued, "Hackett will be joining you in less than thirty minutes and I have no desire to be here when he arrives, so I'll see you later."

* * *

As predicted, Hackett arrived before the top of the hour, surprisingly with a smile on his face. "Shepard. You're looking fit; that's good to see."

"Thank you, Sir. My therapy is going well and I can move around now without that damned walker, as long as I don't overtire myself... and Liara sees to that." Shepard smiled softly and glanced at the Asari glued to her side.

Hackett chuckled. "Good to see you, too, Liara. I know Shepard, so I know you have your hands full trying to keep her in check. I don't envy you that portion of your job."

Liara smiled and gave Samantha a passing glance before focusing on the admiral. "She can be a challenge at times, but that same determination is largely responsible for us standing here today." She paused and the smile vanished from her face before she continued, "So, we assume you are here to discuss the mission report from the Citadel?"

"Shall we sit?" Hackett asked the question, but it wasn't truly a request. He moved toward the corner table and unceremoniously dropped into one of the chairs, Liara and Shepard quickly following suit. "The report is very thorough, so no, I have no need to discuss it, nor do any of the Council members see the need to use up any of your recovery time. This is more a courtesy visit to you Shepard. I want you to know I appreciate all you did for us... and that I fully realize no one else in the Alliance would have been capable of accomplishing what you did."

"Thank you, Sir." Shepard glanced quickly at Liara and turned back to the admiral, not giving him time to resume his speech. "I very much appreciate your support, but we already know there are detractors within the Alliance upper echelon, probably with very pointed questions... and accusations... so you don't need to avoid the issue, Sir. Just spit it out so we know what... and who... we're dealing with."

Again, Hackett chuckled and looked at Liara. "I should have known better; you probably knew before I did. It's nothing serious... at least not yet... and we're working to cut them off at the knees, so we'll see how it goes." He sighed and rubbed his chin, suddenly looking very tired and much older than his mere 53 years. "I've seen a lot of shit, Shepard. I was only 13 when my mother died and I've been connected to the Alliance ever since... Watched the construction of Arcturus Station, fought in the First Contact War, witnessed the rise of Cerberus... and attended your father's funeral. But never in my life have I been forced to listen to such ingratitude regarding a soldier who made so many personal sacrifices to win us the most important war of our very existence."

Hackett looked at the quiet couple before him, expecting some sort of reaction. Getting none, he huffed, "But none of that answers your question, does it?" He sighed and continued, "There's a new political group forming... Their platform is based on wanting Earth to take the lead in galactic affairs... to have a Human sitting at the head of a new galactic ruling body. They're using your name to their advantage in public while disparaging you in private. They call themselves the League of Earth Alliance Patriots and have this catch-phrase... 'Take the LEAP.' They talk about you, a Human, serving on an Alliance vessel and saving the galaxy while all the rest of the races had to be coerced into helping to save themselves – you having to _buy_ their help with favors. Unfortunately for us, a lot of it's true, so they're starting to get some traction."

"That's bullshit, Sir," Shepard growled. "The _politicians_ may have dragged their feet, but the _people_ of every race united quickly to aid our cause. Everywhere we went, we had folks rallying to our side to help us get whatever it was we needed there. They can't exclude the other races based on the actions of the damned politicians... Hell, Donnel Udina was the worst of the lot! That treasonous bastard almost took down the entire galactic government!"

"Preaching to the choir, Shepard; I know that, as does most of the senior staff – but a small vocal minority is raising Hell about you pulling the trigger on Anderson. Saying you did it to silence him... That he knew something you didn't want revealed to the public... That perhaps you worked for Cerberus after all and that's why Maya Brooks shot the Illusive Man and saved you. They've proclaimed Anderson as Earth's true savior and hero of Humanity... All while you were out flitting about the galaxy, too busy saving aliens to bother with Earth."

Shepard's face turned an angry shade of red as she rocketed out her chair, sending it clattering over backwards across the floor. "What the _fuck_? Those pea-brained, small-minded _imbeciles_! Of _course_ Admiral Anderson is a hero... and damned well deserves every ounce of praise they could possibly heap upon his memory! But the war was bigger than just Earth. The whole of galactic civilization was at risk, for Gods' sake!"

Hackett stood with her. "Easy, Shepard. Most of us know that and they are still very much in the minority. Our biggest challenge right now is to _keep_ it that way."

"Gods be damned. Sorry, Sir." While Shepard spoke, Liara picked up the chair and returned it to its place, guiding Sam gently back to her seat and pushing calming thoughts through the link as the commander continued. "I know you must have a plan... and it has to include me. So what the Hell do you need me to do this time?"

Hackett nodded. "You're right, we do have a plan... and yes, it does include you, but not only you - the entire crew of the Normandy. We have a number of speeches planned on various continents. We need you to talk to people. Tell them the truth, no matter how brutal – the people who are left were strong enough to survive the Reapers; they're strong enough to survive the truth. And, I've also spoken to the Council so, once you're cleared for full duty, you'll be taking the Normandy on a victory tour of the colonies. Not for the Alliance, but as the Council Spectre who won the damned war against the Reapers."


	16. Outward Bound

Notes:

 _Fifth Fleet –_ Brand of Turian whiskey, extremely smooth. Like 100 proof whiskey on Earth.

 _Forilia Veridium –_ dextro wine (Source: CDN)

 _Kena sa'ki_ \- literally "the heart of evil" (Thessian); refers to Feron after his second betrayal

 _Rouladen_ – A Turian roll of tenderized meat containing pickled vegetable, tangy sauce and covered in gravy. The human equivalent is made with pickles, mustard, onions, and beef with beef gravy (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

STG - Salarian Special Tactics Group

 _Talashae_ – Turian variant of the triceratops. Marrow-bearing bones; essentially, a really big cow for them (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

 _Talas'kak_ – literally, _talashae_ shit. A human would say _horseshit_ or _bullshit_ in context. (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

* * *

 **Outward Bound**

 **Destiny Ascension, Earth Orbit, Sol**

Garrus Vakarian had said his sorrowful farewells to Shepard and Liara, realizing that, with the defeat of the Reapers, a major chapter in the book of his life was done. Tomorrow, the Destiny Ascension was scheduled to break orbit at noon for its return to the Widow System, along with whatever other vessels remained of the Citadel Fleet. At least for the immediate future, the Ascension would, for all intents and purposes, become the replacement for the diplomatic sector of the Citadel. Desis, realizing that Garrus' job as the Primarch's Liaison to the Systems Alliance would keep him more than busy shuttling between Palaven and Earth, had invited him to join her in her quarters for an intimate dinner. Garrus, perhaps thinking along the same lines, had accepted without a second thought.

He would also be leaving on the morrow along with the Primarch, aboard the flagship of the Seventh Fleet, the Turian dreadnought _Licinia Galeria_ , escorted by a small battle group consisting of only a single cruiser and five frigates. Tonight, however, Garrus pondered the vagaries of the galaxy as he disembarked from the Asari shuttlecraft to the deck inside the VIP hangar onboard the Destiny Ascension. A commando was waiting at the airlock to escort him to his early evening meeting with the executive assistant to Turian Councilor Quentius, Desis Vyessan. _Pure blind chance, meeting this female at an upscale bar in the Silver Coast Casino. If Shepard hadn't introduced us and shoved those two beers into my hands before leaving me alone with her so we had a chance to get better acquainted..._. Garrus shook his head slightly as he thought back to that afternoon. _I don't think I'd ever seen such a beautiful female._

As they arrived at their destination, the big Turian thanked his Asari escort as she waved her hand to indicate the hatch leading into Desis Vyessan's private quarters. Saying, "Go with the Goddess, honored guest," she retreated in the direction from which they had come.

Thinking, _I'm going to see a goddess… a Turian goddess_ , the suddenly nervous Garrus was left standing, frozen in front of her doorway. Swallowing the unexpected lump of anxiety that had formed in his throat, he forced a trembling talon to activate the 'visitor waiting' portion of the red haptic interface guarding the multi-sectioned hatch; the musical tinkle of Turian wind bells sounded faintly from the other side of the doorway. After several seconds that dragged as minutes for the nervous Turian, the door panels retracted into their pockets to reveal a vision of singular beauty standing just inside. _I don't believe I've ever seen that much bare skin on a Turian female before! Spirits! She's absolutely perfect…_

Simultaneously dropping and flaring her mandibles, Desis greeted him, saying, "Garrus… please come in." She turned to lead the way into her quarters, but stopped after taking only two steps. Turning back, it was obvious to the young female that she was going to have to take the initiative tonight. Taking in the slack-jawed stare, she looked down at her attire, suddenly wondering if she was showing too _much_ skin. Returning her gaze to Garrus' face, she held out her hands and quietly said, "Come on in, Garrus. I promise I won't bite… well, at least not until after we've had dinner. Come on…"

Reaching out, she took a hand in one of hers and gently tugged to get him moving. Coming to his senses, he finally found his voice. "Spirits! Desis, I don't believe I have ever told you how exquisitely lovely you are, so I am saying it now. You are stunningly beautiful." The sub-harmonics in his voice emphasized the depth of his feelings about her.

She stopped in front of a chair and said, "Sit. Dinner is almost ready. And… thanks, Garrus… for the compliment." Looking down once again, she indicated her clothing with a slight motion of her hands as she cooed, "I wore this outfit just for you."

Garrus sat in the chair, his eyes still riveted on Dee's bare midriff, along with the hint of thighs and calves he could glimpse through the diaphanous leggings she was wearing. He was thinking he might be a bit overdressed when her voice registered in his ears. "Would you care for a drink before dinner… a little something to help you relax? You seem a bit... tense." Her tone had a teasing lilt, but her intentions were clear – she wanted him to enjoy himself tonight.

"You wouldn't happen to have any _Fifth Fleet_ in the cabinet, would you?"

"I do… but you only get one shot of _that_ stuff," she responded in a cheery tone. "I don't want to have to pour you into bed tonight, especially not before I'm done with you."

Garrus chuckled at that. "How'd you guess I'm a cheap drunk, Dee?" Even without the promised alcohol, he was finally beginning to relax a bit as he settled into the cushy chair, at least until what she said actually registered. _'Pour' me into bed? … done with me? What the Hell have I walked into here?_ _Talas'kak! I didn't plan on staying the night!_ Watching her intently as she filled a small tumbler with the golden-hued liquid, he realized with a start that he would probably not be getting much sleep tonight... and that he very much wanted to stay.

Sauntering back over to Garrus' chair, she handed him his drink, placed both hands on the arms of the chair and leaned down until her nose plates nearly touched his. "Why are you so damned nervous tonight, Vakarian?" she whispered, letting her sub-harmonics carry the weight of the question. "It's just dinner… no different than any of the times we met on the Citadel." Turning her head slightly, she gently nibbled on a mandible before pushing back and standing.

Looking up at her silver-flecked violet eyes with his sapphire blues, he took a sip from his glass before replying, "It _is_ different, to me, anyway. Before I met you, there was nothing else for me but chasing criminals; then there were the wars – with the Geth, the Collectors, the Reapers… and in between the first two was my personal war against all the gangs on Omega." A chime sounding from the kitchen interrupted him.

"Hold that thought, Garrus, and bring your drink… our food is ready." So saying, she turned and led the way to the small dining area; Garrus was mesmerized by the motion of her hips as she walked towards the kitchen. Looking around quickly to break the spell her body was casting upon him, he commented from behind her, "Your quarters appear to be quite complete, Dee. Unusual on a warship…"

The throaty chuckle came as a surprise. "An _Asari_ warship that houses 10,000 crew members, more or less. As the Turian councilor's executive assistant, I was allowed to have these quarters _because_ I am Turian. Every other race but ours and the Quarians can eat each other's food. I suspect much of the extra consideration is due to our unique dietary needs." Desis brought their meal out to the table set for two. "I certainly won't complain about the space. It's as nice as the apartment I had on the Citadel, don't you think?"

Garrus set his glass down and took a seat. "It _is_ a very nice retreat, Dee… certainly nicer than my own quarters, on the Normandy or at Hammer Base on Earth."

Desis lifted the lid from the serving platter and gave each of them a nice portion of _rouladen_ , then poured them each a glass of _Forilia Veridium_. Garrus quickly commented, "Looks … and smells… absolutely delicious, Dee." He polished off his glass of _Fifth Fleet_ while waiting for her to join him. After she took her seat opposite him, he began eating.

After taking several bites of her own, Desis looked at her dinner partner. "I believe you were speaking of wars, gangs and criminals… and how there was nothing else for you during that time. Does that include the times we spent together on the Citadel, Garrus?" The flanging of her voice, combined with her expressive sub-harmonics, was a not-so-subtle cue to Garrus to tread very carefully… She would never come right out and say it, but Garrus got the distinct impression that admitting he had nothing better to look forward to except conflict had most definitely hurt her feelings.

"I did clarify that statement with the words 'before I met you,' did I not?" Garrus fixed her with a steady gaze. "That _never_ included our time spent together, Dee. You shouldn't find it surprising that after we met, I increasingly looked forward to the Normandy's port calls at the Citadel, right up until the Reapers relocated it to Earth orbit. I was truly afraid you had been left behind when the fleet evacuated all the diplomatic personnel. I've grown to care a great deal about you during the past few months, Desis Vyessan… if anything had happened to you when the Reapers took the station…" he left the thought unfinished as he hid his sudden bout of anxiety behind another bite of _rouladen_ , followed by several sips of wine.

The doubts in her mind vanished completely at his assertion that he cared for her. Of course she knew that he liked her, but saying he cared for her – a great deal – was just short of a declaration of love, in her mind. Reaching across the table to grasp his hand, she whispered, "Garrus… I care about you as well. I really wish the Destiny Ascension didn't have to relocate to the Widow System – it'll seem like we're as far apart as when you were on the Normandy, charging about the galaxy fighting Reapers and Cerberus." _Damn! Why can't I come out and tell him? I love him! I have never met anyone like him, and I want him so bad it hurts!_

She released his hand in favor of her wine glass, taking a sip to quell the churning emotions his simple statement had caused. She shifted back and forth in her seat in an attempt to quell the spike of warmth in her core and the feeling of anticipatory dampness it caused. _What the Hell? That has never happened before!_ Finishing her wine, she grabbed the bottle and asked, "Care for some more, Garrus?"

Garrus held his glass out; she added to its contents first and then refilled her own glass. _Just need to get through dinner. I'm beginning to think I should have worn a less revealing outfit… he's been undressing me with his eyes ever since he arrived._ Another small spike of warmth made itself known. _Spirits! My body is betraying me!_ Finishing her portion of _rouladen,_ she stood and took her plate and utensils to the kitchen. She asked over her shoulder, "Would you care for a spot of dessert, Garrus?"

She was surprised by a strong arm encircling her waist from behind as another plate and utensils were placed on the counter; the other arm came around to embrace her lower chest, just above his first arm. "My dessert is standing right in front of me, Desis," came the soft voice, its flanging sub-harmonics causing another, more intense feeling of desire to add to the dampness. She felt as if an overstressed dam was about to burst.

That _voice_! She had never realized until just this second how much his flanging voice enthralled her. She carefully turned within the encircling arms and placed her own around him, reaching up with one hand to stroke the back of his neck under the fringe. Facing Garrus, she looked straight into his eyes, her mind made up. "I am in love with you, Garrus Vakarian." Pausing to rub her cheek against his mandible, she added, " _Madly_ in love with you..."

If he was taken aback by Desis' declaration of her love for him, it didn't color his response. "I'm not going to ask if you are sure… I can see it in your eyes, Dee."

Her thoughts were tumultuous. _Oh! Please, Garrus… please don't break my heart! Don't tell me you care but… for whatever pitiful excuse you could manufacture, it cannot be. I would die right here, in your arms. What would you do then? Dead female in your arms, been drinking, no reasonable alibi… oh Spirits, Vakarian! What?_ "What's that?"

"I said I love you, Desis. I have loved you for a while now."

 _My heart is going to burst!_ She placed her slightly open mouth against his, touching the plates with her tongue; Garrus reciprocated, teasing her by nibbling on the tip of her tongue before pushing his into her mouth, only to receive a slightly harder bite, bringing a hearty chuckle to his throat. "Let's go settle this in your bedroom, Dee. I believe it's time to show you just how much reach I have."

As they dropped their arms, Desis replied, "You won't need to show me how much reach you have, Garrus. I will never attempt to get away from you… not tonight… not ever."

* * *

Desis returned from the bathroom and silently crawled into bed beside the warm body of her lover; carefully placing her head on the bare skin close to his throat, she laid her left arm over his side and hugged him, sighing with pleasure as his forearm pressed possessively against her bare back. "You know," she whispered, "it did not seem as if it was your first time ever, Garrus. I never imagined a physical joining with another could be so… satisfying." She nuzzled the bare skin under his cheek as she felt his mandibles twitch in silent acknowledgement.

After several moments of listening to her quiet breathing and feeling the air from her exhales tickling the bare skin above his carapace, he sighed deeply and responded, "It was my first time with someone I care deeply about, Dee. That makes all the difference." Several minutes passed before he spoke again. "Desis, with the Reapers gone… the war over... Have you given any thought to the future… our future? It'll take years to rebuild Palaven, to get our economy up and running again. So many deaths, so much destruction. Are you going to continue to work in the councilor's office?"

"For the time being, I guess. I can more effectively work for our people from the councilor's office than would be possible on Palaven." She paused to gently nuzzle his throat. "And you will be traveling between Earth and Palaven. I hope you can find time to visit me here during your trips, Garrus; I already know I'm going to miss you terribly... so I don't want to waste a moment of time as long as the Destiny Ascension is still in Earth orbit."

Dee raised her head to look at Garrus. She hooked a leg spur over one of his and gently rubbed, the action of her leg repeatedly bending at the knee adding to the pressure that was once again building in her core. _Spirits! I can't get enough of him!_ Dee touched her mouth to his, using her tongue to gain a slight opening; before she could take advantage of his capitulation, he showed her just how much reach he really had, deftly touching the molars at the back of her jaw before retreating. She groaned and squirmed a bit as he shifted his legs; the reach he enjoyed with his tongue was nothing compared to the reach enjoyed by another part of his anatomy.

With a breathless moan of, "Oh, Garrus…" Desis hooked her spurs together as she wrapped her legs tightly around his hips, eagerly accepting the recently introduced visitor as it slid into the welcoming embrace between her thighs.

* * *

 **A Few Days Later: Afterlife, Omega, Sahrabarik**

"Bray! Where the fuck is Nyreen?" Aria T'Loak veritably glowed blue in anger with the failure of Omega's newest Chief of Security to answer her summons.

"I'm not her damned keeper, Aria, but last I heard, she was headed out with the fleet toward Imorkan. Two more ships and crew disappeared at the Palla layover station. If you want her, you need to call her on the fleet comm net."

"Damn it!" If anyone else had spoken to her like that, she would have ripped them in half and used their guts to make gruel to feed her Vorcha miners, but Bray was different. He was loyal... and loyalty had seemed rather hard to come by as of late. Her anger at Nyreen shifted to the unknown person or persons hijacking her ships. "How many does that make since the damned war ended? Four?"

"Only three." Bray read over the reports on his omnitool. "The second to go missing was recovered at the Taska residence on Urdak, two days ago."

"I assume he's dead?" Aria sat down and leaned back on her couch, appearing more nonchalant than she felt. People were challenging her authority... and apparently getting away with it if they had only found one of four missing ships and crews.

Bray snorted. "You could safely say that. Kandros and her team took care of him, as well as his wife, mother, kids and the entire estate security staff. Only one they spared was the accountant... and he'll only live long enough to reveal who they've been doing business with over the past few months."

" _Nyreen_ did that?" Aria actually sounded surprised. "What happened to her disgustingly predictable streak of righteousness?"

"Losing touch, Aria?" Bray chuckled as the Queen of Omega bristled at his comment. "Relax; her actions were nothing unexpected. The scum was the crime lord of the second largest syndicate on Urdak... and the oldest. His three 'kids' were all bosses and each one probably had at least 200 personal kills to their credit."

"Sounds like my kind of family... if I was stupid enough to ever try having one again." Her own comment brought up unpleasant memories of her murdered daughter Liselle, so Aria smirked and glanced over at her newest dancer, growling, "You. Come distract me... and you'd better do a good job if you expect to live."

As the young Asari approached, Aria unzipped her leather pants, putting her azure on prominent display for only a moment before she ordered the dancer to her knees. As the newest addition to the Omega harem buried her face in the queen's crotch, Aria leaned back and hummed in tentative approval. "Very nice. Let's see how long you last."

Her attention shifted back to Bray who, being accustomed to Aria's behavior, hadn't so much as blinked until she queried, "What other news do you have for me?"

"We now have access to Hawking Eta via Chandrasekhar... and that was already connected to the Ninmah Cluster..."

"That's it for connectivity?" Aria grit her teeth as she grumbled, "Goddess be damned T'Soni and Shepard. Fuck 'em. They probably put the least capable teams they had available here, just to piss me off." Surprisingly, Aria then laughed. "Shit. I'd do the same thing if I was in their place, so I guess I have to admire their tactics."

Bray simply shrugged at Aria's rapid mood swings and added, "No, that's not all... if you'd let me finish. Imir came up this morning, so we're now connected to Widow and, by default, most likely the rest of the reconnected galaxy, whatever the Hell good that does us. We're probably better off than most and Shepard will roll in here expecting us to share."

Aria smirked and shook her head. "Ahhh, Bray... Shepard won't show her face here any time soon. With the Reapers gone and the Council worlds most likely lying in shambles, she's got nothing left to offer us. We now hold all the cards; I imagine she won't bother us for a long time to come... by Human standards at least. In the meantime, we continue to offer sanctuary and security to those of the Terminus and the Traverse. Before the Council even realizes what we're doing, we'll control just as many systems as they do. You don't need to worry about Shepard." Aria paused and opened her legs a bit wider for the dancer still buried between her knees, a pleased smile toying at the corners of the merc's lips. "If that's all, go away so I can have some privacy."

"You got it, Aria." Bray smiled as he continued, "Just remember... It's not quite as easy to get replacements right now, so go easy on the help."

"Get out of here, Bray." Aria's smile widened wickedly as pleasure washed over her face. "I don't think you need to worry about this one... she has a _very_ talented mouth."

* * *

 **London Outskirts, Earth, Sol**

"About Goddamned time!" Angelique Warren sat back in her chair and stared at the screen of her omnitool, finally able to read Shepard's mission report. It had been filed with the Alliance days ago, but the encryption had been much harder to break than anticipated. Much to her surprise, it revealed the presence of none other than Maya Brooks... and her assassination of the Illusive Man. "So the self-righteous moron let himself get indoctrinated... what a stupid idiot. He never would listen to Jana... neither one... after Miranda betrayed him; his trust in his subordinates disappeared right along with that bitch's vanishing act."

She skimmed quickly through the entire report before making the secure call. "This is Operative Warren and I have news..." She relayed the information about Harper's indoctrination and of his assassination at Brook's hand, done simply to keep the man from killing the only person left who had any chance of saving Humanity. She transmitted Shepard's mission report as she spoke and, when she concluded her vocal summary, waited with patient silence after speaking one simple word. "Orders?"

After taking time to skim through the report for herself, a resigned voice finally responded, "Find Maya Brooks. I was simply Harper's assistant... and now a temporary fill-in because people are used to following my orders, but that won't last. Brooks was the Illusive Man's top operative once that arrogant Leng went rogue and got himself killed. She can demand the respect people will follow long-term and has the vision we need to push us forward. You need to find Maya before either the Alliance or the Spectres do; be the guardian angel we need you to be."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, London Space Port, Sol**

The foursome stood around the small planning table in uneasy agreement. After a long discussion, Miranda had finally acquiesced to the requests of the other three that the _Aletheia_ depart for Thessia. "It is _not_ a coincidence that Warren simply disappeared after the untraceable hack into the Alliance classified server; I simply don't like it."

"Neither do I, Miranda, but we cannot let that dictate our future actions. We all knew she was not who she pretended to be." Liara sighed in frustration; even though the decision was made, Miranda insisted on hashing over the same details again and again. "For all the reasons we've already listed, we need you to go to Thessia. Karin and I are perfectly able to handle the remainder of Shepard's recuperation period." She smiled softly and squeezed the commander's hand as it rested on the table before them.

Miranda glanced at Judea, traces of the Asari's anger at the Human's intransigence still glittering in her golden eyes, and the last of Miri's resistance faded. "God. You're right. I'm sorry. It simply irks me to no end that I let that woman slip through our fingers."

"Yes. _Our_ fingers. _You_ didn't let her escape, Lawson; the entire Broker team was trying to find something and we simply didn't have the network yet... Still don't if the level of annoyance I feel emanating from Liara every time she tries to hunt something down is any indication." Shepard gave her Promised a loving glance as she finished speaking.

Dropping her head in surrender, Miranda huffed, "Fine. But if you're going to insist the _Aletheia_ leave _now_ , at the very least, you have to promise that you'll send the _Chiroquol_ to Imir to see if we can pick up Sparatus' trail. I don't like the fact that he's out in the wind as well... and my estimate is he's going to make for the Terminus as soon as he can." Miranda's eyes came up and locked onto Shepard's. "We have Garrus on Palaven giving you daily updates from there, at least for the short term, and we can get a new agent there easily before he starts traveling... They need to get recovery plans in motion before the Primarch will be comfortable letting him travel for extended periods, so you have no need for Arlyna or Niria to be monitoring activity there."

"Imir sounds perfect for the short term, Miranda; consider it done. On another subject, I..." Liara hesitated and everyone looked her way, waiting for her to continue. After a very long pause, she took a deep breath and glanced at Shepard before finishing her thought. " _We_ have an idea that could help us extend our network tremendously, but we'll need to speak to Jondum Bau when he and Kasumi return."

At that, Miranda's left eyebrow quirked up in question. "Bau? I understand Kasumi violated our security protocols by activating the system while in his presence, but how does rolling him into the network add that much capability? Unless..." She suddenly stood ramrod straight and spoke frantically. "You cannot _possibly_ be thinking of the STG?"

Liara scowled. "Absolutely not! After the way the Dalatrasses reacted to the Krogan and the battle for Tuchanka, I wouldn't trust a nanobyte of Broker information in the hands of the Salarians!" She stopped and took a calming breath before continuing, "But, Shepard and I have talked this through and decided it was worth discussing. It was never our intention to keep the Shadow Brokerage to ourselves... The power is too alluring, which is why we initially wanted to distribute it to a group of at least three."

Sellis Boni, who had been hanging in the background cleaning the armory weapons, couldn't help but interrupt. "Which quickly became four when you opted to move onto the Normandy... and three again when that _kena sa'ki_ betrayed us to Cerberus."

"Unsuccessfully betrayed us," Shepard smirked. "He should have known better when it came to Livos; she didn't become Liara's Guard Captain on a whim."

"Yes, yes, but that's not the point." Liara rolled her eyes impatiently. "The point is we need a bigger network, both for efficiency _and_ to prevent a single rogue from being able to rip the network from our control." Her eyes found Miranda's as she went on, "We're not thinking of the STG... We're referring to the Spectres."

Sellis scoffed, "As long as someone like Tela Vasir doesn't become involved."

Liara nodded knowingly. "Exactly, but that's one of the advantages. Vasir only worked with the Broker when he became the sole source for information she needed. If the Spectres have that network available to them at no cost, they'd rarely have any reason to shop elsewhere for the information they need."

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with that or not." Miranda's voice was quietly reserved as she continued, "Not yet anyway. I can see Bau, as he's already aware we now have something well beyond Mordin's 'gray box' system, but how about if he becomes a _trial_ Spectre member for a bit. He doesn't get direct access, but gets what he needs by being permanently paired with Kas? More of a partnership test, so to speak."

Shepard shrugged and looked at Liara. "I'd be ok with that, actually. I rarely access the system directly; most everything I get, I get from you. We could easily tell him that's simply how it works and see if he's interested."

"And what if he says no? It's not like we can eliminate him to close the security breach. He's a Spectre, for Goddess sake!" Judea's eyes reflected serious concern about the idea.

"You're right, we can't... and we wouldn't, even if we could." Liara looked at Miranda as she answered, "But the breach has already been committed, so look at this as a more gentle alternative method of damage control. Miranda and I spoke of it briefly immediately after it happened and it's actually what gave me the idea." She looked back to Judea as she continued, "Bau obviously passed Kasumi's 'trust' test, however she chooses which people to bring into her inner circle... Given her line of work, it's imperative she be a good judge of character or she never would have survived to be the master thief she is. Kasumi has been loyal to Shepard from the start, and then loyal to us... never giving us any cause to doubt her. I'm willing to put my faith in her judgment."

Miranda actually smiled. "As am I. I never did tell you how I got off the Normandy without the Cerberus crew figuring out I had departed on the _Aletheia_ , did I? The story begins immediately following the destruction of the Collector Base; we were going to make port at Omega when I went to see Kasumi..."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, At Large, April 2186 (14 months prior)**

Miranda Lawson waited as the hatch to the port observation deck slid into its recesses. Holding a small bundle clutched to her chest, she slowly entered and turned towards the couch just to the rear of the huge viewport. "Kasumi? I need to talk to you, if you would be so kind as to uncloak."

An area close to the bulkhead began sparkling as the outline of a human woman gradually appeared. "Why, Miranda Lawson. Whatever brings you down here to see little ol' me?"

"I need a favor and you are the only one on this ship that can help me. May I…?" Miranda indicated the end of the couch with her free hand. "I don't have a lot of time." Kasumi inclined her head in affirmation and waited as the former Cerberus agent took a seat. Miranda carefully set her package on the couch between them as she said, "I know you intend to travel with the Normandy all the way to Earth, Kasumi. I was wondering if I could persuade you to leave the ship when it docks at Omega Station. In order to avoid arrest and indefinite incarceration by C-Sec on the Citadel, all the crewmembers branded by Cerberus need to leave the ship while it's docked. I need to leave as well."

With most of her face covered by her ever-present cowl, it was hard to read Kasumi's expression, but Miranda could see her lips turned up in a small smile. "Of all the people that would be leaving this ship, I didn't expect you to be one of them, Miranda. What are you _really_ planning to do?"

Lawson smiled. "Kasumi, I need you to leave the ship on Omega, with as many of the Cerberus crew around you as possible… and I need you to leave uncloaked, dressed in these clothes."

Kasumi reached over, dragging the package closer so she could inspect it. After a quick glance, she observed, "This appears to be your white and black cat suit… an outfit everyone would expect to see covering _your_ tush, Ms Lawson. I honestly appreciate the compliment... and please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think I have the attributes to, uuuhhmmm… properly fill this out."

Miranda chuckled as she stood and stretched. "I admit, I _am_ blessed with abundant physical assets, but that particular suit, as stretchy as it is, is a size too small for me. It should fit you quite well, and the plan necessitates that you be wearing a matching cape with a cowl over your head anyway." Miranda rested her forearms across the back of the couch and leaned over the notorious thief. "Cerberus crew members _need_ to see a woman dressed in _my_ usual attire," she said softly. "They don't need to see her face… better if they don't, actually. They just need to see her chest, butt and legs covered in _that_ material, and their imaginations will do the rest. You leave the ship alone with crew around you, but do _not_ talk to anyone, not even Jacob Taylor…"

Kasumi interrupted her with a plaintive, "…not even Jacob?"

Miranda smiled as she shook her head and continued, "…no one. Mingle with the crowd, and gradually find yourself alone. When no one is watching, engage your cloaking generator and make a beeline back to the ship. There'll be cameras watching the airlock entrance, so you absolutely must _not_ be seen reentering the ship by anyone, outside or inside."

Kasumi sat silently for several moments before asking, "Where will you be while I'm covering your ass… with _my_ ass, so to speak?"

"I'll already be off the ship… I'll be joining the _Aletheia_ before we dock at Omega, Kasumi. I won't be going to Illium, the Citadel or Earth. That's why it's so important I be seen leaving this ship at Omega, and even more important I am _not_ seen returning." Miranda looked contemplative for several moments. "Will you do this for me, Kas? There's no one else on board I can turn to and, for my _own_ safety, Miranda Lawson needs to disappear from the galaxy."

Kasumi looked up at the former agent, hearing something in her voice. "Okay, I'll do it. Too bad we'll only be docked for four hours… it would have been nice to get in a bit of shopping while I was there."

"Thanks, Kasumi. This means a lot to me… more than I can say." Miranda placed a hand on Kasumi's shoulder, gave a little squeeze, and then left the master thief to change.

* * *

 **London Space Port, Present Day: 1 July 2187**

"You know I'm generally pretty short on trust, but that day? _That_ day, I had to trust Kasumi with my future security... quite possibly with my very life. I suppose if I can do that, I can trust her opinion of Spectre Jondum Bau." Miranda smiled as Judea slid closer and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her eyes traveled to the Asari at her side. "And, I suppose, I trust Liara and Shepard enough to leave them to it. It's time to get you home, Jude. Let's get to Thessia and go find your mom."

After everyone said their goodbyes, Shepard and Liara found themselves on the docks with Riana at their side as they watched the _Aletheia_ lift off and head out for a rendezvous with the Charon relay. Shepard slipped an arm around Liara's waist and drew her in, sensing her concern and disquiet. "They'll be fine, Blue... and we'll know soon enough about Matriarch Tralis and Daenia. Worrying about them won't change the outcome, so simply keep the faith, Li." Shepard gave her a quick squeeze before dropping her arm back to her side. "I suppose it's time to head back to the hospital, huh?"

"Actually, no." Liara flashed a mischievous smile as she started to walk along the docks, instead of back toward the skycar. "Ashley wanted us to drop by the Normandy... and I need access to a few things in the loft anyway. They've been flying a lot of relief missions for Farnborough Field and she said Major Falk invited us all to his July 1st promotion ceremony to..." Liara glanced quickly at her omnitool and continued, "Lieutenant Colonel... and to a follow-on party at the unit headquarters; I've already cleared it with Karin."

Shepard smiled happily. "That's great, Liara! Getting out of London, even if only for a few hours, will be a welcome change of scenery! I wish we could all just stay aboard; with Miranda gone and Karin as my primary again, we _should_ be staying on the Normandy."

Liara's broad smile gave it away and Shepard's eyes opened wide in happy surprise. "Seriously? We're done with the hospital?" She lunged forward and wrapped the Asari in a tight hug of thanks. "How you manage to keep secrets from me with the link always amazes me, Dr T'Soni. You'd think I would have learned by now."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ For those who haven't read the comics or don't remember, there are two 'Jana' characters. Everyone remembers the blond-haired scientist Jana from ME3 who tried to warn TIM about indoctrination... but before that in the timeline, the first Jana appeared in _Mass Effect: Deception_. From the Mass Effect Wikia: " **Jana** is the Illusive Man's assistant in 2186. Her duties include assigning Cerberus operatives to tasks that are beneath the Illusive Man's attention, filtering calls and messages, and acting as a guide on the rare occasion people are allowed to meet the Illusive Man. She is described as having black hair, large brown eyes, and a full figure. Before joining Cerberus, Jana was a military officer of unspecified affiliation. Kai Leng wondered how human Jana really was, and believed the Illusive Man was trying to groom her for a greater role." FYI: In my story, Jana is all Human and was administratively discharged from the Systems Alliance. Had I included the clone DLC in my story, Jana would have led the Cat 6 squad for Clone Shepard... instead, she became TIM's executive officer in charge of military operations.


	17. Departures

Notes:

 _Ai'a me -_ a trusted friend and unquestioned ally (Thessian)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

CIC - Combat Information Center

* * *

 **Departures**

 **London Space Port,** **Earth, Sol**

Shepard released her favorite blue being in the galaxy from the crushing hug and stepped back with a thankful smile. "So... if we're headed to the Normandy, why aren't we returning to the skycar to head to the Alliance Docks?"

"Because the Normandy is currently picking up relief supplies from the London Transshipment Zone; she's sitting at the end of the docks in load-zone 5." Liara reached out and took Shepard's hand, giving her a light tug. "Come on. It's not a long walk; it'll be good for you."

"But what about the skycar?"

Liara laughed. "It's fine, Shepard. I've already sent a message to the rental agency; they're picking it up as soon as they have someone available."

As they approached the dock, Shepard's steps faltered, not because of exhaustion or her injuries, but because something didn't look quite right; she stopped and stared at the SR-2. "Why was the ship repainted?"

"Though mostly superficial, a number of areas took damage during the final fight with the Reaper horde; as she needed to be repainted after the repairs anyway, we took advantage of it to give her something of a new look. Just keep walking, Shepard; you'll see when we get there."

"That was supposed to have been a rhetorical question, Blue... but you obviously knew about this and didn't tell me?" The commander gave the Asari a sidelong glance as she resumed walking. "Never mind. You must have had your reasons."

"Which I am perfectly happy to explain." Liara's voice became more serious as she continued, "Are you aware that _all_ the Spectre ships were either privately owned or property of the government of each particular Spectre's homeworld?"

Shepard knit her brow in thought. "I never really thought about it, but I guess I am... seeing as the Alliance had to kick in a ship when I was selected... and that's how I ended up with the original SSV Normandy. So?"

"Sooo... when you commandeered the SR-2 from Cerberus, we registered it as a _Citadel_ _Council_ vessel. I did not realize it at the time, but the only 'ships' the Council _owned_ were the shuttlecraft based on the Citadel. Every other ship within the Citadel Fleet, even the _Destiny Ascension_ as the flagship, is still owned and operated by its host race." Liara paused to let Shepard absorb the information.

They were close enough now that the commander was able to pick out details as her eyes roamed over the ship. "So, the Normandy is the only full-up interstellar ship truly _owned_ by the Council? I'll be damned!" She had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. "But she was already basically painted in the Citadel blue and white, so why change it?" She paused as her eyes drank in the new colors; they had replaced the white with a bright silver-gray and changed the detailing from the Alliance blue and black to a new two-tone blue. Looking at it from the perspective of the ship being council owned she realized that, while the Normandy's look had definitely changed, she still looked pretty sharp. Shepard's gaze settled momentarily on Liara. "Did you do it just because you know how much I like blue?" she asked with a cheeky grin. "It _does_ remind me of the _Aletheia_." Liara simply smiled in response, not saying a word as they continued to close the distance to the Normandy.

Shepard stopped dead in her tracks when they finally drew close enough for her to see the change with the most significance; instead of the Alliance symbol, a polished silver, six-segment chevron seemed to pop out from the hull, giving it the appearance of floating above a circular, silver-ringed background field of midnight blue. Shepard recognized it _instantly_ and knew that each segment represented a part of the galaxy within which the Spectres were authorized to operate, basically without limits and with the full weight of the Council behind them. _With the collapse of the Hegemony, they should combine the two center pieces into one, to make it a five-segment shield_. A smaller horizontal silver oval provided a base for the chevron, representing the Milky Way Galaxy and drawing the six individual segments into a unified whole.

Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "The Spectre shield!" Shepard spun back to look at Liara. " _That's_ why the silver and the two blues! One is Council royal blue and the other is the Spectre midnight blue! It makes sense, but it's _really_ going to piss off those in the Alliance who dislike me and my being a Spectre... Touché, Dr T'Soni! Well done." A wide grin crossed her face as she finished, "I _like_ it."

Liara breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Even though she had coordinated with Counselor Tevos and Ambassador Osoba on the project, she hadn't been sure if the Alliance officer within Shepard would approve, so was pleased with Samantha's reaction. "Admiral Hackett and I worked on this in conjunction with the Council. They remain pleased with your 'gift' and saw no reason to not grant permission for the color changes. Changing over to the Spectre's emblem was actually Tevos' suggestion... but was promptly backed by both Quentius and Ambassador Osoba."

Shepard lifted an eyebrow and queried, "And Valern?"

Liara laughed, "Assumed it was a foregone conclusion that required no vote, although he did point out it was more prudent to put the Spectre emblem on it than that of the Council, so some future councilor didn't attempt to requisition it as a personal transport."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, Dassus, Thessia**

Entering the atmosphere above the port town of Dassus, Judea gasped in despair; the formerly vibrant coastal city lay in ruin beneath the Thessian morning sun. As they dropped in altitude, they began to see signs of survivors and reconstruction, but the lack of any substantial progress was disheartening. As Judea looked down in stunned silence, Miranda interrupted her spiraling fear with a finger thrust out, pointing toward what appeared to be a cleared, operational landing zone in the middle of the shipyard; they could only hope it was still operated by Matriarch Tralis of the T'Sere Shipwrights Guild. "We'll start there, Judea, and see what we can find out. Try not to jump to any conclusions, Love."

Judea set the _Aletheia_ down a bit roughly, her hands unsteady on the controls even with Miranda standing behind her, hands resting supportively on her shoulders. "You can't draw conclusions from the destruction, Jude. Look at Earth and all the survivors there. I'm sure this will be no different."

As the _Aletheia's_ landing skids sat firmly on Thessia's surface for the first time in many months, Judea shut down all the thrusters and spooled the engine's core down to minimum power; she didn't completely cut power to the eezo core, just in case they needed to relocate the ship elsewhere. Aresia spoke quietly from the cockpit entrance. "Thanks to your expert instruction, Jude, I am quite capable of piloting the _Aletheia_. Leave her in my hands and go with Miranda."

Judea ripped her eyes away from the forward viewscreen and turned to the Ardat Yakshi in surprise. "Of course. I..." She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat, finishing in a whisper, "Thank you, _Ai'a me_ ," as she rose slowly from the pilot's seat.

Miranda's hands never left Judea's body as the Asari stood; holding tight, Miranda turned her lover so they were face-to-face and wrapped her arms around a shapely waist, drawing her into a comforting embrace. No words were exchanged, yet Judea immediately understood that whatever they found, Miri would not leave her side. Silently, they pushed apart, nodded to Aresia in thanks and made their way to the main hatch... standing open and ready for their departure. Sellis Boni and Iryna Velros joined them as they left the ship and set foot on Thessia for the first time in four years. "Blessed be the Goddess," Iryna whispered reverently before drawing a deep breath of the moist, salt-laden air. "It is good to be home."

The ship's registry had obviously been noted as they arrived and they saw a skycar moving rapidly in their direction; a young matron opened a door and jumped out almost before it had come to a complete stop. Judea did not recognize her, but the Asari's expression was optimistic as she exclaimed hopefully, "The _Aletheia_! Is Mistress T'Soni with you?"

Miranda looked to Judea to take lead, gently squeezing her pale violet hand in encouragement. Her lover's voice shook ever so slightly as she responded, "No, I am afraid not; she has remained in Sol with Commander Shepard and has sent us forward as emissaries. Can you please tell me if Matriarch Tralis survived the war?"

Deflated but still cordial, the matron responded promptly. "Yes. She was badly injured, but will recover completely. She is currently in one of the temporary hospitals; I would be honored to provide you transportation to go see her... I am positive she would be eager to see you."

* * *

As the matron drove them across the city, she introduced herself as Neyna T'Sere and spoke quickly to answer the questions she knew would come. "Yes, my mother is the T'Sere matriarch and owns the company... I'm her third daughter and no, I have no interest in taking over the business. I'm a construction contractor and am simply responsible for maintaining... or, in this case, rebuilding... the T'Sere Shipwright facilities."

"Well, that certainly explains your interest in whether or not Dr T'Soni was with us." Miranda commented on Neyna's announcement but her eyes were focused on Judea as she spoke.

Judea spoke softly as she expanded on Miranda's thought. "You can rest assured I am not here to evaluate your progress, but to offer a continuance of the previous arrangement with House T'Soni, assuming the matriarch is still interested."

"Oh! I'm positively sure of it!" Judea could hear the relief in Neyna's voice as the car slowed and banked into a downward, right-hand spiral. "We're here. I'll show you to Matriarch Tralis' room and then, I'm afraid, I need to get back to work. I'll send a personal car for you and it will be yours for as long as you need. We also have lodging available should you desire to stay anywhere other than your ship."

As they climbed out of the skycar and made their way inside, Judea responded, "Thank you very much, Neyna. I'll be happy to accept the car, but we're quite comfortable aboard the _Aletheia_."

Nodding in acceptance, the matron escorted them quickly to the matriarch's room, leaving them momentarily to step inside to announce their arrival; they heard Tralis' voice, steady and strong. "Here? Right now? Of course! Show them in!"

For the first time since their arrival on Thessia, a small smile crossed Judea's face. She did not await Neyna's return; she simply pushed the door open and walked into the room with Miranda on her heels, leaving Sellis and Iryna to wait in the hallway. "It is good to hear your voice so vibrant, Matriarch. I must admit, when I heard you were badly injured, I feared the worst."

The Matriarch's eyes immediately lit in joyous recognition as she pushed herself upright, warding off Neyna's concern at the newcomers simply barging into the room. "By the Goddess! Judea Voni! Seeing you alive and well is certainly a blessing in such desperate times! Come over here for a hug!"

A very surprised Neyna gasped as all the pieces clicked into place; she had heard the names when they introduced themselves, but she had so much on her mind she hadn't put the pieces together. She slipped quickly from the room, suddenly embarrassed that she hadn't recognized the name of T'Sere Shipwrights' most productive designer. Before the war, Voni designs had been top sellers throughout the galaxy and had resulted in their small shipyard earning unprecedented profits over the last century.

Tears trickled from Judea's eyes as Tralis wrapped her arms around her like a long-lost daughter. "Goddess, it is so good to see you! And how is Liara?"

Jude pushed back and answered promptly, "Dr T'Soni is well, Matriarch. She remains in Sol at Shepard's side; the commander was gravely injured while fighting her way to the Citadel but she is healing. It will be some time yet but she also will make a full recovery."

"That is most welcome news, Judea." The matriarch's eyes narrowed as she took in the stress that still ran rampant across the younger Asari's face. "Now. Tell me you did not come directly here before visiting your mother." As hope blossomed on Judea's face at the matriarch's tone, Tralis exclaimed, "Goddess be damned! You and your absurd dedication to duty!" She immediately opened her omnitool and placed a call, mumbling under her breath as she awaited the connection. "Some things simply never change!"

A distant voice answered promptly, "Yes, Matriarch?"

"Fetch Dae Voni and bring her directly to the hospital."

"I believe she's out working in the gardens..."

"I don't care what she's doing!" Tralis did not let the T'Sere House Steward finish whatever she was going to say. "Bring her here as quickly as possible... Her daughter is home!"

Judea immediately broke down into tears of joy and practically fell back into Tralis' welcoming arms, the matriarch barely able to terminate the call. "Shush now, young one. Your mother is fine and has been under the protection of House T'Sere since the first Reapers appeared at the relay. Matriarch Aethyta came to us and explained your plan, so we immediately set about preparing the plantation; when the time came, we evacuated exactly as House T'Soni did and only recently returned to the city to begin rebuilding. I was not injured in the war... but stupidly trying to get into my offices before the building was stabilized. Neyna was furious with me... which is why she has appointed herself my personal guardian as I heal."

After a few moments, Judea collected herself and stood... turning a smiling, tear-streaked face to Miranda to be greeted by an answering broad grin and words of congratulations. "With your help, I was lucky enough to find Ori... and now we've found your mother. I am so happy for you, Jude!"

Judea took a couple of quick steps and kissed Miranda with a passion born from the joyous news. She turned back to the bed with flushed cheeks. "Matriarch Tralis. I apologize for the belated introductions... This is my _amantia_..." Her eyes dropped as she turned a shy smile to Miri and continued in a quiet voice, "... and hopefully future bondmate, Dr Miranda Lawson."

"Oh, Jude." Caught completely off-guard by the sudden declaration, Miranda couldn't keep her eyes from tearing at the unexpected announcement. "I love you! I would be _honored_ to carry your bracelet on my wrist!"

Matriarch Tralis let out a gleeful laugh. "By the Goddess, Judea! Your mother is on the way here as we speak. You couldn't have waited another five minutes to make your proposal?"

Just then, the door burst open with a bang, revealing none other than Matron Daenia Voni. She threw herself across the room, crying out with joy as she enveloped her daughter in her arms. "Judea! By the blessings of the Goddess, you are returned!" She had definitely come directly to the hospital without stopping to clean up; tears streaked down her cheeks, leaving trails through the dirt and grime on her face.

Fortunately, Miranda had taken a surprised step backward when the door crashed open, so was easily able to avoid the ecstatic Asari as she ran the few steps across the room to collide with her daughter. Sellis and Iryna had followed Daenia into the room with smiles on their faces to witness the joyous occasion. Once the excited chatter of the initial reunion calmed down, Judea repeated their announcement to add to the festive atmosphere engulfing the entire room.

Eventually, Dae stepped back and looked around the room. "Goddess, but I must look a sight; I came straight from the fields!" Her focus landed once more upon her daughter, the smile never leaving her face as questions spilled rapidly from her mouth. "How long are you on Thessia? Will you be staying at the plantation?"

Judea's face crumbled with disappointment. "I'm sorry, Momma, but we've got work to do. I'm here on behalf of House T'Soni to negotiate the continuation of our partnership with House T'Sere and the Shipwrights Guild."

Matriarch Tralis cut in, "Which will take no time at all. We'll continue with the same arrangement already negotiated. I see no reason for any changes."

Judea smiled. "Mistress T'Soni begs to differ, Matriarch, but I am not at liberty to discuss the details in such a public location."

"I see." Ever the thoughtful matriarch, Tralis' eyes shifted readily to Miranda. "Dr Lawson. Do you happen to be a medical doctor familiar with Asari physiology?"

Miranda raised her brow and glanced at Judea before answering, "Yes, Matriarch, I am." Given her level of intellect, Miranda immediately guessed where the Matriarch was headed with her inquiry. "And if you are so willing to trust me, it would be my privilege to provide your personal care for the period of time required for the completion of the negotiations... assuming they are conducted in a location close to adequate facilities should a medical emergency arise."

"Excellent." Tralis looked to Judea. "I have complete faith in your choice of mates... and you know we have a full medical facility at the plantation. I would be recovering _there_ except for the misfortune of having lost the House physician, Dr Elana." The expression on the matriarch's face darkened and she shifted her gaze downward to the floor. In a voice filled with regret, she continued, "I cannot fault her for her decision, but she opted to stay here in the city... in an ill-fated attempt to assist the Dassus Republican Guard as a medic, so House T'Sere has been without a doctor since we evacuated from the city. Elana and most of the Guard were dead within three hours of the initial Reaper assault..." Her voice tapered from quiet to absolute silence until she shook herself from her reverie. For the first time since the latest arrivals had barged into the room, Tralis looked to the T'Sere House Steward, who was already nodding. "Luana?"

"Yes, Matriarch. Lady Sashia anticipated visitors as soon as she heard Judea was on Thessia." Luana's focus shifted to Judea and her _amantia_. "She has extended the invitation to all aboard the _Aletheia_ to join her at the T'Sere Plantation, first for dinner this evening and then to remain as her guests for as long as your business keeps you on Thessia; there is plenty of room. If you do not want to leave your vessel unattended at the shipyard, you can bring it to the Plantation; the freight pads are clear... and I am sure Judea remembers the way."

* * *

 **London Outskirts, Earth, Sol**

Angelique Warren had her work cut out for her. She'd been tasked with locating Maya Brooks, and had no clue as to where to begin. _Think, damn it! Brooks arrived with the Illusive Man, killed the son-of-a-bitch, and then apparently left the Citadel before Shepard could activate the Crucible. So, what ship did they arrive on? Was there enough time for her to return to it and get to the relay before the Red Wave swept through? I need to get a list of the ships Harper had available to him and search for the final transponder recordings of each through Charon._

With the Charon relay now operational, perhaps it was time for her to take a little trip. Her only hope was that the relay had maintained its memory core through the destruction and she could discover Maya's next destination... and that the trail was not already cold. Warren had a nagging suspicion that she was already too late... and that she was missing… something, but she couldn't put a finger _to_ that something. It was a puzzle she needed to solve if she was going to find Maya's whereabouts.

She quickly packed what remained of her personal gear, leaving behind the hospital scrubs and anything else that could potentially connect her to this place... all piled in the center of the living room and snugged up tightly to the explosive device. She set the timer for only four minutes; that would be sufficient time for her to climb the short, single story emergency ladder to the roof, lift off with the skycar and get roughly 2 km away, much farther than the rather compact bomb's measly 50 meter blast radius. Somewhat contained within the 5 meter square living space she had called home for the last few months, it would easily obliterate any evidence of her presence here... most likely causing the collapse of the entire building which, much to her relief, had remained otherwise vacant. _I'm no murderer! Thank God for small favors... at least I won't have any unnecessary deaths on my conscience!_ With one final glance to make sure she hadn't missed anything, she activated the device and exited quickly through the small hatch in the ceiling.

* * *

 **London Space Port,** **Normandy SR-2, Earth**

Shepard and Liara walked past the nose strakes of the Normandy and started down the port side pier toward the forward airlock, not pausing until they reached the end of the ramp leading to the ship. The commander's eyes focused on the new Spectre symbol prominently displayed on the docking hatch and she smiled as she gently squeezed Liara's hand. "She's beautiful, Li."

As soon as they walked up the ramp, the hatch ahead of them popped out and slid smoothly to the side in welcome as Edi's voice sounded from within the airlock. "Welcome back, Shepard."

"Well, shit! You too, Edi! You have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice!"

"I have accessed your mission report and am aware of the difficult choice you were forced to make, Commander... particularly given you were unaware of my emergency back-up program which, thanks to Jeff, executed properly and is performing as anticipated. I feel compelled to inform you that I agreed completely with your conclusion; I know it must have been extremely difficult but, given the available options, your decision to sacrifice me and the Geth for the greater good was the logical choice."

Shepard stopped and took a deep breath as Liara looked at her with vague disquiet, feeling the tumult of emotions rolling through the link. Shepard closed her eyes and hung her head, her voice dropping to a whisper as she responded, "Thank you, Edi. I hope you realize what that means to me... It was not the choice I wanted to make..."

"But it _was_ the correct one. I understand, Shepard, and I hold no malice toward you; we remain... friends." Riana finally stepped in and the hatch behind them closed; both fore and aft inner airlock doors released at the same time as Edi's closing words. "Welcome aboard, Captain."

Because Edi had been speaking to them, their eyes gravitated naturally to the left and they looked forward toward the cockpit as they walked through the entryway. Lieutenant Commander Williams' voice boomed out, coming from the aft portion of the passageway. "Captain on deck!"

In surprise, Shepard did a quick about-face to find the crew of the Normandy lining the length of the passage and overflowing into the CIC, leaving a gap only wide enough for one person at a time. She heard a soft squeak of laughter from Liara just before feeling a gentle shove on her back, indicating Samantha needed to move along the open path. As Shepard took her first step into the passage, another bark from Ashley had the entire assembly snapping a sharp salute as their commanding officer moved rearward, eventually finding herself guided to the platform overlooking the galaxy map in the CIC. Once she stepped up onto the raised decking, her heart swelled with pride as her eyes roamed the room; she took a deep breath and spoke solemnly, "Thank you, each and every one of you. I've never had the privilege of working with a more dedicated crew than that of the Normandy." She snapped a sharp salute in return and dropped it quickly as she said, "As you were!"

Everyone immediate dropped their salutes and the room erupted into cheers of welcome. Ashley laughed as she joined the commander on the small platform, shouting above the din. "Alright, alright. Return to your duty stations and let's get this bird back in the air... with the rightful commander in her place."

As Shepard looked to Ashley to ask where they were supposed to be going, Ashley grinned; her voice was filled with humor as she spoke. "Sorry, Shepard, but that commander isn't you; not yet. Your time in the sun is over for now... Get off my platform and go on up to your quarters."

"Not until she joins me in the Med Bay for a quick scan to get her updated medical status into the Normandy's readiness log." Karin Chakwas' voice filtered up from behind a surprised Shepard, who turned to see the doctor standing in front of the elevator doors. As Shepard started to protest, Karin's voice picked up a slight edge. "You are still on medical hold, Commander, and it will stay that way... at least until I complete that initial scan and see how you're doing."

Shepard shook her head in resignation and she glanced back at Williams. "Thanks, Ash. Even if I'm not yet in command, it's good to be back."

As the commander stepped down off the platform and headed toward Karin, Ashley replied with a smile, "Good to have you aboard, Skipper. It simply felt wrong without you here."

As the doors whooshed open for Karin, Shepard, Liara and Riana to enter the elevator, they all heard Ashley say, "Alright, Joker. Let's get to Farnborough and pick up the next supply shipment so we can be back in time for this afternoon's festivities!"

* * *

 **T'Sere Plantation, Dassus Republic, Thessia**

Judea bowed respectfully to Lady Sashia as the House Matriarch swept elegantly into the room. "As I live and breathe, I have dreamt of this day. Welcome home, Judea!"

Judea smiled and her eyes glistened as she returned to an upright position. "Matriarch. It is with a joyous heart that I return, to find House T'Sere relatively intact... and my mother alive. I cannot thank you enough for providing her shelter during the horrendous storm we all endured."

Sashia had continued approaching as they spoke and, as soon as she was close enough, reached out to wrap her arms around her long-absent lead designer. "You are family, Judea, since the very first day you joined the T'Sere Shipwrights team... and we take care of our own." She pushed back and looked the younger Asari in the face. "Now. I know you have business to discuss, but it will wait until tomorrow. Tonight we eat, drink and celebrate our reunion; the morning is soon enough to begin work."

"As you wish, Matriarch. We certainly appreciate your hospitality." Judea's gaze traveled quickly over those with her. "Please, it is my honor to introduce you to my companions..."

Once the introductions were complete, Sashia stared at Aresia and Falere. The two were uncomfortable under her scrutiny as the matriarch began to speak. "You two. Before I say anything else I will tell you I trust Judea implicitly. Having said such, I promise you this... If Judea trusts you to travel in her company, you are welcome and safe in this house." As the two Ardat Yakshi drew relieved breaths, Sashia then turned to Samara. The matriarch surprised them all as she bowed deeply and continued, "My house is blessed with your esteemed presence, Justicar. Your reputation precedes you... and my residence is yours, whenever you may require it or if you simply desire to relax at your pleasure, now and into the indefinite future we all face as Thessia rebuilds. You will _always_ be welcome in my home."

"Such an offer is extremely generous during these difficult times, Lady Sashia." Samara offered her own bow in return. "I accept... with the hope that someday I may somehow repay such graciousness."

* * *

The evening passed quickly and it was late by the time Judea had a chance to sneak off to a quiet corner and speak with her mother in private. Daenia couldn't help but smile. "I am so happy for you, Judea. Miranda seems like a lovely woman... and a doctor, no less! She just may possess the intellect to keep up with you!"

"I promise you, she does." Judea's expression turned wistful. "But what about you, Momma?"

"What do you mean, daughter?"

"I mean... You are alone here. Not truly alone, but no one special..." Judea looked away for a second and her eyes held a shadow of concern when they returned to her mother's face. "Momma... Where is Teana?"

"Oh, Goddess! Judea! I am so sorry I did not think to tell you!" Realization dawned on Daenia's face and she spoke hurriedly to ease her daughter's concerns, "Teana is fine! She left a few days ago to trade for supplies in Attena! Their lack of centralization spared them some of the worst of the Reaper attacks and they used their forests as cover to stockpile parts in numerous caches spread out across the western continent! We are trading plantation foods for equipment! I do wish we had known you were coming... I am sure Lady Sashia would have delayed the trade run for a few days so Teana could have been here to see you!"

Relief spread across Judea's face like wildfire pushed by a stout wind. "Thank the Goddess! When I did not see her and you said nothing, I feared something had either happened to her or gone wrong between you... I am very happy to be incorrect in my assumptions!"

Dae's eyes twinkled impishly. "I am also happy to see you can still be wrong. Had you reached perfection, you'd be insufferable!"

Judea laughed heartily. "Oh, Momma! Believe me... there have been a number of times I have been wrong over the last few years, though I am happy to say, none ended with disastrous consequences!" Judea smiled and leaned into her mother's shoulder as she whispered quietly, "Goddess, it is good to be home and to see you alive and well."

"And the same goes for me, regarding you, my daughter. I was tucked away relatively safely under the roof of the T'Sere family and you did not need to be concerned... but for yourself! The hardest part of it all was not knowing where you were in the fight or if you were even still alive!" Daenia wiped a tear from her face, refusing to let it fall as she stood and extended a hand to her child. "But the time for worry is done and we must rejoin the celebration!"

* * *

Immediately following breakfast the next morning, Judea and Miranda found themselves being directed to Lady Sashia's private office. Before the door closed behind them, Lady Sashia had beckoned them to enter and join her on the couches. "There is no need to sit at my desk in those incredibly hard chairs simply because we must discuss business. I prefer to do so from the comfort of a soft seat with a cup of hot tea in my hands." Her hand indicated the tray before them, sitting atop a small central table. "Please, help yourself."

As Judea poured cups for both Miranda and herself, Sashia continued, "So, Judea... Since you seem to have information I need, feel free to begin the negotiations. You indicated that Lady T'Soni desires to change our arrangement somehow?"

Judea glanced at the Human beside her before responding, "Actually, Matriarch, it is Dr Lawson who must begin."

Having been assured by Liara and Jude they were to hold nothing back while explaining what they needed, Miranda began. She started at the beginning and first told the story of the old Shadow Broker and the fight onboard the ship above Hagalaz... quickly followed by the takeover of the network and the current functionality residing within the _Aletheia_. "And so, because of her public presence, we need to retire the ship and return her to the House T'Soni fleet. But, to do so, we need a replacement vessel."

Even as a matriarch with a thousand years of life's experiences, Sashia sat in dumbfounded silence for a moment before blinking and slowly turning her gaze to Judea. "By the Goddess, child. See what you get yourself into when you aren't close enough for either me or your mother to keep an eye on you? It is obviously with great trust that Lady T'Soni has sent you both here as emissaries... trust on _all_ our parts. You are evidently here for a more specific reason as well... and my guess is you already have a design for this replacement ship. A ship Liara wants T'Sere Shipwrights to build, test, refine and ultimately produce... even though we will never be able to sell a single vessel to any customers other than those within the Brokerage."

Judea grinned broadly as she answered, "That is a fairly accurate assumption, Matriarch, except for a couple of very important details. First off, your payment for the construction of the singular ship will be the availability of any Shadow Broker assets required for the complete rebuild of the T'Sere production facilities. Secondly, you _will_ be able to offer the ship on the open market... at least a basic version of it... with a separate agreement, but alike in every way to the current arrangement with House T'Soni. There are a few rather extensive upgrades you will... _we_ will... add on to improve performance of the Broker model in a variety of ways. The _upgrades_ are what you will be unable to sell, but I do believe you will find even the basic model to be unlike anything you've seen me design to date. Miranda helped significantly and the new ship is a marvel of engineering and innovative technology."

Sashia ran a hand nervously across her crests and shook her head in bewilderment before responding, "What of the Council... or the fact that the Shadow Broker is the most wanted criminal in Council space? I am not so naive as to think everything in that business is for the good of all, so how can you assure me that Liara will generally use the Brokerage for the benefit of the galaxy?

"I can assure that, at heart, Liara has not changed, Matriarch." Miranda gently squeezed Judea's hand as she answered the questions for her. "It is a carefully guarded secret that the previous Shadow Broker who earned that reputation is rightfully dead... _That_ information has not been hidden from the Council. Utilizing Broker resources, Liara coordinated closely with multiple parties regarding the personnel and materials required to build the weapon that ended this war... and she remained focused solely on the war effort. Now that the war is over, there is still a lot of rebuilding that needs to happen; our primary focus thus far has been on getting the right supplies, mostly food and medicines, to the places they are most needed." Miranda smiled softly and met the matriarch's eyes. "Beyond that, Liara simply... trusts _you_... to know where the loyalty of House T'Soni resides... and promises it won't change anytime in the near future, no matter your response to this latest offer."

"That is no little secret; Liara has shown tremendous trust simply by letting you come to me with this proposal." Sashia closed her eyes and drew a couple of deep, calming breaths. Her eyes reopened and she looked at Miranda. "Which, in and of itself, is very telling. Please inform her that I accept the offer... and that I very much look forward to the arrival of the necessary equipment and materials to get this port and our construction facility operational once more. I will have Matriarch Tralis work with Neyna and forward you a list as soon as possible."

As the Broker representatives leaned back in their chairs in relief, Lady Sashia looked at them and smiled. "Now. I do believe I have a design and some ship plans to evaluate, do I not?"

"Absolutely." Judea and Miranda rose slowly from their chairs as Judea continued, "But it remains aboard ship until we have reconstructed a design center and a secure storage facility. If you would like to see the plans, you'll need to come out for a tour of the _Aletheia_ , Matriarch."

Sashia stood gracefully and nodded in acknowledgment. "Please, lead the way. I am at your disposal for as long as this may take."


	18. And Life Goes On

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **And Life Goes On**

 **Farnborough Field, Earth, Sol**

The supply runs were completed in plenty of time and the Normandy settled softly onto the tarmac. An eager Major Falk stood impatiently at the doorway of the transit facility awaiting his special guests with the provisional regional commander. Ashley led the way, having been there multiple times at this point, and snapped a smart salute as she drew to a halt at the entry. "Good to see you again, Colonel Studer."

The man had an easy smile on his face as he returned the salute. "You too, Spectre Williams! Please, come on in and introduce me to your friends."

The introductions went quickly and the Colonel proceeded to give the small group a quick tour of the facility and all the rebuilding they had managed to accomplish since the end of the war. "I feel like it's horribly slow going, Shepard, but at least we have a chance to do it instead of being turned to dust like the unnumbered repetitions of civilizations before us. People like you and Anderson are rare and I'll admit to being selfish... I'm ecstatic that you picked _this_ particular cycle to show up for!"

Studer had an easy way about him and both Shepard and Liara liked him immediately. Shepard smiled sadly before responding, "I don't think I had much to say in the matter, Colonel; our fates are for Gods to determine and we're all pretty much simply along for the ride." She gave Liara's hand a quick squeeze. "But even with the loss of Admiral Anderson, I have to admit that I'm glad to be in the here and now and not some other timeline, so I won't dispute your statement."

They continued with their short tour until they arrived at the location of the ceremony, a small indoor auditorium which was already beginning to fill, and the Colonel took his leave. "Major. Show your guests to their seats and I'll meet you back stage."

With a quick salute and prompt, "Yes, Sir," they made their way into the room, Falk leading them swiftly to the front row. "I'll see you all in a bit. I'll come back to fetch you when we're all done here and escort you to the headquarters for the party."

As the major vanished around the corner, Shepard smirked and gave Ashley a friendly jab in the shoulder. "So, Ash. Is Falk like some little cuddly puppy? You going to bring him home and make us feed him?"

In her surprise, Liara gasped, "Shepard!"

Red showing bright at the top of Ashley's collar as a blush crept up her neck, she turned around and punched Shepard back, a bit harder than the commander had initially dished out. It only made Shepard laugh as Ashley responded with a grin of her own, "Fuck off, Skipper. It's the first guy in years I can actually think of as more than a friend. He's not some damned pet!"

With Liara's scowl having absolutely no effect, Shepard was still chuckling when the lights dropped and the short ceremony began.

* * *

 **Headquarters, Aldershot Camp, Earth**

"Welcome to the headquarters of the 16th Regiment Royal Mobile Artillery! Please, make yourself at home and partake of the libations!" Studer had not shown himself at the end of the ceremony and the reason was now plainly evident; he had hurried back to the headquarters in preparation to welcome the guests to Falk's promotion party. It was more festive than Shepard had expected and simply demonstrated to her the resiliency of the Human spirit.

After receiving a negative response from Shepard and Liara regarding whether or not they wanted anything to drink, Falk and Ashley vanished into the crowd... on the hunt for the bar. Shepard took Liara's hand and smiled halfheartedly. "Ash looks happy, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does." With a shadow in her eyes, Liara tipped her head and glanced at the expression on Samantha's face. "And what of you, _Siame_? Are you happy?"

Shepard stood up a bit straighter with more of a smile on her face and gave a little shrug. "I am, Liara. I guess I'm just a bit disgusted about my inability to do anything right now; I feel kind of useless."

 _{You are anything but useless, Samantha Shepard.}_ Liara squeezed the hand that was trapped in hers. _{You are my rock and my sounding board... I depend on your very existence to keep me grounded.}_ Liara blinked and smiled softly. "But I know that standing around... unable to pitch in with repairs or to have some more direct purpose... is difficult for you. Perhaps you could start working with me. At least then your mind would be occupied and you would most _certainly_ be making a contribution to the cause."

"That, my dear Liara, is one of the best ideas I've heard since I was released from the hospital."

Liara laughed, "Shepard... you've been released for less than twelve hours."

The commander finally truly smiled. "I know... but it's still a good idea."

With at least a temporary renewed sense of purpose, Shepard relaxed a bit and she and Liara made the rounds, saying hello to various members of the regiment while trying to ignore the idolizing stares of the others. After roughly an hour, the colonel had left his troops to party on without the restraining effect of having their commander in their midst. Shepard and Liara also said their goodbyes and departed for the Normandy, leaving Ashley to return in her own time.

As the alcohol flowed more freely and the party really started rocking, the budding couple slipped away, Andreas taking the opportunity to provide Ashley a private guided tour of the rest of Aldershot Camp. It was a beautiful summer night to walk the streets, especially since most of the base personnel were still at the celebration... not even noticing the guest of honor had long since departed. When they got to the gymnasium, Falk pushed the doors open and stepped in with a huge grin. "This is one of our best kept secrets."

The safety lighting was on so, after being outside in the dark, it was easy for Ashley to see they were standing in a state-of-the-art facility. "What the Hell? How did you all keep this stuff from getting destroyed?"

Falk smirked. "Wasn't really that hard. Once the war started, everything got shoved into the basement to make space for a triage center. The camp hospital was nowhere near large enough to handle the number of injured that were pouring in on a daily basis." He resumed walking, Ashley catching up quickly and keeping pace as he continued, "So, when the war was over, we cleared the triage center and dragged everything back out of storage. Putting things back the way they used to be gave the men something to do and instilled at least an illusion of normalcy... no matter _how_ different things truly were from even just a few months ago."

Ashley stopped and grabbed Falk's arm, halting his progress. "Is that what I think it is?"

Andreas laughed, "It's just a practice mat, Ashley. What the Hell else would it be?"

"Hey! You have to realize I live on a warship! Even as large as the Normandy is, to have a full-size unarmed combat area would be a horrible waste of space!"

Falk cocked his jaw in thought and squinted at the Spectre. "What do you say, Ash? Want to go a round or two?" As Ashley turned to look at him in surprise, he took off his jacket and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren't you? I haven't accepted the invitation yet." Ashley placed her hands on her hips and watched as Andreas stripped off his shirt.

"Oh, bollocks. Like you'd turn down a challenge?" Falk balled up his shirt and tossed it off to the side. "Don't be so cheeky and just admit you want to do this... _Spectre_ Williams."

"Oh, ho! You sound pretty cocky there, Mr Falk." Ashley quickly undid her tunic and tossed it to the side, leaving on her t-shirt, pants and boots.

Falk leaned over and started to undo the fasteners on his footwear. "No boots on the mat, please."

"Right. Sorry. I'm used to working out on the decking of the hangar bay. Not something you want to do without footgear." Ashley then removed her boots as she watched Falk's movements. _That man has six-pack abs with muscles to spare. I'm thinking putting him down is definitely going to be my pleasure._ Ashley grinned as she moved to the center of the mat and taunted, "Stop delaying the inevitable, Falk, and get on the mat."

He chuckled as he kicked off his second boot and moved onto the mat, immediately going into a fighting stance. He fully expected Ashley to attack first, so was surprised as she simply circled, getting a feel for how her opponent moved. After a couple of laps, Ashley started with a feint that ended in a grapple... the two struggling for the most advantageous hold. Falk was surprised when Ashley seemed to stumble and fall backward; he gallantly tried to break her fall and immediately realized his error, but it was too late. Ashley grabbed his wrist and planted a foot on his left hip as she rolled backward, straightening her leg and launching him up and over her head.

He crashed to the mat behind her and they both sprung back to their feet. As they resumed circling, stabbing and feinting in an attempt to get a renewed hold, Falk was grinning. "Nicely done... but that tactic only works once, Ash. What else you got up your sleeve?"

The sparring continued, the two trading takedowns, surprisingly evenly matched... or at least it appeared that way. Ashley was beginning to think Andreas was going easy on her, so on the next takedown, she purposely planted an elbow in his solar plexus, earning her a rewarding grunt as she stole his wind. She went for a final leg sweep, but he recovered faster than she anticipated and reversed the maneuver on her, planting her hard on her back and forcing the air from her lungs.

Before she had a chance to do much else than draw a deep breath to get oxygen back into her body, Andreas was on top of her, grabbing her wrists and pinning her hands to the floor above her head. She tried to buck him off with her hips, but he countered by spreading his feet wider and placing a majority of his weight directly on top of her. Her world seemed to freeze when his blue-gray eyes suddenly locked onto her brown ones. They stared at one another in the dimness of the vast space; the only sound to be heard was their heavy breathing. With his weight against Ashley's body, he became intensely aware of her breasts pressed firmly into his bare chest. Taking a deep breath, Andreas confessed, "God forgive me. I know this is fast... we've only known one another for ten days, but I really want to kiss you, Ashley Williams."

Ashley had stopped struggling as she stared into his eyes, searching for ... something. She knew she had found it when he made his bold statement. She didn't know exactly what 'it' was, but the look in his eyes... the vulnerability, the intensity, the passion, the _possessiveness_ ; she knew it was what she wanted as well. "I'm not stopping you, Andreas." She split her gaze between his mouth and his eyes as she held her breath.

He hesitated only a moment before lowering himself down, kissing her gently, using his lips and the tip of his tongue to explore her lips – the feel of them, at once firm and soft as she returned his first kiss. He pressed his lips to hers a bit harder, more fully; she responded by opening her mouth to him, allowing full access to her tongue even as she reveled in exploring the feel and the taste of his mouth. He let go of her hands and shifted his body slightly in order to relieve her of most of his weight; feeling the chill of the air through her sweat dampened tee-shirt, she responded by bringing her arms down and around to pull him back slightly as she embraced his back, skin still slick with the sweat from his own exertions. When he finally paused to catch his breath, his mouth left her lips to quickly trail across her jawbone and down to the sensitive skin of her neck; the feel of his breath, the tender touch of his lips and tongue on the pulse under her jaw set her soul on fire.

She was enjoying the feel of him nuzzling her neck so much she didn't pay any attention to his right hand as it slid up her side until it was embracing her left breast; the gentle way he caressed her bringing the nipple firmly erect. He quickly discovered this new toy and used two fingers together to gently massage the stiffened tip and areola through her shirt. She brought her left knee up as she leaned into his body – her own body responding with anticipatory moisture she had rarely felt before. She could feel the dampness building in the crotch of her panties and it suddenly dawned on her that what she truly wanted was much more than just a kiss.

Ashley had tilted her chin upwards to grant as much access to her throat as he wished, but the combination of her revelation and the hand massaging her breast galvanized her. Ash kicked down with her left leg and arched her back, pushing him the rest of the way off of her. As Falk rolled onto his back in surprise, she rolled on top of him and straddled his hips. With her torso and hands free, she quickly pulled her t-shirt over her head and set it on the mat before placing her hands on either side of his shoulders and bending her arms to lower herself down, allowing her aroused nipples to just kiss the cool, sweat dampened skin on his chest.

Andreas cupped the fullness of her breasts with the palms of his hands, sampling their weight for a few moments before reaching around her back to pull her down for another kiss. Her long, coal-black hair cascaded over his face; he drank in its fragrance as he planted little kisses on each of her closed eyes, the bridge of her nose, and each of her cheeks before returning to her lips yet again. She playfully nibbled on his lower lip before giving herself over to a full kiss – she couldn't seem to get enough of him. _My God… has it been that long?_

He wasn't so far gone he could not hear the faint echo of an outer door opening… and closing. Looking into Ashley's eyes, Falk chuckled and whispered, "Most likely a security patrol, checking the building. We can continue this in my quarters, if you're so inclined."

Ashley sat up, still straddling his hips. "You even have to ask? I _am_ certainly so inclined, Sir. How far?" she whispered back.

Falk looked at her in the dim light as she answered him. _Damn! How lucky am I to have been introduced to this beautiful woman?_ "Less than ten minutes walking. Let me up."

* * *

 **Widow Relay, Serpent Nebula**

Angelique Warren had traveled from the Sol System in order to find any leads on the whereabouts of Maya Brooks. She had been fortunate in that the Charon Relay 'saved' its traffic records to what could only be thought of as non-volatile memory – it wasn't based on Reaper technology, as the records of transiting vessels went back into the distant past – perhaps even to the time of the Protheans. She had been a bit taken aback at the lack of records for several millennia until remembering that Charon, thought to be a satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto, had been encased in ice layers hundreds of kilometers thick for thousands of years and had not been reactivated until it was discovered by curious Humans in 2149.

Warren had queried the relay's memory and was surprised to find a single ship had used it a short time before the Alliance led fleet fled through the relay to Arcturus. That single ship had flown to a different destination – the Widow Relay. Unfortunately for Warren's search, the lone vessel's transponder had been off-line, so she had no ship name or registration. That, in and of itself, spelled Cerberus to Angelique's mind.

Once she arrived in Widow, she also hacked into the memory of _that_ Relay; the ship from Charon had been the last one through before the red wave from the Crucible had disabled it – again, there was no record of the ship's registration – only its passage, and it was possibly still in the nebula; there _was_ a vessel, also unknown, recorded as outbound for Pranas in the Annos Basin. _What the Hell? That's the Salarian home system. If it_ _ **was**_ _Brooks, she's going to have a hard time hiding out among a bunch of damned amphibians! It must have been an STG ship..._

Angelique studied the galaxy map in her small ship. _Since the Citadel is still orbiting Earth, there's nothing at all near this damned relay. Perhaps… maybe! What's in Boltzmann? H-3 refueling stations orbiting Veltman… Shit! It's Bekenstein!… Has to be! That's where she would have gone to ground… plenty of places there to get lost if she's looking to hide._

Warren activated the ship's VI and instructed it to set course for Bekenstein, best speed. While she was en route, she'd research the question of what ships the Illusive Man had available for his use at Cronos Station.

* * *

 **Bekenstein, Boltzmann System, Serpent Nebula**

Warren entered a high orbit over Bekenstein in order to avoid the worst of the flotsam created by the Reaper's destruction of the multitude of orbiting factories and satellites. During her trip here from the Widow Relay, she studied the records pulled from her own ship's memory core concerning the FTL capable vessels available for the Illusive Man's use.

The majority of Cerberus owned ships had been destroyed during the Alliance attack and subsequent occupation of Cronos Station, but there were some vessels that didn't fit the 'warship' description – of these, _Elbrus_ , _New Hope_ , _Eva's Vortex_ , _Relentless_ , _Elysium_ , _Anarchy_ and _Humanity's Guardian_ were the most likely candidates – all were equivalent in size and endurance to Alliance ship classes of corvette to frigate; some were even heavily armed and armored.

Of these, only _Anarchy_ and _Eva's Vortex_ were of a size and configuration to go virtually unnoticed by the authorities; there were no Cerberus badges on their exteriors, their transponders (when in use) broadcast forged identities which were frequently changed, and the ships' names were applied in a non-descript, small typestyle using colors that nearly matched the hull color.

Angelique was mulling this over when her proximity detectors started a low-key trill that rapidly increased in pitch and volume. The ship's VI slowed and jigged the ship to avoid the obstruction; when Warren scanned it for viewing, she was surprised to see the outline of a corvette-sized space vessel in a parking orbit around the planet below. _Don't tell me I got lucky that damned quick,_ she thought. Rather than pass by the ship she'd just dodged, she instructed the VI to match its orbital velocity and approach it with the intent of getting close enough to dock. _If no one answers my hail, I'm just going to take a look, see who it might belong to._

While she waited for her ship to close with the unidentified vessel, Angelique armored up and docked a shotgun on her backplate – she was going to risk docking with that ship – would board it if she continued to receive no answer to her automated hail. No one in their right mind would abandon an apparently undamaged vessel, unless the vessel could be linked to some criminal enterprise. She quickly instructed the VI to scan for explosives or any signals that could potentially be a self-destruct timer counting down somewhere in the propulsion or fuel system. An explosion on that ship while hers was in such close proximity would severely damage or destroy her ship as well, making Bekenstein her final resting place. _No one uses mechanical timers anymore... I hope._

Upon receiving a negative response from the VI, Angelique shut down the automated comms request and cautiously brought her ship within boarding tube distance of the mystery ship's airlock; once satisfied there was no relative movement between the two, she stood in the airlock, sealed her helmet and extended the boarding tube. Once latched to the exterior of the other ship, she walked the ten meters through the tube to the outer hatch and drew her shotgun.

Thankfully, no passcode was required to open the hatch, which silently retracted at her touch. Stepping into the darkened chamber, she started as her presence caused lights to softly illuminate the interior. The inner hatch opened as soon as the outer one closed and latched; she turned on the spotting beam attached to her shotgun and pointed it towards the ship's cockpit. There were a number of indicator lights shining from various panels surrounding the pilot's chair, which was empty. Turning towards the stern, she carefully walked to a control panel on the bulkhead guarding access to the rest of the ship. Pressing several switches rewarded her with lights overhead and the retraction of the four-section hatch into its pockets. Before she moved any further, she caught sight of the builder's plate, attached to the starboard side face of the bulkhead:

• _Eva's Vortex •_

• _Manufactured MMCLXXXI_ •

• _Cord-Hislop Aerospace •_

Warren nearly laughed out loud. _I really_ _ **must**_ _have a guardian angel guiding me... I can't believe I actually found it... and so fast!_ _ **This**_ _is how the Illusive Man and Maya traveled to the Citadel, and it's how Maya got away, but… the ship is too large to be operated by only one or two people, so how in Hell?… What happened to her crew?_

Angelique decided to start in the cockpit to see if she could learn anything from the onboard VI. She had spent an hour-and-a-half reviewing the electronic logs of Eva's Vortex from just after the ship had transited the Charon relay to Widow. Leaning back in the pilot's seat with her legs crossed, feet on the control console, she ran a hand through her closely cropped hair, lost in thought.

It was now clear just how deeply the Illusive Man had fallen down the proverbial rabbit hole. Not only had he been indoctrinated at some point during the preceding three years, he had managed to get most of the people around him indoctrinated, including the entire crew of this ship! Warren had a new-found respect for the abilities of Maya Brooks… the assassin had not only managed to somehow avoid the fate of so many others close to the Illusive Man, she had convinced the captain to sit and wait near the Widow relay for Harper's return.

Maya had obviously not counted on Shepard's activation of the Crucible damaging the relays so extensively; Warren chuckled as she thought again about the red wave tearing through the ship, dropping every Reaper indoctrinated soul on board. She did not envy the mess left on board for Maya to clean up, but thought that Brook's solution of eliminating all the bodies by dropping them into the star was quite simply brilliant.

The logs indicated Maya had come to Bekenstein to lay low for a while; she had even used Eva's Vortex as a relief vessel, assisting the survivors on the planet below. Warren could sympathize with Brooks not wanting to be found – any surviving member of Cerberus might want her dead in retaliation for her murder of Jack Harper. There were a lot more people, survivors of Cerberus experiments or aggression, who would want to kill her just for being a member of a terrorist organization.

 _Got to look at the rest of this ship, see what else is on board. She must have had a personal shuttle or FTL capable ship in the hanger bay… would certainly explain her absence and the presence of this ship above Bekenstein._

Placing her feet back on the deck, she got up from the pilot's chair and moved towards the rear of the ship, intending to find Jack's private quarters.

* * *

 **Officer Quarters, Aldershot Camp, Earth**

A true gentleman, Andreas opened the door and allowed Ashley to precede him into his quarters; he followed, quietly closing the door and turning a table lamp on low. The woman turned slowly towards Falk as she removed her tunic, revealing her bare chest once again; rather than pulling on her sweat-dampened tee-shirt, she'd opted to carry it as they walked from the gym.

Falk grinned at her as he closed the distance between them. "Need any help with the rest of your clothing?"

"I wouldn't say no to a bit of assistance," she whispered in response.

Falk kissed her as he undid her belt and the fasteners for her pants; kneeling in front of her, he released the buckles for her boots before removing them and her socks... one foot at a time as she used her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. Hooking his thumbs in the waistband of her pants, he slowly tugged them down, working them past her hips one side at a time before sliding them down her well-muscled legs, whereupon she stepped out of them.

Her heart was pounding so hard, she was sure he could hear it. She swallowed hard as he kissed her navel before easing her panties down to join her pants on the floor. She shivered as he caressed the backs of her thighs, his touch as that of a chiffon slip being stirred by a gentle breeze. Still on his knees, he planted a kiss of promise in the middle of her still moist center before regaining his feet.

Holding her at arm's length, he inspected the nude woman in front of him. "Beautiful…" he whispered reverently. "Simply gorgeous." He began to unbutton his shirt for the second time this evening, only to have Ashley interrupt him by pushing his hands down. "My turn. You can just stand there and watch… enjoy the sight of a naked woman undressing you." She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth before pulling his unbuttoned shirt apart, pulling the collar area and shoulder plackets down and sliding it from his arms. She leaned down a bit, planted her mouth on his right nipple and applied her teeth to the tip, gently nibbling the responsive little knob before quickly repeating her action on his left side.

Squatting in front of him, she undid the fasteners of his boots and pulled them off before turning her attention to the belt and buttons of his pants. She had these undone in short order and quickly pulled both pants and underwear down in one fell swoop. A hand gripped her shoulder as he stepped out of his pants and stood in front of her. She looked up at him, then down again at the semi-erect cock which was refusing to stay hidden.

Returning to a standing position in front of him, she brought her body up hard against his; hugging him, she could feel the answering arousal stiffening further just above her own crotch. "Shall we go inspect your bedroom, or do you want to attempt this standing up?"

"Definitely the bedroom." Falk cleared his throat and gripped her shoulders to gently turn her towards a door on the opposite side of the very small living room.

Taking the initiative, Ashley strode boldly across the floor as if adrenalin was pushing her eagerly toward an upcoming battle. She paused at the entry only long enough to locate the berth in the corner of the room. She was preparing to simply stretch out on top of the bed when Andreas' hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled her up short. He stepped around her and folded the covers back to expose the sheet beneath. "Wouldn't want that military issue wool to scratch and irritate that beautiful skin of yours." He then sat down first and turned to lie on his back; his welcoming arms beckoned Ashley to resume her hip straddling posture from the gym.

With Ashley astride Falk's pelvis, she squirmed her own hips just a bit before reaching down and grasping his now fully erect penis. Raising her body slightly, she worked the tip past the well-lubricated entrance to her sex until the shaft slid completely in. Folding her torso down at the hips, she pressed her breasts to his chest and gently rocked her hips; the sensations transmitted to her clit by intercourse were much more intense than anything she could achieve by masturbation.

She kissed Andreas passionately as she continued to grind her pelvis into his; he responded by rhythmically rocking his own hips in opposition to her motions, adding to the sensations coursing through her bottom. She continued to move, faster and faster, her breath coming in short, guttural gasps. Andreas was breathing in a similar fashion, his hands grasping the cheeks of her ass where they met the back of her thighs, keeping her from moving too much. He reached around with his head and kissed first one breast, then the other, lingering as he caught a nipple between his lips.

Ashley was right at the edge, her entire groin afire with passion and lust. Andreas' breathing started catching in his throat as his climax began; Ashley felt his hips buck in rhythmic spasms, as if he was attempting to bury himself inside her. This sent her over her own precipice, waves of pleasure washing over her in radiating pulses as her lover filled her to overflowing.

With their passion satisfied, Ashley collapsed on top of Andreas; to her surprise, he stroked her bare back as he applied a kiss to her cheek. "My God, you were exquisitely good, Ash." He still had not moved, had made no effort to withdraw from her.

Ashley didn't know how to respond to that… she couldn't recall ever being called 'exquisite'. She could feel Falk's stiffness falling away; it seemed he was withdrawing whether he wanted to or not. Whispering, "I need to use the head… um, that is to say, your bathroom?"

"Of course," came the quiet reply. "And I expect I'd better be seeing you back to the Normandy before it gets much later."

Ash nodded as she raised her pelvis off of his and placed her feet on the floor. Standing, she could feel slickness descending on the insides of her thighs, so stepped into the nearby water closet and closed the door to clean up. After a few minutes' work, she flushed the toilet and opened the door to find Andreas leaning on the door frame. Offering him a kiss on the cheek as she walked past, she looked at his naked rear as he entered the bathroom. _Damn! What a body!_ she thought to herself as she began putting on her clothes. She'd take a shower and change once she was back on board the Normandy.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

By the morning immediately following her return to the Normandy, Shepard had made the daily visit to Karin and been officially granted 'Light Duty Status'; she sighed in relief... until Ashley came to speak with her that afternoon after yet another round of supply runs. "Alright, Skipper. Admiral Hackett told me to give this to you once you passed medical; your first speech is right here in good old London." Ashley handed her a data tablet. "It contains the talking points he wants you to highlight when you speak at the memorial ceremony."

"Memorial ceremony?" Shepard's face clouded with regret. "Shit. You've got to be kidding me... They want me to talk at that damned thing?"

"Sorry. I know it'll be tough." Ashley laid a hand gently on the commander's arm. "But at least they gave you a few days to figure out what you're going to say. It's not until Saturday."

"Five days to figure out how to summarize the lives of all those lost... including a man who was Kahlee's life partner, an uncle to me... and Earth's hero." Shepard sighed and blew out a quiet huff. "It's not possible."

Ash gave Shepard's arm a brief squeeze before dropping her hand once more to her side. "You'll think of something, Skipper. You always do."

"Maybe." The commander turned away and Ashley frowned, hearing the words mumbled as Shepard walked toward the elevator. "But just maybe I've plum run out of ideas."

Shepard made her way silently to the Broker office, wrapped in her own solemn thoughts and speaking to no one. As soon as the door closed behind her, Liara was at her side. "Ashley's right, you know. We'll come up with something fitting."

"Eavesdropping, T'Soni?" Shepard's words sounded accusatory, but the soft, appreciative smile on her face said otherwise.

"You were broadcasting loud and clear, Samantha." Liara wrapped her arms around Shepard's shoulders and her delicate fingers slid comfortingly through auburn locks. "I couldn't even begin to ignore your distress, much less continue working. So, I simply saved my data and patiently awaited your arrival. Do you wish to talk about it?"

"I haven't even looked at this yet... so I don't know what Hackett wants me to focus on." With a heavy sigh, Shepard held the datapad out to the side and tapped the interface to bring the small tablet to life. "He doesn't want me to dwell on the battle or to mention anyone specifically by name who died... which means I can't speak about Uncle Dave. I need to focus on the survivors... about their strength, the unity that got us here, and the perseverance we'll need to get us through the short term pain and to move forward. He gave me a copy of his speech about working together to build our future... together. I can't say I'm surprised; he doesn't want the Citadel or the Crucible coming up."

Liara also glanced quickly through the text, Shepard holding the datapad so she could also see it. . "You're right... not surprising at all. And, I must admit Admiral Hackett's speech was a good one, but it was geared toward the fleet, not the starving, scared civilians left behind to fend for themselves until we returned. Their views are most definitely different than ours... and many did not have a steady supply of necessities like we did aboard ship."

She felt Shepard tense under her hands as the commander answered, "I was here for all that and didn't know anything about what was happening out there... because no one would give me any information. Not that Sharon and Miranda didn't do a good job redistributing the available supplies and meeting peoples' needs, but it was beyond frustrating for me to be purposely kept out of the loop."

The commander suddenly tossed the datapad onto the nearest workstation, wrapped Liara in her arms, and pulled her tight before passionately kissing the surprised Asari. _{But not knowing about_ _ **you**_ _was the hardest of all. I'll never forget the overwhelming hollow feeling I had in my heart when I woke, not having you in my head and having no idea if the Normandy survived the war.}_ She broke the kiss and continued aloud, "I never want to experience that feeling again, _I_ _onúin Álainn_. Never."

Liara stared deeply into Samantha's eyes, determination and resolve echoing through the meld as her whisper shouted to the heavens. "And you never shall, _Siame_. Not if I have anything at all to say about it."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry to say, but real life may interfere with next Friday's posting. I'm hoping to have a chapter ready to publish, but can make no guarantees. Hope to see you next Friday, but if not, I _will_ promise to not skip more than the one week.


	19. For Gods and Angels

Notes:

 _A_ _Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

Bosh'tet - curse/insult, likely being relative to "son-of-a-bitch" or "bastard" (Quarian)

CIC - Combat Information Center

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _\- beautiful beloved (Gaelic)_

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

 _Sim're_ \- "sister of my sister", not for relations, a dear friend's loved one (Thessian)

* * *

 **For Gods and Angels**

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

Ashley Williams felt a pang of guilt for being partially responsible for Shepard's change in mood... from relieved contentment to chagrined regret... all because of a simple datapad. Her parting words had been, _'You'll think of something, Skipper. You always do.'_ Saying it back to herself now that Shepard had gone to the Shadow Broker's quarters on deck three, she realized what an empty statement it had been. _Damn it…_ she thought. _… Never have been much good at offering sympathy… to anyone, not even Sarah during the early months of the war._

Thinking about her attempt at making the skipper feel better turned her thoughts to Andreas. _Son-of-a-bitch! I'm beginning to think I've served the Alliance for too long! Have I really lost all my social acumen by being so focused on being the best damned Marine – the best damned Naval officer the Alliance has ever seen? What must he think of me after last night? Does he feel like he was just a meaningless, one-night stand?_

A very real spike of embarrassed fear swept over her. _I have to talk to him!_ She found herself in the hanger bay, where crewmen and shore-based handlers were loading relief supplies for the next delivery. Walking down the ramp to the tarmac, she stepped aside at the bottom to activate her omnitool. _Come on, Andreas… answer the call… come on…_ "Falk here. Williams? What's up? Something amiss?"

Ashley swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Hey… I know I said it would be a couple of days before I could see you again, but…" She paused for a second, her mind running at FTL as she remembered the previous night. The hand-in-hand walk back to the Normandy, their breathing and footsteps the only sounds close by. _Why didn't I talk to him, tell him how I felt about our first tryst (like a dream), how I felt about_ _ **him**_ _(I'm aching for him)._ _He must think I have no feelings, the way the crew on the Normandy used to feel about me… Ice Queen Williams. Until they met Miranda Lawson, I had no competition in_ _ **that**_ _department!_ "… well… I just needed to talk to you, Andreas... I wanted to hear your voice."

"What's the matter, Ashley?" Falk's voice didn't betray his own fears… that she was going to tell him she was sorry, but…

"It sounds rather trivial now that I'm getting ready to say it aloud, but I don't like the way I left things last night," she told him. "I want to make sure you know how very much I enjoyed our evening together. Truthfully, it's been on my mind all day… Does that sound weird or strange or…?"

The chuckle from the other side of the connection was reassuring. "Ash, I have to tell you the truth…"

 _Oh God, here it comes! 'Had a great time. Let's just be friends'_.

"… I've been thinking about all the things I missed during the war… Hell, before the war. A big part of what I missed was an intimate relationship with someone who I could share things with... lots of things... if not _everything_. Last night? I got the impression _you_ haven't had a relationship of this sort for a long time either. That said, I truly believe you have the _intimate_ part down, Ash, so no room for bullshit here. I want to see where we can take this, okay? Two officers, who have been dedicated completely to the cause most of their adult lives, trying to figure out how to have a personal life... and I want to do it together... with _you_. So, when can I see you again?"

Ashley didn't even have to think about her answer and her tone immediately shifted from unsure to positively committed. "Saturday. I could use an escort to the memorial ceremony… and I can't think of _anyone_ I'd rather have at my side than a certain Lieutenant Colonel."

"Sounds like a date!" She could hear the smile in his voice as he continued, "And Ash… there's nothing trivial about our feelings for each other."

Ash couldn't reply for several seconds, the surprisingly emotional response to his statement bringing moisture to her eyes. After swallowing hard, she finally managed to squeak out, "I feel the same, Andreas... and now, even with the looming memorial ceremony, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to the weekend."

* * *

Two decks above in the Broker's office, following the kiss and the emotions that flowed through the link with Liara's answering declaration, Shepard's hands settled suggestively on the Asari's lower back and sent a tremor of lustful need down through her body. Sam's voice was low and husky as her fingers gently massaged the sensitive folds through the silk of Liara's shirt. "I love you, Liara T'Soni."

Half-lidded blue eyes attempted to focus on Samantha's lips as those words came from between them and Liara leaned into Shepard's body, sucking a pink lower lip in between her teeth and running her tongue along its length. Releasing it so she could speak, Liara gave up on trying to focus on Shepard's face in such close proximity, closing her eyes as she leaned forward even more. When her lips brushed Shepard's earlobe, she whispered breathily, "If you aren't simply teasing, we need to go to the loft. Riana should be back from her late lunch with Traynor any time now." She growled in the commander's ear as Shepard hit a particularly responsive spot. "And if you keep doing _that_ , you had better be prepared to suffer the consequences, all teasing aside."

"There are distinct advantages to being on light duty and needing to... uhm... take a break." Liara felt Shepard's grin against her cheek as the commander found yet another of the Asari's sensitive locations and continued, "Come on, Li. I think you should escort me to the loft to make sure I follow doctor's orders and rest."

Liara reached behind her back with both hands and pulled Shepard's hands away from the erogenous folds. "Stop that or we'll never make it out the door, Commander."

"Is that a promise, T'Soni?"

"I believe that should be considered a threat, Samantha... because if Riana comes in here and catches us, you may not be getting anything for a long while... An _Asari_ long while."

"Ouch." Shepard immediately stopped what she had been doing and moved her hands to a safer location on Liara's hips. "Still my shy Asari archaeologist under that tough Shadow Broker exterior." Her face softened and took on a gentle smile as she reached up and cupped Liara's face, lightly caressing a blue freckled cheek with her thumb. "I love that part of you, Li. Promise me you'll never lose it?"

Liara's lips turned up into a pleasing grin in response. "I can't promise you that, Sam... but I will promise that my love for you will never change."

"Ha. Good enough for me!" Shepard turned and wrapped an arm around Liara's waist, moving them both toward the door. "Come along, Dr T'Soni. I do believe the loft is calling."

* * *

The door to the loft swooshed closed behind them and Shepard spoke hurriedly, "Edi, block elevator access to this deck and place the loft under privacy protocols until further notice."

"Understood, Commander."

Immediately following Edi's confirmation, the haptic interface changed to red and Shepard turned quickly to Liara and drew the Asari close. Her hands slid to Liara's lower back and resumed what she had started in the Broker's office below. Liara closed her eyes and dropped her forehead onto the commander's shoulder as she groaned in pleasure and said in a breathy voice, "Samantha! You're not wasting any time on foreplay, are you?"

Shepard's hips pushed forward and she pinned Liara to the door, pulling her hands from the Asari's lower back and raising them to cup her lover's ample breasts, gently thumbing the nipples already standing erect beneath Liara's shirt. "Absolutely not, _A Grá_. Foreplay is never a waste of time." Samantha grinned as she felt the Asari's hands travel downward to grasp her butt cheeks, pulling her hips even tighter as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

Their tongues danced as buttons popped with Samantha's rush to undo Liara's blouse and get it untucked from her pants. Accomplished quickly, along with the unhooking of Liara's bra, Shepard reveled in the feel of the soft scales in the palms of her hands as Liara moaned into her mouth with her growing pleasure, Sam's practiced strokes sliding tantalizingly across her skin.

When she rolled a nipple between her thumb and forefinger, Liara gasped and her hips jerked with an unexpected spasm. "By the Goddess, Samantha! Take me to bed!"

In established habit, she instantly released Liara's breasts and wrapped her hands under the Asari's thighs. In response, Liara looped her arms around Shepard's shoulders and threw her legs around the woman's waist. Shepard instantly grunted in pained surprise and fell forward; Liara's back hitting the doorway was the only thing that kept them from falling over and the Asari, immediately realizing what had happened, dropped her feet quickly back to the floor, questioning in concern, "Sam! Are you alright?"

Embarrassed, Shepard practically whispered, "I don't think we tore anything, but I'm afraid you're going to have to walk to the bed under your own power, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _._ I... _damn it_... I can't do it."

Liara's brow furrowed as she responded, "Don't be upset, Sam... You're still recovering and I suppose carrying me to bed does not qualify as 'light duty.' We simply got caught up and forgot that we still need to be careful for awhile." Her brow smoothed out and a light smirk crawled onto her face. "Besides... perhaps that's a signal that I get to be in charge tonight." Before Shepard could react to the bold statement, Liara stepped to her side and lit with biotics, scooping the commander off her feet and into her arms.

Shepard blushed and laughed lightly, taking the turn of events in stride. "If that's your desire, Liara, who am I to tell you no?"

"You are my Promised... and I would never force you to do something against your will, _Siame._ " Liara's smirk widened into a full smile as she continued, "So what is your will, Samantha?"

Shepard grinned back, purposely echoing Liara's previous demand. "Take me to bed, Doctor!"

* * *

 **Bekenstein, Boltzmann System, Serpent Nebula**

Angelique Warren had made her way through the living areas of _Eva's Vortex_ ; the crew quarters yielded little in the way of new information, nor did officer's country, other than revealing that all their personal possessions, along with their credit chits, were seemingly still in their lockers. This confirmed for her that Maya, whatever character flaws or faults she may have, was no thief.

Warren had saved the Illusive Man's personal quarters for next to last, after which she'd be heading down to the hanger bay. She stood in front of the segmented hatch, holding her breath as she activated the haptic interface, praying that it hadn't been booby-trapped by either Harper or Brooks. Unfortunately, she wasn't aware of a method to open the hatch remotely, so was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief when the segments retracted into their pockets without vaporizing her where she stood.

She took two careful steps inside the compartment; sensors reacted to her presence by turning the belt-rail lights on, allowing her to dimly see just how large the area in front of her really was; it appeared to have nearly the same amount of space as a luxury apartment might have on the Citadel. Harper's quarters on this ship were not only spacious, but quite lavish; there was an extravagant office area, a dining area next to a small lounge furnished with leather upholstered armchairs, and a huge bedroom with a private bath. The space in the bedroom was dominated by the massive bed, beside which was a communication terminal, along with a monitor that Warren guessed was fed by numerous cameras installed around the interior of the ship. _Son-of-a-bitch was nothing if not paranoid,_ she thought. _Had the crew indoctrinated in order to better control them… sure didn't work out with Paul Grayson. I wonder what changed…_

Warren moved behind the oversized desk to inspect the terminal. Powering up the monitor and entering an inquiry produced several files; of these, the only ones accessed within the past few weeks were related to the many places in which the Illusive Man had stashed credits aboard this ship. _That's a smart girl, Maya. Leave the crew's stuff alone while you steal from the boss._

With the information from the file showing where Harper had stashed his creds, she began searching; over the following forty-five minutes, she gradually came to the realization that Maya had probably located and grabbed every available credit from this suite and was long gone.

 _So,_ she thought as she stared at the ship's layout schematic on the monitor, _what's next?_ Coming to a decision, she committed the ship's layout to memory, shut the terminal down and left the Illusive Man's compartment behind. _Time to check out the hanger bay._

* * *

Warren had inspected the hanger bay, discovering that it had spaces for three small craft – two of which were occupied by a UT47t, and an A-61 Mantis Gunship. The third slot was currently empty, but Warren found numerous scuffs, scratches and gouges in the hanger decking, along with bits of grassy dirt and fragments of concrete, indicated a relatively small transport had been in and out a number of times over the last three or four months. With nothing left to inspect or discover, Warren reconstructed the probable sequence of events in her mind as she slowly made her way back to the main deck and airlock.

 _The red wave from the Crucible took out everything with Reaper tech, along with anyone indoctrinated by them or through the Illusive Man's use of their technology. Maya was left with a ship full of dead people, who she gathered up and spaced near the star. Once she discovered the Relay was inoperative, she somehow decided to offer her services for relief efforts on Bekenstein._ Angelique continued to think about Maya Brooks as she left _Eva's Vortex_ for her own vessel _. Then, the relay was repaired and the first ships came through, destroying what little bit of insurance she had from discovery... so she was forced to leave_ _ **Eva's Vortex**_ _behind and make an unidentified transit of the relay to get out of the system before she could be identified and captured… or killed._ _Was_ _ **that**_ _the ship that went to the Pranas system?_

Warren activated her ship's comms system; the voice responding from the other end sounded crisp, despite the flanging brought on by distance. "Please tell me you have positive results."

Angelique closed her eyes as she briefly massaged her temples with one hand. Looking at the screen again, she replied, "Maya was here… in the Widow System. I'm sending you all the additional information I've gathered."

"I take it from your use of the past tense that there's no trace of Brooks there now?"

"I'm afraid not, though I did find _Eva's Vortex_ in a stable orbit around Bekenstein. The ship is empty – no personnel aboard, dead or alive – and there's evidence in the hanger that Brooks had a personal vessel docked there; there's a high probability she used it to travel to Pranas shortly after Widow came back online, so that's where I'm going next. That relay will have a record of the unidentified ship's arrival date and time; even without a transponder log, it shouldn't be too difficult to match it with the ship that left here. I should be able to track that ship once it jumps again to a system further out."

After thoughtful consideration of the various ways ahead, Jana sighed heavily and informed Angelique of her decision. "I'm going to assign a crew to recover _Eva's Vortex_ , just to make sure someone doesn't grab it as space salvage. We've already lost too much because of Harper and his reckless disregard for this organization and his own safety … I don't intend for us to lose any more through similar rash actions." After a brief pause, Jana continued, "I know it'll give Brooks that much more of a head start, Angel, but I need you to stay with _Eva's Vortex_ until they arrive. As soon as that crew is aboard, depart for the Pranas Relay; check it out and let me know immediately what you find. Keep on it, Warren; you're our best chance at finding Brooks. We'll decide what's next once you've checked that relay… Even though I think her ultimate destination is Illium, she could go to ground just about anywhere. Good luck."

* * *

 **Quarian Migrant Fleet, Sol - Following day**

Initially, Tali... in actuality, the entire Migrant Fleet... had been ecstatic at the news; along with the Harsa and Utopia Relays being repaired and now fully functional, the additional opening of the relay in Nariph had provided the final link in a clear path back to the Far Rim, Dolen and Rannoch. The Fleet rejoiced, knowing they could now truly go to their new... old... homeworld.

Her joy slowly faded as she thought of Kal's death – along with the death of their dreams of a future together – and the farewells she would have to say to all those whom she considered family, who would remain aboard the Normandy. She immediately sent a message to Ashley, saying she was on her way to the docks and would like to come aboard as soon as they touched down to pick up their next load of cargo. As soon as she received the affirmative reply, she shut down her workstation aboard the Neema and headed for the exit.

* * *

 **London Space Port,** **Normandy SR-2, Sol**

Tali'Zorah slowly walked up to the port side airlock nearly as soon as the Normandy had touched down and opened the hanger bay for loading. The Marines guarding the entrance were shore based, so had no real knowledge of Quarians, or what this particular Quarian had done for the war effort. Both men were polite, but firm. "I'm sorry, Ma'am… only authorized personnel are allowed on board."

Tali sighed at the expected, yet still tiresome, rejection, an all too common occurrence in her mind, before stating, "Please inform Lieutenant Commander Williams that Admiral Zorah is here for our meeting."

"Did you say 'Admiral'? My apologies, Ma'am." Activating his omnitool, the young corporal inspected the results for several seconds before letting out a low whistle. "You're still listed as a crew member on this ship, Ma'am." Scanning Tali with his omnitool confirmed her identity. "Please accept my apologies for the delay, Ma'am." Standing back, he waved her towards the open hatch.

Sighing again, Tali thanked him and walked up to the hatch. She paused to look the ship over, noting with approval the new colors and the replacement of all the Alliance emblems with the Spectre shield. Entering the airlock, she paused at the entrance to the Tactical Passageway and turned towards the cockpit. Spotting the back of Joker's head, she walked stealthily up to the snarky pilot's chair and said, "Hello, Joker."

Joker started in surprise, then spun his chair around to face her as Edi stood from her own chair.

"Tali!" he nearly shouted. "It's good to see you! How have you been?"

As for Edi, she took two steps to stand in front of the little Quarian and wrapped her arms around her in a heartfelt hug. "It pleases me to see you once again, Tali'Zorah. This ship does not seem to operate nearly as well when you are not tinkering around in engineering. Are you getting ready to join the flotilla?"

"I am," she replied in a sad voice. "The admirals' plans are for the flotilla to begin making the relay jumps on Sunday."

Joker was quick to pick up on Tali's unhappiness. "You don't sound happy to be leaving, Tali. I would think you'd be thrilled to be going back to Rannoch."

"Oh, I am, Joker. It's just…" she paused as she looked at each of them in turn, then, "… I'm going to miss all of my friends on the Normandy, and there's no telling when I'll be able to see any of you again." Thinking of Kal'Reegar caused her voice to hitch as she added, "Going home… that is, rejoining the flotilla… won't be quite the joyous occasion for me you might imagine."

"Oh, Tali," Joker said as he stood from his chair. "I am so sorry for your loss… you're must be speaking of Kal'Reegar." After carefully hugging her, he stepped back and said, "I'm not sure where Commander Shepard is, but you should find Spectre Williams in the CIC, and I'm sure you're going to stop in Engineering before you leave the ship... right?" Joker's face was uncharacteristically solemn as he looked at Edi and added, "We're _all_ going to miss you, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Seems you've been with us forever."

Tali sniffled as she replied, "I'm going to miss you as well, you Bosh'tet." Reaching out her hands, she took a hand from each of them, held them for a moment, then let go and turned to walk back towards the CIC.

As she took the two steps descending to the CIC level, she stopped short as she caught sight of Ashley Williams. Thinking, _Keelah! This is going to be more difficult than I imagined,_ she took a deep breath and walked around the port side of the information display well, currently set to project the area around the docks, ships in the air and vectors to avoid them _and_ get the Normandy to its delivery sites in the most efficient manner possible.

Ashley had just returned from the War Room when she noticed Tali coming towards her; she turned towards Samantha Traynor and said, "Sorry to do this to you again, Specialist… keep working on that analysis for me… I should only be a few minutes."

Turning towards Tali, Ashley couldn't help the big grin that took over her face at the sight of the Quarian engineer. "Tali! It's great to see you! You must be thrilled… to be able to finally rejoin the flotilla… be heading out to the Far Rim!" She grabbed Tali's hands as the Quarian came to a halt in front of her.

"Commander Williams," she said, before choking up. Ashley's face fell as she heard the anguish in Tali's voice.

"Listen here, Tali'Zorah… There'll be none of that. You start crying, we'll all start crying. I don't want to feel sad today, and I don't want you to feel sad either! We won, damn it! And you have your home world back… after three centuries! You should be celebrating!"

Tali had regained limited control of her voice; it was still shaky as she replied, "I am happy about our victory… and about retaking Rannoch. I'm just sad that I have to say goodbye to all my friends on the Normandy. Everyone here, all the way back to the SR1, has treated me no differently than any other member of the crew… like I belonged here, despite having to wear this suit and mask."

"You _do_ belong here, Tali. But it's time for you to go home… make a future for yourself on Rannoch, with your people." Ashley's face clouded as she thought of the loss that must be eating at the little Quarian. Taking her hands, she whispered, "Tali, I know you're still mourning the loss of Kal'Reegar. Do you think he'd want to see you unhappy about going home? He was a Marine, Tali'Zorah, and if being a Marine meant as much to him as it did for me, then you _must_ realize he _had_ to do exactly what he did. And he didn't die in vain; he died holding a critical comm node that helped us win this war... He died to make sure you had a chance to return to the Quarian homeworld." Ashley hugged her Quarian friend. "Keep Kal'Reegar in your thoughts, always; don't be sad he died, be happy that he lived and cared about you."

Releasing Tali, Ash concluded with, "You will _always_ be welcome on the Normandy, Tali… that will not change, not as long as I have anything to say about it."

Tali was truly touched by Ashley's words. "Thank you, Commander Williams. I'd like to go down to engineering, say my farewells to Engineer Adams... and Gabby and Ken."

"Of course, Tali…" Ashley turned, took the few steps needed to stand in front of the segmented elevator door and entered her security code; turning back to Tali as the doors obliged by retracting into the bulkheads, she finished with, "You fly safe, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. I look forward to visiting you in your new home on Rannoch!"

"Thank you, Commander." At the reproachful look from Ash, Tali amended her final statement in a sad, quiet voice: "Thank you, _Ashley_. You're a good friend… I'll look forward to your visit. May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars."

Ashley found it difficult to hold her tears in check as she heard the old ship-captain's blessing given by her Quarian friend; she replied in the only way possible. "Keelah se'lai, Tali'Zorah."

* * *

Tali exited the elevator on deck four, turned left and entered the engineering control compartment behind Ken Donnelly and Gabrielle Daniels, pausing for a moment to listen to a bit of the bickering that was their usual mode of conversation. "You both would get a lot more accomplished if you'd quit talking about everything that doesn't concern operation of this ship's propulsion plant," she said quietly, causing them both to turn in shocked surprise.

"Tali!" they both called out. "Are you coming back to the Normandy?" Gabby asked in a hopeful tone.

"Afraid not, Gabby," came the regret filled answer. "I'll be rejoining the flotilla, heading back to the Far Rim… back home to Rannoch. I just came on board to say my farewells to my friends."

A gruff voice from the side interrupted, "I would hope that includes me, Tali."

Tali turned toward the voice. "Engineer Adams! Of course I want to wish you a farewell!" Tali grabbed his hands with both of hers. "You've always been so nice to me, ever since we met on the original Normandy."

Greg was truly sad to see the little Quarian leave, but happy she was finally returning to the Migrant Fleet and going home to her people. "Things I never thought I'd see have come to pass, Tali... the most miraculous of which is the end of the war between the Quarians and the Geth." Placing his hands on her shoulders, he concluded by saying, "I hope for nothing but a good life and a peaceful future for you, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

Tali slipped under Greg's outstretched arms to embrace him as tears once again began leaking from her eyes. "I'll never forget you, Greg Adams. You are a true friend."

Adams felt as if his heart was going to break. This person had become so much more than a crew member and friend during the conflict with the Geth and Sovereign; having her aboard the SR2 for a major part of the Reaper war had only strengthened that bond. Adams released her and stepped back so Gabby could embrace her.

"Tali, you may not believe this," Gabby whispered, "but you have taught me so much about propulsion theory. I will never forget you."

"That goes double for me, Tali," Ken said. His hug was sincere, if a bit more tentative; he remembered how he'd told Gabby the 'bucket' on Tali's head was beautiful, as was her entire suit… and how Tali had heard his comments. "I still think your suit is lovely," he added.

"Thanks, you Bosh'tet. Take care of yourself, and… do yourself a favor. Take care of Gabby."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, London Space Port, Sol**

They had spent most of the next morning in discussion, explaining the entire story to Spectre Bau, similar to the detailed dialogue with Lady Sashia regarding the future operations of the Shadow Broker Network. When they finished, Bau remained thoroughly unconvinced. "Honored to be included in inner workings of such a powerful organization, Shepard, but you and I are definitely exceptions to the rule. The Reaper War is over... Salarians are Salarians first, Spectres second. Family honor and survival depend upon it. Breeding contracts are not given to those who place the Council before the Salarian Union; only a matter of time before such a system results in betrayal... or worse, a new Saren or Vasir. Cannot honestly imagine the other races will be any different."

"However..." His eyes traveled to Kasumi as he continued, "On my word, you have my discrete support and participation as both customer and willing teammate of Agent Goto. Should be a... rewarding... partnership, in more ways than one. Appreciate the opportunity to spend additional time with her. Kasumi's skills are extraordinary."

Shepard sighed in resignation. "Alright. It's not the answer I hoped for, but I'm certainly not going to question your evaluation of the risk concerning your own people, Jon. I appreciate your candor."

"You deserve nothing less, Shepard. Have always relied on ethics and honesty to guide our dealings." Jondum nodded quickly in the fellow Spectre's direction.

Miranda had that ' _I told you so_ ' look in her eye, but refrained from commenting on it, instead querying, "So, what's next then?"

With a quick glance at Shepard, Liara took over the conversation. "For now, we continue as we were during the war, but with Oriana on the _Rakhana_ and the additional team of Jon and Kas."

"To maintain secrecy, I will need to continue with my STG duties as well as those of Spectre. Of course, I will inform you immediately on any conflicts of interest." Bau blinked and his face seemed to turn to stone. "Know my loyalty lies with galactic cohesion over Dalatrass delusions. Their behavior during the Reaper War was illogical and dangerous. Unlike my staunch belief in _you_ , Shepard, I no longer trust _their_ judgment."

Miranda's head snapped up at his proclamation. "I can relate to that, Spectre Bau. I understand the difficulties involved in such a decision."

Bau flashed a quick smile. "Yes. Similar to the choice between your Illusive Man and Spectre Shepard. I have chosen basically the same option."

"Thank you, Jon. Your trust in our purpose and joining our team is very much appreciated." Liara had relaxed as the conversation had gone on, coming to realize she wasn't as ready as she thought to hand over the reins of the Shadow Brokerage to an organization such as the Spectres... at least not yet. As that thought crossed her mind, Shepard caught it through the link and cocked an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything, preferring to discuss it with the Asari later... in private. Liara gave her a thankful smile and pressed onward. "So, with yesterday's opening of the relay at Nariph, the Quarian Flotilla will be leaving us... We, of course, had hoped Tali would stay aboard Normandy... but she chose otherwise... and she is once more Tali'Zorah vas _Neema_ , much to the dismay of Admiral Xen, who wanted her in Special Projects aboard the _Moreh_. The Migrant Fleet is scheduled for an early morning departure on Sunday, the day following the memorial ceremony."

"Given the available relays, they'll have to transit via the Omega Nebula... from which, since the opening of the Imir Relay, we have been getting rather distressing news." All eyes turned to Shepard as she spoke in a grim voice. "Ships bearing the Omega symbol are raiding vulnerable colonies throughout the Attican Traverse and taking anything they can get their hands on... ships, weapons, food stores... _slaves_." Shepard literally growled the last word, so Liara reached over and squeezed the Spectre's arm in support as angry memories flashed rapidly through the link... memories of Arlyna looking pale and thin from when Shepard rescued her from a four-month period of slavery at a pirate mining operation so many years ago.

Judea frowned at the news. "It sounds as if Aria has expanded her repertoire from racketeering into slavery; in the past, she tolerated the practice, but never played an active role. That is not good news... and I have to wonder what has happened to Nyreen and why she is unable to curb this new venture by the Queen of Omega."

Shepard paused to take a calming breath, so Liara continued, "Exactly. As such, I believe we need to send the _Rakhana_ along with them, both to monitor their progress through the relay and to set up a watch patrol to personally observe what's going on out there."

" _What_?" Miranda turned molten eyes onto the couple, unable to settle on one or the other since they had both been speaking. "That's _Oriana_... and she's not experienced enough for a mission like that!"

Shepard had to work to suppress a smile at Miranda's continued protectiveness over her sister. "She'll be fine, Miri; she simply needs to observe and see if she can find any patterns to their activity. It's Livos' job to keep her safe... and don't you dare say the appointed captain of Liara's Personal Guard isn't up to the task."

Miranda's jaw worked for a couple of seconds and she huffed, but no words came out of her mouth. Finally, Judea spoke. "Of course we would never even _think_ such a thing, much less say it, Shepard." Her eyes shifted to the struggling Human beside her. "Nor is Oriana as defenseless and dependent upon her sister as Miranda seems to think. The years have not been kind to the young ones and have stolen childhood from many... but Oriana is no child. Like many of the young adults of all races, Ori may have been forced to mature quickly over the past three years, but mature she did... wonderfully so. She is Miranda's rival in many ways. It is fortuitous she is also on our side."

Shepard couldn't help herself anymore and laughed out loud. "I'm sorry, Miri. I know I shouldn't laugh... because I know how much you love your sister and just how far you'll go to protect her. But Judea is right; Oriana is very capable and needs to find her own way."

Miranda closed her eyes and slumped into her chair. "Oh, for God's sake. I know all of that, Shepard. It's simply that I've worked so hard to protect her all these years; it's going to be a tough habit to break. And if anything happens, I..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Miranda Lawson." Judea cut her off with a scowl on her face. "Should something happen it will _not_ be your fault. You have done what you could for her and it's time to let her go... without conditions. She's an adult; so, treat her with the same respect you want and demand for yourself."

"Fine!" Miranda scrubbed her forehead with her fingertips and let out a sigh. "You're right. I absolutely, positively hate it, but you're right." She sat back up and refocused on the job at hand. "And I take it the mission to Omega is still the lesser of the evils since, I assume, that leaves the _Chiroquol_ for the mission to Utopia and Harsa, to find out what's going on with the Hegemony?"

Liara answered promptly. "Yes. And the Batarians certainly have an issue with Humans... particularly _my_ Human." She allowed herself a side glance at Shepard before continuing, "So we would not want to expose Oriana to that risk except as a last resort."

Shepard picked up the discussion from there. "Besides which, based on my last discussion with Captain Ka'hairal Balak, it didn't sound very promising for the Batarians. He was already speaking of them in the past tense and said something about not being able to save his people. With most of their home system destroyed, he'll have his work cut out for him, trying to get enough people to return home to give them a viable population."

Miranda frowned. "There have been multiple studies done on generational DNA decay and most place them somewhere near a 300 generation terminal point. However, if the Batarian population was reduced to say... only 10,000 souls due to the war... that termination would be much sooner because of the lack of genetic variation, especially if it was largely close family units that survived, further limiting the gene pool."

Liara's face reflected surprise as she glanced at her promised. "They would have executed Shepard had Hackett not intervened to prevent her extradition. I am also conflicted concerning their fate given most of their population live as virtual slaves to the rulers of the Hegemony. But, their culture notwithstanding, how much time do you think they have?"

"It depends on how many Balak can gather... but if it's only in the 10 or 20 thousand range? Perhaps a dozen generations." Miranda's voice was coldly calculating. "Don't hate me for saying what we're all thinking but, with the reputation they have as pirates and slavers and the rest living under an unkind military dictatorship, I can't truly feel sorry for them. They brought the isolation upon themselves."

Shepard did the math quickly in her head. "So, you're telling me that even if every single Batarian paired and had children, they'll still be extinct in roughly 600 years?"

Unable to decide whether she was appalled or indifferent, Miranda's face was blank as she offered a simple response. "Yes. A thousand at the outside." Her focus shifted to Liara. "Less than a single Asari or Krogan lifespan."

Shepard - thinking _and I killed 300 thousand of them_ \- asked quietly, "What if they numbered two or three _hundred_ thousand instead of 10 or 20?"

Miranda spoke, thinking her way through the problem as she went. "Even that... With such low relative quantities, it's impossible to predict a hard number that would enable their species survival... not without some idea of the genetic diversity within the group. Why would you..." Her eyes suddenly flew open wide with realization. "Oh, God. Shepard! You did not cause this with your destruction of the Alpha Relay! The Reapers did!"

Judea reached over and grabbed Shepard firmly on the shoulder. " _Sim're._ That action may have cost Batarian lives, but it saved the entire rest of the galaxy. Liara had not yet found the engineering diagrams of the Crucible... With that single act, you bought her the necessary time to find the plans for the device and provided us with our only chance at survival. You cannot feel guilty for it."

Liara cried in anguish at the image that suddenly assaulted her subconscious; a red warning console flashing a sickeningly large number – 304942 – and Liara immediately knew it for the number of casualties in Bahak... the number of people Shepard had been forced to sacrifice in pursuit of her mission to slow the Reapers' advance. She felt like she couldn't breathe and realized the sensation was coming from Shepard as she heard the words through the link. _{They should have had time to evacuate!}_

Liara also attempted to comfort Shepard, but by leaning into her and providing full body contact as she wrapped an arm around her waist and held the commander tight to her side. She spoke quietly, touching her forehead softly to Samantha's temple. "Shepard. You wanted to warn them... but Dr Kenson and her indoctrinated horde stole that time away from you. But even _they_ were not to blame; it was the Reapers, Sam. Not you, not Kenson, not the Project... the Reapers."

Shepard let out a shuddering breath and pulled back to look at Liara. As the Asari looked into tormented, dull green eyes, all she saw was anguish and pain.

* * *

 **A/N:** Managed to get this chapter done, but RL is still hectic and might interfere with future postings. I'm hopeful, but no guarantees other than I'll never skip more than one week at a time. Also, Kudos to istina1268 for helping me out a bit on Ashley. Thanks!


	20. Let the Fun Begin

**Let the Fun Begin**

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, London Space Port, Sol**

As Shepard calmed a bit from the initial shock of being unexpectedly reminded of the 304,942 dead, Liara lifted a blue hand to gently stroke her cheek and continued to speak. "Sam, you have to remember that before she became indoctrinated, Dr Amanda Kenson started 'The Project' with good reason... She knew the Batarians were not to be trusted and she could make a very reasonable guess as to what their reaction would be if they discovered her plans. The same would have most likely happened had you warned them; it would have been very similar to Asteroid X57 and Terra Nova, except instead of purposely directing a _collision_ , they would have tried to steer the asteroid _away_ to save their relay. If they had succeeded, the Reapers would have used that relay to flood the entire galaxy and we'd be fighting a losing battle, with absolutely no chance of getting the Crucible constructed."

"Or... we'd already be dead." Bau frowned and added, "You must admit it was rather ingenious of Dr Kenson to use their own tactics against them, Commander. It's quite possibly one of the primary reasons Balak was so angry; they should not have had an unshielded Object Rho in their possession for Kenson to steal to begin with... And then, they were caught red-handed and beaten at their own game."

Shepard closed her eyes momentarily and shook her head. "You're right; all of you. I'm sorry." Her eyes opened again and she glanced around the supportive group surrounding her. "It's just that 305 _thousand_ deaths at my hand, no matter the justification, are tough to swallow... especially when it contributes to the demise of an entire race."

Miranda scoffed, "A race of pirates and slavers which, I recall, you spent a good portion of your early years as an N7 _eliminating_... with extreme prejudice, I might add."

"Even so..." Liara's brow creased as she continued, "...though it is nowhere near the same scale – given what happened with Javik – I can understand the sentiment, Shepard. But, from what I recall of that horrendous day, you grudgingly accepted that you had to endorse Kenson's original plan because time was so short... and your snap decision was most definitely validated after the fact, when Balak confronted you on the Citadel and admitted that the entirety of the Batarian senior leadership had been indoctrinated! You had no other legitimate course of action open to you, Shepard, so you did what you had to do... and you know it."

"Alright, already." Shepard let out a sigh. "I get it, so let's quit talking about it and move on."

Giving the commander a look that told her the conversation was anything but done, Liara stood. "Actually, I believe we're finished for now; you all know what needs to be done. Hopefully, Oriana will be able to make contact with Nyreen and we can determine what Aria T'Loak has planned." Her look softened as her eyes returned to Shepard. "And _we_ have a speech to write."

* * *

 **London Space Port, Earth, Sol**

Tali'Zorah waited patiently on the dock, working departure requests and fleet deployment issues from her omnitool while keeping an eye on the exterior hatch of the _Aletheia_ , knowing that eventually Liara and Shepard would show their faces. Finally, the doorway hissed with the sound of pressure equalization and slid towards the stern, revealing the two most important people on her list of Normandy farewells. She had to assume the planning session had gone poorly, based on the tenseness in both their expressions and wondered if perhaps she should wait to say her final goodbyes. She was debating making a quick exit when the two turned in her direction and their eyes met.

Shepard's face lit with a smile. "Tali! I was wondering when you were going to show up. Ashley told us you made your rounds on the Normandy yesterday while Liara and I were out and about. If you had even _thought_ you were getting away without saying goodbye to us, I would have hunted you down... all the way across the known universe... and beyond, if necessary. It's great to see you!"

As sad an event as it was, Tali had to laugh. "Same old Shepard. Always thinking the entire Milky Way has to bend to your will... but you should know better; I could never leave without saying farewell to my two best friends in the galaxy."

The duo enveloped the Quarian in a group hug as Liara queried softly, "Shall we go grab some lunch? We've been in that meeting all morning and I'm starving! The Alliance dining facility is still serving meals for all the races; I believe there are a couple of restaurants now open, but I don't know if either of them serves dextro."

"What? The best info broker in the galaxy doesn't know the menus of the local establishments?" Tali chuckled. "Trust me, what they serve may be considered dextro, but it does not pass as any food I would think of eating... I'm not even sure it's suitable for Turians. Hammer Base it is!"

They chatted as they walked, Tali expressing her reservations about going back to Rannoch, without Kal and without the Geth. "I never thought I'd say this, but I really miss Legion. Though, Edi _did_ come back... and she informed me the Geth have a similar backup program residing in a special isolated server, so it's a matter of getting a connection to the relay in Tassrah before we'll truly know anything."

"Yes." Liara frowned. "But did Edi also tell you she needed Jeff to complete the sequence for her? If there are any problems, without the anticipated Geth assistance, the very small team we put there may have difficulty restoring relay functionality."

Shepard smirked. "I may have... helped... with that a little bit." With an inquisitory glance from her lover, the commander continued, "The last time I talked with Kay, I may have requested that a small ship with three Rachni technicians be sent in that direction... after the Crucible construction shut down and they were preparing for the move."

"What in the blue blazes prompted you to do that?" Liara's expression held both confusion and surprise; the first because Shepard had done it on her own and the second because Liara had picked up no trace of it through the link.

Shepard's brow creased. "Because Edi said something about the crucible... given the Prothean experience with the Zha'til... potentially being an electro-magnetic pulse weapon to wipe out _all_ electronic based synthetic intelligences, similar to the pulse on Heretic station – only low-gain instead of high, so it would not be harmful to organics. It turned out to be a pure programming wave instead, but I figured better safe than sorry and sent the Rachni to assist, just in case the Geth were disabled."

"And you chose to not tell me this why?" Liara's hands went to her hips in mock frustration, but her lips held a hint of a smile which she was unable to completely suppress, pleased that the commander had taken the precautionary action.

"Because I only mentioned it to Kay in passing and then promptly forgot about it." Shepard grinned and shrugged. "I'm not even sure if she actually did it." As Liara watched, Samantha raised her omnitool and focused on typing a quick message; it was only a few seconds before she received a reply. The commander's face lit with a light smile and her eyes met mischievous blues. "Yup. She did." After a brief pause, she continued, "Sorry, Blue; I should have told you, but honestly, with everything going on? It slipped my mind. I didn't intentionally _not_ tell you."

"I know, Shepard." Liara's expression immediately softened and she gently stroked a hand across Samantha's forearm. "We _were_ just a tad bit busy."

Tali cleared her throat to regain their attention and started speaking. "That's excellent news. Hopefully, that means the Tassrah Relay will be up and operational sometime in the very near future. For creepy spider-looking things, the Rachni are still excellent technicians."

"It takes one to know one, Tali. Engineer Adams asked me how many creds we'd have to pay you to stay on as our propulsion specialist..." Shepard's expression turned somber. "I didn't know what to tell him other than that you have the responsibilities of an admiral of the fleet now... I assume you'll retain your status?"

"That depends." Tali shifted nervously. "The impetus for my original promotion was my work with the Geth. If they're gone for good... the fleet will no longer require my special skill set."

"What?" Shepard visibly tensed. "You are so much more than a Geth expert, Tali! You're an outstanding engineer and you have vision far beyond the entity that comprises the Migrant Fleet. The knowledge you've gained on the political relationships between the different species is invaluable, and they'd be fools to not see it!" Shepard shook her head in disgust. "If they leave the future of the Quarian people to admirals like Daro'Xen and Han'Gerrel, they're looking for nothing but trouble!"

"Keelah, Shepard!" Tali's voice was light as she responded, "Why do you think I'm on the Neema with Gerrel? Admiral Koris and Auntie Raan need me there as a stabilizing influence, admiral or not... and you know I refused the first posting I received... with Xen. To refuse a posting is not looked upon in a favorable light, but I'll never condone her experiments with artificial sentience... especially if the Geth reboot sequence works. And I swear to you, she will treat them neither as slaves nor test specimens, so long as I live and breathe."

"Well... Edi made it, so there's no reason to think the Geth won't." With an intensity about her they hadn't seen since just before the final battle, Shepard continued, "And you'll keep your positions as an admiral and an ambassador or they'll be explaining to the Council why they saw the need to demote you after everything you did to help save everyone and then get the Charon Relay back online."

"That's why I love you, Shepard. You're like the older sister I never had, always looking out for me." Tali reached out and grabbed one of the human's hands before looking to the Asari. "And you too, Liara. You are both as much my family as anyone in the Fleet. I love you both and wish you well... but it truly is time for us to eat lunch so we can get back to work."

Having arrived at the cafeteria serving Hammer Base, the threesome separated and queued up in their respective food lines – Shepard and Liara in the 'normal' line and Tali in the much shorter line for Dextro selections – so, when the Human and Asari reached the end of their line, Tali was impatiently waiting for them to join her. Finding a table in a quiet corner of the building, they sat with Tali across from them and ate their meals as they proceeded to chat about a lot of things unrelated to the current state of galactic affairs.

Tali, dreading the upcoming farewells with her two dearest friends, took her time eating her meal. When she finally drank the last bit of flavored water, she reluctantly got to her feet and took her tray to the recycling station. She joined Shepard and Liara, and the trio walked out into the cloud-filtered sunshine of a balmy London afternoon. When it ultimately came time for them to go their separate way, she turned to face her 'captain', swallowed hard against the sudden lump in her throat and said, "I guess this is farewell, then."

She took one of Shepard's hands in both of hers and added, "I owe you everything, Captain. You saved my life on the Citadel before Sovereign, saved me on Freedom's Progress and came to rescue me on Haestrom, even while you were working against the Illusive Man, and you accepted me back onto the Normandy after the Quarian destruction of the Geth dreadnaught and the death of Bethany Westmoreland." Tali was having a really hard time keeping her voice steady as she thought back on how much her friendship with this Human meant to her. "It is an honor and a privilege to know you, Shepard."

Shepard used the handhold to pull the Quarian into a long embrace. "Tali'Zorah vas Neema... You had better stay in touch and let us know how things are going, or else. And you know you will always have a place at my side on my Spectre team, if ever you should desire to return."

Tali held on to the commander so tightly, Shepard felt as if she was going to have another broken rib or two. When Tali finally released her captain, Liara stepped up and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you, Tali. For everything." She hugged the Quarian tightly before pushing back, wiping tears from her cheeks and continuing in a rough voice. "You take care out there and, as Shepard said, keep in touch; you know we'll _always_ be here for you. You've always been a true friend... and no distance in the galaxy can take that away from us… ever. Keelah se'lai, Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Until we meet again."

Seeing Liara's tears made it impossible to leave things as they were; Tali threw herself back into the Asari's arms as the dam finally burst. Crying, "Oh, Liara! I love you too, and I will miss you both dearly! I will definitely stay in contact and as soon as I have a house, you can expect an open invitation to Rannoch _any_ time you're in the neighborhood!" Shaking with emotion, Tali knew her heart was breaking as the tears poured into the base of her mask. When she parted from Liara, she looked at each of them and said, "Go in peace, Liara T'Soni… Samantha Shepard. Ancestors willing, I will see you both again, soon."

* * *

 **Imir** **Relay, Eagle Nebula**

After thinking the unidentified personal shuttle was never going to leave the orbit of the relay, the captain of the Turian patrol craft sighed in relief as the blue streak faded into nothing and the rings spun down to their standby rotational speed. He immediately signaled the command center in Strabo to reactivate the beacon message; he stayed in orbit only long enough to verify the communications beacon was once again transmitting the 'all clear' code once every daily cycle. They could only hope their leader was still alive, would receive the transmission, and know it was safe to proceed.

With a confident voice, he commanded the pilot to withdraw from the relay and hide in the shadow of Gregas to continue monitoring the traffic transiting the relay. Payday arrived two days later when a small, Turian-registered vessel emerged from the relay to emit a short authentication signal before jumping to FTL and vanishing in a quickly fading blast of light.

* * *

 **Jarrahe Station, Strabo, Eagle Nebula**

As the private transport slid securely into the docking cradle on Jarrahe Station, the Turian fugitive stood and moved rapidly toward the hatch, thankful the journey was completed and eager to rejoin the galaxy outside the cramped corvette. The lock released and, as the door slid easily to the side with a hiss, his escorts moved quickly onto the dock, just as happy to have successfully delivered him here, safe and alive, as he was to arrive.

"Legate! It's wonderful to see you alive and well. We were concerned when you went off the grid and made no contact!" Palaven Loyalist General Aetius Flavius smiled widely, his mandibles flaring with pleasure at the belated, and somewhat surprising, appearance of the deposed Turian councilor, Sparatus. "With so much time passed, we feared you had fallen victim to the Reapers, like so many of our other dedicated soldiers."

"It is not yet time for me to be granted so noble a death, Flavius." Sparatus growled, "I still have purpose in this life... to rid the newly forming Galactic Council of the scourge of Humanity!"

"Of course, Sir." The general shook his head as he continued, "It's baffling to me how Humanity's star continues to rise, even after Shepard's treasonous time with Cerberus and her repeated blatant disregard for order and discipline. Simply say the word and I would be happy to send our best sniper to eliminate the heart of the vermin that continue to infest the whole of Council space."

Sparatus sneered, "We are too weak yet to withstand the onslaught they would send after us in their blind ignorance. We need to use this period of anonymity to solidify our position and build our forces. We'll take care of Shepard when the time comes... and not attempt it a moment too soon; such ill-advised haste could very possibly lead to _our_ premature demise. So, tell me. How is Operation Omega progressing?"

Disappointed at being unable to send an assassin after Shepard, Flavius bowed his head for a brief moment to keep the former councilor from seeing his frustration. Easily regaining his composure, he quickly renewed eye contact and answered confidently, "The op is moving along very well, Sir. We have successfully commandeered a number of vessels from outlying regions, numbering nine at last report. They range in size and capability from four armed scouts to three small freighters and two frigates... and are all being repainted as we speak." His voice flanged with pride as he continued, "We have also managed to sneak four scout ships from the Omega Fleet... and successfully planted the first of those ships within the Taska crime family compound on the moons of Urdak. Our objective was simply for the news outlets to see it and report its presence there, to make them all think Aria was supporting Taska above the others, diverting attention from us by raising tensions between Omega and its criminal elements..."

Sparatus growled, furious with Flavius for conducting operations directly involving Omega station. "Don't be an idiot! T'Loak didn't become the queen of Omega by being stupid! She'll see through such a facade quickly enough, and we cannot afford to make Aria so angry she investigates too closely! If that happens, she'll soon figure out what is truly happening and chase us down... and unless I am reading the situation incorrectly, we have nowhere to retreat!"

Flavius' mandibles flared wide in surprise and he squared his shoulders and stood at attention before the ex-councilor as he responded, "Forgive my rashness, Legate, though I must venture to report the ruse worked fortuitously in our favor. It not only served as a diversion, but shot straight to a brief conflict, demanding much of Aria's focus when her new _Turian_ security captain responded with a small task force which quickly obliterated the entire family. The remaining crime syndicates are up in arms and Aria T'Loak is facing a potential civil uprising in the Sahrabarik system."

"Hmmm." Sparatus' jaw rippled with tension as he considered Flavius' words. "Perhaps the end result is not as disastrous as I would have feared... but don't do it again without consulting me first. Monitor the situation closely... is this security captain one of ours?"

"No, Sir." Flavius relaxed as the legate became more curious than angry. "She was Cabal until she left to be a mercenary. She owes the Turian government nothing but grief for the way they treated her so, perhaps, if _we_ treat her well..."

Sparatus flashed a grin. "Yes. She definitely has potential. Do some research and get back to me. Find out who she is and what she's been doing since her departure from the Cabal. Someone on the inside could prove invaluable."

"We have others with us as well; several Blue Suns that provided aid to the war have left Aria's 'army.' Now that it is done, they saw no need to stay allied with Omega and are seeking, shall we say, more _fruitful_ employment. We were happy to bring on those with flight experience, seeing as we now have a number of ships to crew."

"Excellent. Omega signed and registered ships along with Blue Suns crewmembers... known lackeys of Aria T'Loak." Sparatus turned to face what appeared to be the main passage leaving the docking facility as he continued, "You seem to have gotten off to a very good start in my absence. Show me the Operations Center and let me see what you've done."

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Mozia raised her brow in shock, Thyta's words catching her off guard. "You want to do _what_?"

"You heard me. It's time to get back to Armali and begin rebuilding the townhouse. We aren't going to stay here forever... and better to get started now, before someone decides we aren't coming back and tries to take the space for themselves. I really don't want to have to go through _that_ fight." Aethyta chuckled softly. "And no need for you to worry your pretty blue head over it; I don't expect you to return to Armali until the house is mostly complete."

Mozia was surprised when Aethyta smiled softly and reached over to gently take her hand. "I'm used to living in the field, Moz; I'll get the place cleaned up and we'll get started with the reconstruction. I'll be in touch daily to coordinate requisitions and supply runs... and I'll try to return here every couple weeks at worst – more often if I can."

The House T'Soni Regent sighed softly and tightly squeezed the hand holding hers. "I know it's the right thing to do... we do need to get it started... but I will most certainly miss you terribly while you're away. You've spoiled me, Thyta."

"Hey." Aethyta's chuckle faded along with her smile. "Just because I'll be heading out to rebuild the townhouse doesn't mean I'm leaving _you_." She stood and pulled Mozia to her, running a hand gently across the regent's crests as she growled, "It's been a long time since I had anyone I really cared about... other than Liara. I ended up here because of the Reaper War, but I'm _staying_ because I've found someone special and I don't plan on fucking it up."

"You're such a romantic, Thyta." Mozia couldn't help the smile that crawled onto her face. "And I'm glad you're planning to stick around, because I'd hate to have to don commando gear and attempt to hunt you down. I'm positive I'd be absolutely terrible at it and I would never catch you."

Aethyta barked out a laugh. "Oh, you'd find me. Wouldn't be long before I started taking pity on you and _let_ you find me, just to make sure you got home alright."

Mozia smiled softly and folded herself into Aethyta's strong, comforting arms. "I do love you, Thyta, and have become quite accustomed to your presence. I'm honestly not sure what I would do if you abandoned me now."

Aethyta's voice was low and rough as she pulled Mozia tight to her chest. "Then I assume it's alright with you if we don't try to find out, huh?"

Mozia cooed contentedly as she felt soft kisses start to feather across her crests. "Goddess, yes. More that alright." She pushed back and planted a quick kiss on her lover's lips. "But, we both need to get back to work... and, apparently, I need to help you pack."

"First you're talking about not wanting me to go... and now you're helping me pack?" Aethyta quirked an eyebrow as her voice returned to her standard gravelly lilt.

Mozia stepped back and took one of Aethyta's hands, leading the interim guard captain toward the office door. "Absolutely. If you're going to go, I want you to go quickly; that way, we can once more be together... in _our_ new home."

* * *

 **London, Earth, Sol - 7 July 2187**

Exactly one month had passed since the Reapers had been destroyed; the bells of London tolled in unison all over the city, starting exactly at 7:42 PM and lasting for a full minute before falling silent. The memorial ceremony began as soon as their last echoes faded from the streets of London. Aboard the Destiny Ascension, the Council had returned to Sol early in the day and would stay only long enough for the event. They would depart immediately following the ceremony, but wanted to ensure the people of Earth knew they were not forgotten... and that everybody mourned _all_ the losses of the war; for now, race did not matter – each one who had fallen had made the ultimate sacrifice, fighting to ensure the survival of the rest.

It soon became clear to Shepard why she wasn't supposed to name any deceased individuals in her speech; after an abridged, yet still incredibly long, roll-call of sorts by select Councilors and Ambassadors representing every race, various prayers for the deceased were offered. It was only then that Commander Samantha Shepard was called to the stage.

She looked out upon the masses – the largest group she had ever addressed – and bowed her head for a moment in silence. She drew a deep breath as her head came up anew and she began to speak. "Well over five centuries ago, a relatively unknown Human clergyman by the name of John Donne wrote a passage. That passage did not become widely recognized until another author wrote a book using a portion of the passage as the book's title... and quoted Donne's poem in the preface of his story. The book's title was _For Whom the Bell Tolls_... and the author's name was Earnest Hemmingway."

Shepard looked upon the sea of faces and saw the confusion she expected, so continued on. "I know most of you are wondering why I'm talking about words written so long ago by an author and clergyman hardly anyone has even heard of." She paused and pointed toward the bell hanging in the tower above Big Ben. "Back then, it was customary to ring the bells of the local place of worship to announce the death of someone in the town... and the poem ends with these words: 'Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.'"

Her eyes roamed over the vast wasteland that stretched out to the east from where they were currently located. "We lost far too many during this war and each of those deaths diminish us, as we are the lesser for their absence; we have all lost a piece of ourselves with each family member or friend who perished in this war. But we must remember that, even though it is they who gave their all, this memorial service is not for them, it's for us. To help us say our farewells and to pay tribute to their sacrifice so that we may live on. All of it... everything that happened, everything they did... was so we could live! Let us not squander the opportunity they have given us."

A voice rose from among the crowd, people moving away from the man as he shouted. "Francis Smidt... with _The London Guardian News_ , Commander. The only reason _you're_ still alive is because you're a coward! You ran away from Earth the instant we were attacked... and _then_ you shot Admiral Anderson dead to hide the truth that you were really working for Cerberus! I've seen your so-called mission report... by your own admission, you confessed to killing the man who stayed to fight... the true hero of Earth! You're a traitor to humanity, Shepard!"

As his words ended, the audience picked up an angry rumble; murmurs of surprise and hisses of discontent worked their way quickly through the crowd. Of all the spectators, surprisingly enough, it was Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani who came first to Shepard's defense. "Frank, you had better shut the Hell up! This is a memorial ceremony! It's not a press conference and Shepard's neither a coward nor a traitor... and you damned well know it. I ran into her on the Citadel at the beginning of the war; she told me that she absolutely hated being out there... That she wanted to be on Earth... fighting... but that Admiral Anderson had ordered her away to collect the forces we needed to win." The crowd had fallen amazingly silent as the well known Shepard detractor spoke. "She told me to keep asking the hard questions… To keep the pressure on the Council to make sure they didn't forget about us... meaning _Earth_. That became my primary focus while she continued to recruit help from citizens of the galaxy. She rallied people to a common cause, doing what no one else could do; she was instrumental in eliminating the Krogan genophage ... For God's sake, she even got the _Batarians_ to help us!"

As the two squared off, Hackett spoke quietly into his comm line, "At the conclusion of this ceremony, find and detain that reporter for possession and distribution of classified material... and find out where he got a copy of Shepard's mission report! We need to plug that breach!"

"Thank you, Ms Jilani, for that very... _unexpected..._ show of support." Shepard held up her hands in an entreaty for quiet. "Please. We've all worked hard to be here today... to not let an ages-old race of sentient machines destroy all that we have built over the centuries. I can't imagine a worst travesty... after such a hard-fought victory... than for us to now start a new war amongst ourselves and finish what the Reapers failed to accomplish!"

Refusing to be silenced so easily, Smidt shouted out, "And what about Anderson? Do you deny having pulled the trigger on Earth's greatest war hero?"

Momentarily speechless, Shepard turned her focus to Kahlee Sanders, who had stood up and was glaring at the reporter; the woman's face twisted in resentment as he continued to point fingers when he knew nothing about what had truly transpired. Kay's voice was filled with venom and she seethed with rage. "Take your fellow reporter's advice and shut up, Mr Smidt. You are revealing nothing but your ignorance about what honestly happened on the Citadel during that last ditch effort to save all of our asses! I remember hearing several reports from the field from Kalisah al-Jilani... and from Diana Allers. And where were you? Hiding in some bunker? Reporting second-hand rubbish? It is _you_ who has absolutely no standing or integrity in this forum... attempting to smear the name of the woman who saved us all. Get your miserable ass out of the hall and crawl back into whatever hole you emerged from!"

The crowd turned quickly on the man and started to hiss and boo the reporter. The crowd grew increasingly restless as he repeated his questions in a louder voice. Shepard growled angrily, "You want the truth, Smidt?"

Hackett's eyes pinched in concern and he stood, mumbling, "God damn it," under his breath as he worked his way toward the stage, but there was no way for him to get to Shepard before she continued her response.

"It's true that, as a Spectre, I used Cerberus _assets_ to destroy those who were raiding the outer colonies of the Alliance... The attackers were a group called the Collectors and were all that remained of the Reaper-converted Protheans... so I _used_ Cerberus and then did everything I could to destroy them; I _never_ worked for them." The crowd volume rose as Shepard pushed on. "And once the Collectors were defeated and the attacks on the colonies stopped, I returned... first to the Council and then to the Alliance... and willingly provided all the technology and information the crew of the Normandy had gathered during the fight, so _all_ races could strengthen themselves for the coming Reaper War."

"So you admit that when you had the chance to use technology discovered by the Normandy for the betterment of the Human race, you gave it away to the Council? The same Council that refused to aid Earth at the beginning of the conflict?"

As Shepard prepared yet another retort, Hackett finally reached her side and gripped her arm. "Commander."

Shepard met his eyes and stopped speaking, her anger turning to sadness. "They'll never believe me, Sir." The shake of her head was barely perceptible as she finished, "And they'll never understand what our victory truly cost us... what it cost me."

In her disgust, she pulled her arm away from Hackett and turned, leaving the stage without another word.


	21. Eye of the Beholder

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _Breá Ber'ah_ \- Combined form meaning beautiful and strange lover; Breá being a close lover, somewhere between Amantia and Siame (Thessian)

 _Kaffe -_ equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate (Source: CDN)

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

 _Vele Zegeningen_ – Many Blessings (Dutch)

* * *

 **Eye of the Beholder**

 **Widow Relay, Serpent Nebula**

Angelique Warren sealed the inner airlock hatch behind her upon reboarding her personal ship, after a five-day delay while waiting for the skeleton crew sent by Jana to reach and take control of _Eva's Vortex_. Once in the cockpit, she unsealed and retracted the boarding tube between the two vessels, then sealed the outer airlock of her own ship. As she used maneuvering thrusters to push her ship away from the larger vessel, her comms system trilled. She tasked the VI with initiating engine startup and setting her course for the Widow relay before answering the call, which turned out to be from Paulien Staal, the acting captain of the corvette.

"Ms Varren," she began, her accent and enunciation betraying her Dutch heritage. "Please accept our thanks for taking such good care of this vessel. I am sorry for delaying your departure, and wish you _vele zegeningen_ and much good fortune in your search for Maya Brooks."

"My thanks, Captain Staal," Warren replied. "Have a safe return to the Sol System." Angelique signed off as her ship reached a distance of 45 meters from _Eva's Vortex_ ; with her course set, she applied forward thrust, trusting in the VI to make course corrections and engine burns to get her to the relay as fast as possible. Brooks had at least a five-day head start; considering the _EV_ had been abandoned in orbit, her head start might be as much as a full week.

* * *

Warren had downloaded ten days' worth of departure logs recorded by the Widow Relay before making the jump for the Annos Basin, where she downloaded _that_ relay's arrival logs and its departure logs for the same amount of time; she was comparing them over dinner as her ship stood off from the fuel depot. Looking at the transit logs from both relays, Warren discovered only one unidentified ship flying a consistent path, relay to relay. It had departed almost as soon as it had arrived in the system; surprisingly, the destination had been back to the Serpent Nebula. Additionally, the recorded mass of the ship indicated it was small… nearly the same mass as her own ship… just the type of vessel the Illusive Man would have assigned to an operative such as Maya Brooks.

That its mass on the return transit to the Widow Relay was slightly greater than when it arrived indicated to Warren the ship had refueled before departing. _Should have downloaded arrival logs as well,_ she thought to herself. Looking at Widow's departure logs again, she discovered what appeared to be the same unidentified ship making a transit to Imir in the Eagle Nebula; the timing fit, as the massive relay would need to reposition itself in nearly the opposite direction.

 _May as well contact Jana before I make the jump back to Widow… looks like she might just be correct about Brooks heading to Illium… The Crescent Nebula is just one more jump away from Imir. Damn! If she makes it to Illium, I'll play Hell trying to find her._

"What do have for me, Angel?" Jana sounded more hopeful than Angelique felt.

"Looks like your thought concerning Maya heading for Illium may be correct," Warren said. "I'm making ready to jump back to Widow, where I intend to follow the unidentified ship I _think_ she's flying on to the Eagle Nebula. Only a short hop from there to the Crescent Nebula."

"Damn it! I hoped I was wrong, but I have to agree that all the evidence points to Illium as her final destination."

"There's one destination we hadn't discussed, Jana."

"You don't think she'd be foolish enough to go to Omega, do you? Word around here is Aria T'Loak has that bloody rock locked down so damned tight not even light can escape."

Warren chuckled at the reference to a black hole. "I'll check the relay logs once I'm in the Imir system. I'm hoping she does the sensible thing and goes to Illium… much easier to track her down there. I'll contact you when I have some more info."

Jana still sounded hopeful as she replied, "Okay, Angel. Good hunting."

Warren terminated the connection; setting course for the Pranas Relay, she fired her main engines and sat back as the VI flew the ship back towards the relay. It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more than to have a bit of quiet time to sleep… maybe once she was back in the Serpent Nebula.

* * *

 **London, Earth, Sol**

As Shepard departed the stage and vanished around a corner, Liara stood from her seat and began to work her way toward the aisle. _{Sam? Where are you going?}_

 _{Anywhere but here,_ _A Grá... Anywhere but here.}_

 _{Wait for me, please?}_

 _{I don't think that's a good idea, Liara. I need to get out of here before I do or say something else I'll regret. I'll meet you back on the Normandy.}_

Liara cast a worried glance to Ashley as she passed by the woman, who started to rise to follow her, along with a somewhat surprised and confused Falk. "I've got her, Ashley... Can you please stay and monitor what happens with Kahlee and the reporter?"

With a hesitant nod, Ashley sank back into her seat to keep a keen eye on the events as they unfolded, as requested. "Absolutely, Liara. You need any help, though, you just shout. We'll be there in a flash."

With a grateful smile, Liara turned and moved swiftly to follow in Shepard's footsteps... but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Receiving nothing via the link, she could only hope her _Siame_ had returned directly to the ship. Liara returned to the docks, boarded the Normandy, and immediately queried Edi, who quietly informed her Commander Shepard was alone in the starboard observation lounge on Deck 3. Sighing in relief, the Asari proceeded to the elevator and soon found herself facing the retracting door of her destination, reassured to find that Samantha had not felt the need to secure it.

"Hey, Li." Without turning to face her, Shepard spoke as soon as the Asari entered the compartment, simply knowing it was her, even without the link active. The commander was standing at the windows and facing out toward the docks, her voice oddly devoid of even a trace of her previous anger as she spoke. "I'd much prefer to be looking out upon a field of stars instead of the docks of London... any day of the week."

"Me too, Sam, but we don't always have that luxury, do we?" Liara slid in behind and wrapped her arms tenderly around Shepard's waist. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Shepard let out a little huff. "I can't believe how some people can be so damned self-centered and narrow-minded, Liara... Especially when I think of all we risked to save the ungrateful bastards. At times like this, I have to wonder if saving them was even worth the effort." She took a deep breath and relaxed into Liara's embrace, resting her own forearms on the pair of loving arms currently covering her midriff. "I'm sorry I didn't complete the delivery of your wonderfully written speech."

Liara laughed softly as she gave a gentle squeeze. " _Our_ wonderfully written speech... and it's their loss, Shepard. It would have been a good one." After the briefest of pauses, she continued, "I love you, Samantha Shepard, and I know that idiot of a man angered you with his accusations of you working for Cerberus; he obviously hasn't researched your background. I'm sure Admiral Hackett will take care of it."

"I'm sure he will too, Liara, but I'm more concerned of how that reporter's words affected Aunt Kay; she's already lost Uncle Dave... Assholes like Smidt don't need to be reminding her I was the one who pulled the damned trigger." Shepard sighed and dropped her head. "And I'm upset with myself for rising to his bait; I know better than that! If he was looking for a reaction, he got exactly what he wanted!"

"Maybe so but, in general, I do believe the crowd gave him more than he bargained for. They sounded less than pleased." Liara dropped her left arm and moved to Shepard's side, keeping her right arm wrapped around the woman's waist as she leaned into her left side. "When I left to follow you, things were getting a bit tense. I asked Ashley to keep an eye on Kahlee... while I came to check on you."

Liara turned her head and her next words were whispered softly in Shepard's ear. "Let me back in, _Siame_. Please?" Shepard hesitated, so she continued, "A burden shared is a burden lightened, Samantha. Let me help you carry it."

Shepard turned her entire body to Liara and touched their foreheads together, gently wrapping her arms around the Asari's waist as she gradually dropped her barriers, in concert with a long, slow exhale. Liara shivered as the emotions running rampant through Shepard's mind coursed through the link. Anger. Resentment. Sadness. Shame. Fear?

Liara felt a chill settle in her gut. _{What are you afraid of, Sam?}_

Shepard tensed only slightly at the question; had they not been linked, Liara never would have detected it. _{This is only the first, Blue. Hackett has five more on the docket... and then that damned Victory Tour for the Council... What if they're_ _ **all**_ _like this?}_

"Then we'll deal with it, Sam. You and I... together." Liara kissed her gently before continuing softly, "We have always made a great team and I don't see that changing anytime in the near future. Do you?"

"No. You're right." Shepard relaxed and finally let Liara's confidence shove its way into her mind and obliterate her resentment and fear. "I don't know why I let the jerks get to me."

Liara smiled wistfully and pulled the woman close, trailing a series of soft kisses down her neck. _{Because you_ _ **care**_ _, Samantha... and it irks you when supposed allies do things that hurt the ones you love and you realize there is very little you can do about it. And it irks_ _ **me**_ _to have to watch you put yourself through this... So, I can relate very easily to your feelings of helplessness, which is one of the reasons I can empathize with you so well.}_

Shepard did not answer. Instead, she drew a sharp breath as Liara's teeth latched onto the side of her neck at her pulse point; a sharp pang echoing in her core. "Gods, Liara, I'm sorry. But you certainly have your ways to distract me... very successfully, I might add."

"Who said anything about wanting to distract you, Shepard?" Liara turned her and shoved her down into a sitting position on one of the couches. "Edi. Please secure the door and enable privacy mode, please."

As Edi acknowledged the request, Shepard stared at the Asari in a mixture of surprise and anticipation. "Li? What are you doing?"

In response, Liara slid onto the couch in a kneeling position, straddling Shepard's lap while sitting down upon her own calf muscles. She pinned Shepard's shoulders to the back of the couch with her hands, leaning in and giving her _amantia_ a long, hard kiss, leaving Sam breathless. "I love you, Commander; you are such a ferocious warrior and yet you still care so much... and with all you have had to endure, your spirit remains unbroken. It has always amazed me how one moment you can be ripping an enemy to shreds and then turn so sensitive... stealing my heart the very next."

Liara could sense the warring confusion and desire in Samantha's mind as she kissed the commander again, driving her tongue deep as she palmed Shepard's breasts. Leaving a bewildered Sam in her wake, she continued, "Of all the races I have come to know... the Asari patience, the Salarian intellect, Krogan ferocity, and the Turians sense of duty... You, my dear Human, constantly astound me with your _passion_... It carries through each of the others and elevates them all to a higher level. You partake of them all with such... _zeal_ for life!"

Shepard was struggling to keep up; as Liara had kissed her and spoken, the Asari had undone the buttons of her uniform service jacket, untucked her blouse, and pushed up her bra. Blue palms were now skin on skin against her chest and a pinch of thumbs and forefingers had her nipples standing at full attention. Shepard was panting, trying to catch her breath and control the sensations of love, devotion... and hunger... that had roared through the link and nearly overcome her ability to think. "Gods, Liara! At the moment, I think you calling _me_ passionate is the pot calling the kettle black!"

"You have been my only partner, Samantha Shepard. If that is so, the only one to blame is yourself, for having taught me all I know." Liara surged upward and leaned forward, pinning the commander's upper body completely to the back of the couch as she engulfed pink lips a third time... in a monumental kiss that drowned any remaining resistance; the Asari's right hand slid tantalizingly downward and undid Sam's belt and zipper before eagerly jamming down inside her pants to stroke a quickly stiffening pink nub.

Shepard's insides spasmed in a surge of wet desire and her hips wanted to push forward, but Liara's weight against her was more than enough to keep her still recovering body mostly in place; the only reaction the commander could muster was to wrap her hands around the backs of Liara's legs and hang on for dear life. Liara was now fully up on her knees, still astraddle Shepard's lap but leaving enough room to allow Samantha to spread her own knees in welcome; with the slight increase in working space, blue fingers curled and pulsed upward with the assistance of light biotics. Shepard's grip on Liara's hamstrings tightened and her head fell against the back of the couch as she groaned, "Oh, fuck!"

Liara smirked as she picked up her rhythm. "That's precisely what I intend to do, _Siame_."

* * *

Williams and Falk remained at the memorial ceremony, Ashley taking time to explain to Andreas exactly what was going on. As with most, Falk had no idea that Anderson and Kahlee were together. "I fought with the man for months and never once did he mention he had a significant other... but he was always the first to comfort those under his command who lost members of their family along the way." Andreas frowned. "I was glad he was there because, not having anyone of my own to worry about, I had a hard time trying to come up with the right words. Anderson never seemed to have a problem with that; he always knew just what to say."

For the first time since Smidt had started spouting his venom, a light smile graced Ashley's face. "He was a good man. He really helped Shepard and her mom after her father was murdered by a Cerberus agent. He was the father-figure the commander needed to become who she is today; he and Kahlee did good by her."

Falk nodded, "Apparently. And from what I've seen in her, she used him as a role model. I see a lot of the same traits in her leadership style." He squinted slightly and cocked his head as he continued, "And in you, too. I think Shepard's actions on Eden Prime had a huge influence on you as well."

"Yeah. She impressed the Hell out of me that day; I'd never seen anyone like her in all my years in the Alliance. She knew who I was the whole time and never let on... nor did she let my family history influence her decision as to whether or not I could stay on the Normandy." Ashley sighed and looked at Kahlee. "Shepard judged everyone by what she personally witnessed, not by something someone else said or had written in some crap report... And now, she needs our help. Come on."

They worked their way through the crowd, Ashley calling out to Sanders as they got close. As the woman turned at the sound of her first name; the glare aimed in their direction immediately tempered and her frown flattened. She didn't go so far as to smile, but she did greet them, her voice reflecting relief at seeing a recognizable friendly face. Ashley made quick introductions and proceeded to invite Kahlee to the Normandy. After a brief hesitation, Sanders nodded. "I think I would like that. I haven't spoken with Sam since I visited her in the hospital."

Williams grinned and held an arm out, Kahlee finally smiling as she looped her own through the hook of Ashley's elbow. "Good. I have a feeling Shepard will be happy to see you about now. As they emerged from the building, they watched as Smidt tried to escape from the angry crowd, only to be caught by two uniformed Alliance security officers. Claiming they were there to escort him to safety, they guided him to an awaiting skycar and the threesome vanished inside. The car lifted off quickly and the crowd's anger quickly dissipated as the target for their wrath made good on his escape.

* * *

 **Alliance Headquarters, London, Earth**

The car settled quickly on one of the many rooftop landing pads and the reporter was quickly ushered inside. Smidt knew he was in trouble when armed guards opened a door at the end of the hallway and he found himself in what was obviously an interrogation room. He immediately spun to the man awaiting him at the table. "I have rights! I want my lawyer!"

The Marine stood up and Smidt suddenly felt very small in comparison, withering under the man's intense stare. "Sit down and shut up for a minute until you know why you're here and why you won't be seeing a lawyer any time soon."

He began to protest, but fell silent when two pairs of hands grabbed him from behind and dragged him to the table, forcing him into the chair. The one on his right whispered menacingly, "Sit there and behave, or I'll strap you to that chair for a week."

The tone of voice clearly indicated the Marine who had spoken was not kidding, leading Smidt to nod quickly as he meekly responded, "Yes, Sir."

The Marine at the table narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps this won't be so hard on you after all. I'm used to you guys immediately clamming up and making my job difficult by claiming that you have to protect your sources." He huffed and sat back down, feeling the moment to make himself large and intimidating had passed... at least temporarily. "I'm Captain Jefferson and I'm here to keep you out of a heap of trouble that you don't want piled onto your shoulders. Someone committed treason by releasing classified information and I think they set you up to take the fall... It's either that or they're using you as a shield, expecting you to take the heat for 'em. I'll tell you I'm not fond of either option, because that means I'm dealing with cowards, and I hate cowards. So, instead of dealing with _them_ , I'm gonna give _you_ the choice to either help us or burn with 'em, because even if you stay quiet, sooner or later we're going to find them... and when we do, you'll _all_ go down and we won't be so nice to you anymore."

Smidt looked at the man for a few moments before finally shrugging. "Not like they paid me to stay quiet; they didn't say anything about that. They paid me to ask the questions and expose Shepard's duplicity with her working for Cerberus. They want her discredited. As of yet, I got no skin in this game... and from the sound of it, I want to keep it that way. What do you need?"

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, London Space Port, Sol**

Riana Iregos was idly scanning the news feeds as she enjoyed her second mug of Kaffe when the hatch lock chimed its entrance request; with a sigh, she set her mug down as she got to her feet. Taking the few steps from her terminal to the compartment entrance, she released the lock and opened the hatch. "Commander Shepard… What may I do for you?"

"You tell me, Iregos," came the slightly snarky reply. "You messaged Liara that you needed to see me…?"

Embarrassment colored Riana's face slightly as she stepped aside to allow Shepard to come in. "Goddess! Forgive me, _Nara_ , that was a day or two ago… I mentioned needing to speak with you privately, and then forgot all about it as I focused on tracking the troubles occurring around the Omega Nebula." Moving back to her terminal, she looked to the human as she inquired, "May I bring you a beverage? Some Kaffe, perhaps, or tea?"

Shepard moved a chair from the broker's terminal so she could sit facing Riana across her own terminal as she smirked and answered, "You should have learned by now that I absolutely _detest_ tea. Black coffee would be nice, though, if it's not too much trouble."

Riana moved into her quarters, grabbed a mug from the cabinet above her beverage station and filled it with the requested beverage. Returning, she set the steaming mug in front of Shepard before returning to her own chair.

Shepard took a careful sip from her mug. "Mmm… It's good… Thank you." After taking another couple of sips, she set the mug down and said, "So, what would you like to talk about, Riana? Is everything alright?"

The Asari's eyes widened slightly at the last inquiry. "Of course, Commander. Everything is fine." Looking down as she sipped a bit more Kaffe, she murmured, "I wanted to ask a favor of you, but now that you are here sitting in front of me, I am a bit reluctant to do so."

Samantha leaned back in her chair. "Riana, there is no favor or request that I would deny you, if it is within my power to approve it… You only have to ask."

Riana felt her cheeks flush again. "I am unsure how to begin, _Nara_. It's just…" Pausing to collect her thoughts and carefully choose her words, she continued with, "… There are only a few that are aware of what I am about to tell you, Shepard. I have been alone ever since Ryati was returned home in a stasis pod, along with the other ten commandos… of that, I am sure you are…" pausing at the quick expression of regret that passed over Shepard's face, Riana quickly pressed on. "… more than aware. It has taken me a long time to come to terms with her untimely death."

Shepard said nothing as she took a sip from her mug; Riana finished off her now lukewarm Kaffe before continuing. "On that awful day, I truly believed I would never find love again. I am extremely happy to admit I was mistaken. You can probably guess to whom I have now given my heart, Commander."

Shepard smiled at the Asari as she whispered, "Samantha Traynor."

"It is not easy to explain. I believe she was smitten with me the first time we met. She was patient, but tenacious all the same. The first time we met after the Normandy returned through the Charon Relay, Sammi declared her love for me. After spending the night with her, in which…" Riana paused for several moments before continuing. "… I can meld with her, Shepard… her mind is… quite receptive to the experience, and we grow closer every time I can connect with her in that way. She now knows the depth of my love for her… I have not forgotten Ryati... and Sammi? She accepts that part of me for what it is… an exceedingly pleasant memory. As for Sammi, I would like to explore our relationship further, Commander, and therein lies my request. Would it be possible for her to share my personal quarters?"

The question came as a surprise to Shepard. "Riana, are you sure?"

"If Sammi and I are to achieve our goal of becoming life partners, Commander, I… _we_ … need to do this. I know there will be some among the crew who may see this as favoritism; in our defense, I'd like to point out your beginnings with my mistress. A ship's captain is not going to be questioned on their choice of mates; I would hope a ship's comms specialist and the Shadow Broker's First would be accorded the same respect."

"If we were all Alliance, my answer would likely be different, but we're not; I'm a Spectre and I am granted complete discretion as to how I accomplish the mission." Shepard grinned at the Asari. "Riana, I would just as soon stand in the path of a charging Krogan as get in the way of true love. You have my blessing on this, as long as it doesn't affect her work… or yours. You haven't asked her yet, have you?"

"No, Commander. You are the first one I've talked with… not even Lady Liara is aware of my intentions."

Shepard stood and returned her chair to its previous location. As Riana stood up, Sam moved to stand in front of her and said, "Thanks for the coffee, Riana." Placing her hands on the fellow Vanguard's shoulders, she added, "I think you two make a great couple, actually… hard to imagine you with anyone else. I honestly believe Ryati would be thrilled you have found someone so passionate."

"I find I must agree with your assessment, but thank you, _Nara_. I will talk to Sammi as soon as her shift is done."

As Shepard moved towards the exit, she said over her shoulder, "I will talk to Commander Williams for you and let her know what's happening... so she doesn't get blind-sided."

* * *

Samantha Traynor had been correlating the data gleaned from various sources around the Omega Nebula, paying particular attention to information from the Attican Traverse. She had been looking at the numbers virtually non-stop for the entire day; consequently, she was tired, hungry, and had a bit of a headache that seemed to be growing in strength.

Looking up at the ship's chronometer was discouraging. She still had a few minutes before her shift was done, and was tempted to just pack it in for the day and go to deck three for a well-deserved meal. Looking back down at her console, she was surprised to see a text requesting that she visit the Shadow Broker's office as soon as she was done for the day. _Great! Just what I need… more bloody data to add to my lists for comparisons._

Heaving a resigned sigh, she logged off and locked her terminal, then turned and entered the elevator, where she leaned against the side of the car while waiting for it to descend to Deck 3; the door segments hissed into their pockets, prompting the tired woman to push off and slowly walk to the entrance of the Broker's office.

The door was programmed to respond to her omnitool, so waving it through the red haptic interface caused a color change to green. In moments, the hatch segments had retracted and she took a few steps into the compartment. Riana was sitting near her private quarters at the far end of the room, apparently reading through some of the reports Sammi had spent the day creating. Looking up, Riana offered Sammi a smile reserved only for her. Seeing the weariness in the Human's face and demeanor, the Asari was instantly on her feet and moving to stand in front of her.

Her look of caring concern was matched by the tone of worry in her voice. "Sammi, you look absolutely defeated!"

Traynor smiled at that – Riana was still learning Human idioms, but her statement was very nearly correct. "The word you're looking for is 'beat', Ri. I am absolutely beat. It's been an incredibly long day. I got a message I was needed here…?"

"… Yes, sent by me. I have something I need to discuss with you, but first, you really need some food… a bit of rest… maybe even a nice, relaxing shower."

"That would be nice, darling, but right now, if I placed my head on the pillow in my bed, I'd be out like a light for the next twelve."

"Out like a…?" Riana smiled at that. "Okay, let me see if I can help you." Riana wrapped her arms around Sammi, ending up with one hand on the bare skin at the base of her neck and the other hand in the middle of her back. "Open yourself to me, _Breá Ber'ah…_ let me help ease your tension."

Sammi felt the familiar pressure at the back of her mind and opened fully to her lover. _{Goddess, Sammi… you are literally in knots! How are you still standing?}_ Riana quickly targeted the stress centers in Traynor's mind, using meditation and relaxation techniques to drain the worst of the tension as she gently used the hand on Sammi's back, aglow with biotics, to massage stressed muscles along her spine and shoulders.

Melting into the commando's strong arms, Traynor spoke through the meld. _{That feels fantastic, Riana. I feel better already.}_

 _{I am pleased that I can provide you comfort, Sammi. Now, let's go eat. We'll talk during dinner.}_ Riana slowly withdrew from Traynor's mind, leaving her feeling empty and alone, as she always did for a short while after her lover ended a meld.

Bringing her own arms up to keep Riana from backing away, Sammi kissed her. "I don't know how I got so lucky, but I'm grateful for every day I have with you, Riana." Kissing her again, she dropped her arms and turned back towards the hatch. "Time for dinner."

* * *

After eating a good meal, Traynor was feeling a bit better… even with the war being done, there was so much going on, she hadn't really taken time for herself during the day, a fact she nearly regretted sharing with Riana.

"Sammi, you cannot treat your body so casually. You need a break from the work, or the constant flow of incoming data will overwhelm you."

Traynor ducked her head as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I know that, Luv, but during the day, when I'm submerged in plowing my way through terabytes of data, it's difficult to pull myself away for a break." She moved her eyes to look up at Riana without raising her head, like a small child would look up when caught doing something foolish.

"This will not do, Samantha!" Traynor's head snapped up as Riana reached across the table to take her hands and continued. "Your neglect not only cheats _your_ body, it cheats me as well."

Sammi could feel the tears beginning to fill her eyes as a lump formed in her throat. Riana had never been sharp or cross with her before. This admonishment hurt as much as a physical slap! "Riana, I'm not… it isn't like… I'm not trying to cheat either one of us!" Voice hitching, she stammered out, "I love you more than anything, Riana Iregos."

Riana sighed. "I apologize for sounding cross, _Amantia_. Come on… Let's go back to my quarters so we can speak in private." Sam nodded silently as she picked up her tray, returned it and her dishes to the wash-up area, then walked slowly around the corner to the Broker's office. Riana followed her inside and locked the hatch behind her. Indicating that Sam was to sit on her bed, the Asari closed the access panels and joined her lover.

"Sammi, I had a dream a few nights ago… it was extremely vivid, and while I normally don't think too much about my dreams, this one stood out because of who was in it." Riana paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Ryati came to me in my dream, Sammi… She spoke to me, as if we were still on Thessia together. She told me to…" Riana paused as tears welled up in her eyes. "…told me to keep moving forward… to not lose a chance at a happy life by living in the past." Tears of sorrow trickled from the corners of her eyes as she continued, "I told you that Ryati is still with me – the memories of our time together… our life together, are nearly as vivid as if she were still alive."

A blue hand reached tentatively across to grasp a brown hand. "Sammi, I need for us to take the next step on our journey together. I want you to move into my quarters, where we can sleep in each other's arms every night. It's the only way for me to continue on, _Breá Ber'ah…_ The more often we meld, the better I understand you, and the better you understand me."

Traynor was nearly speechless. "This… really? Are you sure, Ri? I'm still a crewmember on this ship, while you… you are Dr T'Soni's First. Will this be okay…"

"Shepard has approved my request, _Amantia_. She'll inform Commander Williams of the change, and most likely will tell my mistress. As for the rest of the crew, they will respect our privacy and choices, just as they respect Shepard's."

Traynor was feeling a bit overwhelmed – this beautiful person, this Asari, someone who could have her choice of anyone for a mate, had chosen her. "I'd be honored to share your space, Riana. Just… don't tell Joker about this. His teasing would be merciless."

Riana reached around Sammi, hugging her tightly as she whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about Joker, _Breá Ber'ah_ … after I tell him of our arrangement, I believe Edi will keep him in line for both of us." Releasing her, Riana stood and said, "First, we need to bathe and then we can sleep; you can move your personal belongings tomorrow."

Sammi stood and quickly kissed a blue cheek. "Whatever you say, my love. Lead the way."


	22. Shifting Sands

Notes:

FTL - Faster Than Light

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

 _Sim're_ : "sister of my sister", not intended for relations, meaning a dear friend's loved one

* * *

 **Shifting Sands**

 **Alliance Headquarters, London, Earth**

Captain Jefferson leaned forward in surprise, unsure why the man would be willing to give in so easily. As for Smidt, he was a reporter and accustomed to reading people's reactions; he observed the mistrust on the face of the Marine for a few moments before reiterating his offer. "Seriously. What do you need? I'm a patriot and don't plan on ever going to jail for _treason_... certainly not for some stuffed shirt and a 2000 credit payoff. They never said anything about the info they gave me being from a classified report that I wasn't supposed to talk about; not a peep..." His indifference turned to anger as he realized he had been set up. "... Which means you're right and they used me as an expendable lackey! I don't owe them a damned thing."

"Patriot?" Jefferson keyed in on the infrequently used word and queried, "You're a member of LEAP?" He leaned back in his chair and snorted with derision at the reporter's affirmative answer. "You do realize they're the new face of Cerberus, don't you?"

"What?" Smidt sat forward quickly, with an expression of astonished denial running across his features. "Cerberus was nothing but a bunch of damned terrorists! LEAP may have set me up, but their goal is the _peaceful_ advancement of Humanity!"

Jefferson chuckled sarcastically at the reporter's naivety. "Sure. The facade they show everyone is peaceful... but do you have any idea what's going on in the background? You're a damned reporter! Check your sources!" While Smidt sat before him in stunned silence, the major stared judgmentally at the Cerberus patsy. "When they gave you your assignment, did they bother to tell you that Shepard had checked in with both Anderson and the Council after Alchera? Or that they upheld her Spectre status and gave her _permission_ to work with Cerberus assets onboard the Normandy SR-2? She was standing in the Alliance Ambassador's office on the Citadel that day; they could have done whatever they wanted... If she had been a criminal, they would have locked down the Normandy and arrested her. But they _didn't_ , because she was a high value plant to keep an eye on Cerberus and keep them from doing too much damage; she's no traitor. We _needed_ her out there!"

Jefferson continued on with his laundry list of Shepard's accomplishments and contributions since her return to Council space. Smidt studied the man's eyes as he spoke and eventually came to the conclusion he wasn't lying... not even stretching the truth, from what he could read in the Marine's face and body posture; Jefferson believed what he was saying with every fiber of his body and his words rang true.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" Smidt sat back in disgust, angry at himself for being taken in by LEAP. The more detail Jefferson added to his narrative, the more Smidt waivered, finally deciding that he needed to do more than simply avoid going to prison... by telling Jefferson everything he knew. "Damn, but I've been played the fool... My contact dropped a 1000-credit chit, two extra food rations cards and the data disc to me only two days ago. He simply said ' _You'll get the rest after the Memorial_ ,' and then he was gone... and with the way inter-system communications are right now, I didn't exactly have the ability nor the time to check all the facts with that close of a deadline." Smidt blew out a penitent sigh. "I'm sorry... I don't know who's pulling the strings, but the middleman I spoke with is an Alliance Major named Josiah Pickett."

" _Pickett_?" Jefferson stood so quickly, his chair tipped over and crashed to the floor behind him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

Eyebrows raised, Smidt queried, "I take it the name means something to you?"

"Hell yes," Jefferson growled. "That bastard was a ladder-climbing prick of an intelligence officer who wanted Shepard tried as a traitor when she returned from destroying the Collectors! He caught Admiral Hackett's attention in a seriously bad way..." The major paused to pick up his chair and set it back by the table, sitting down again before resuming, "He must have been holding that grudge ever since."

"So he's a willing participant in the smear campaign..." Smidt was nodding in acceptance as he continued, "... not someone like me, who was snookered into helping Cerberus find new life. As worried as I was at the start of this mess, I'm glad you all hauled me in here to set the record straight." Smidt stuck his hand out across the table. "I need to make amends. You let me slide on this one and I'll do whatever you need me to do... _anything at all._.. to pin that jackass to the wall. All you have to do is ask."

Having watched the gradual shift in the reporter's attitude, the Marine smiled. "You've got yourself a deal, Mr Smidt." Jefferson leaned forward and gladly accepted the hand. "So, let's start at the beginning. When and how did they first contact you?"

* * *

 **Vancouver, British Columbia, Earth, Sol**

Major Josiah Pickett had taken an instant dislike to Commander Samantha Shepard the first time he had interviewed her after the destruction of the Alpha relay and subsequent obliteration of the Bahak system in the close-by Viper Nebula. He didn't really give a damn about the deaths of more than 300,000 Batarians living in the system; he felt that Humans needed to expand into the galaxy and the Batarians were doing everything in their power to put a stop to it. Humanity _needed_ to declare war on the four-eyed bastards and wipe their miserable race out of existence.

No, what really pissed the major off concerning Shepard was her arrogant refusal to tell him what she had been doing during her nearly three years of working for Cerberus, an avowed terrorist organization. He had read her reports and could find not one shred of evidence she was telling the truth, so had continued to grill her every day, until his impatience caused him to slip up. He had requested authority to treat her as a hostile prisoner; _that_ had immediately caught the attention of Admiral Steven Hackett, who had relieved him of any and all responsibility for interviewing her, thus eliminating any possibility that _he_ could wring the truth from her.

Pickett believed Shepard had somehow orchestrated the galactic invasion in an effort to grab power. When the Reapers struck Vancouver, he had barely escaped with his life – wearing civilian clothes, he had bribed his way onto a small ship that took him into the frozen wastes of the Yukon Territory, a place the monsters did not bother with during their initial assault. After managing to survive by his wits for eight months, he made his way back to Vancouver and resumed his duties at the temporary HQ established in the catacombs below the damaged Holy Rosary Cathedral.

The major's lifelong ambition to attain the rank of general, like his ancestor George Edward Pickett, had been put on hold during the Reaper war. His hope to jump on the fast track to promotion, with the war over and so many deaths in the Alliance military, might now be over before he'd even gotten a chance. He had been watching, in utter disbelief, a recorded vid of Commander Shepard, of all people, giving a memorial speech in London. To add to his shock, she had been called out by Francis Smidt, the reporter with whom he had shared a classified copy of Shepard's final action report, which included her admission of killing Admiral David Anderson while on the Citadel.

 _That son of a bitch! I gave him that report in confidence!_ Pickett continued to watch the vid until he witnessed Admiral Hackett climb up on the stage in an apparent effort to get Shepard out of the spotlight as quickly as possible. Knowing how Hackett felt about Shepard, Pickett could literally feel the unwelcome cold fingers of fear gradually tying his stomach into a knot. _Damn it! Next stop for Hackett is going to be this office! I need to get my ass out of town..._ _ **again**_ _!_

Pickett began purging the saved files on his office terminal, realizing as he did so there were so damned many backups of everything digital there was no hope he could get out of this mess once Hackett unleashed his dogs – he'd wind up being a sacrificial goat in this affair, even after being assured by Admiral Peter Mikhailovich that he'd be protected. As he frantically cleaned out his electronic files, he thought about all the difficulties Shepard had caused him. _This is all her fault, damn it! There's no way she should have_ _ **ever**_ _been promoted to her current rank, much less the rumors of Captain that are floating around in the wind – she couldn't have come by it honestly! And that N7 designation! What a God damned farce_ _ **that**_ _program is. Too bad she didn't learn how to be a good wife to someone, instead of gallivanting around the galaxy, cavorting with those miserable Turians and Asari, like some kind of damned hero. Why, she has more regard for the fucking aliens than her own people!_

His desktop terminal trilled its completion sound, meaning he had successfully purged the most incriminating files, not that it would be of any benefit in the end. _If the bastards get their hands on me, I'm as good as dead. I've got to get out of…_

The door to his office, even though locked with a password, slid open to reveal four people; two wore a white armband with black letters – SP – Shore Patrol; the other two sported black armbands with the letters MP – Military Police – in white. None of the four looked friendly as the woman – _has the entire Alliance military been turned over to the women?_ – in the lead marched up to him, saluted smartly and said, "Major Josiah Pickett. You are being placed under arrest for violation of Alliance Military Regulations regarding unauthorized release of classified documents, to wit: the After Action Report provided to Alliance Command by Commander Samantha H Shepard. Turn around and place your hands on top of your head."

Staring at the four soldiers, Pickett slowly complied with the woman's order; standing with his back to her, he felt rather than saw two of the others come up behind him; one thoroughly frisked him for weapons or other contraband before yanking one arm down from his head and clamping a restraining cuff on his wrist; the other arm was just as roughly yanked down and clamped in the other cuff after his omnitool had been confiscated.

He was spun around to face the young woman, who said, "You will be transported to the Alliance Navy Brig, where you will remain until a military judge sets a date for a preliminary hearing to determine the severity of the charges to be levied against you. A JAG lawyer will be provided for you before the hearing date. Do you understand everything I've just told you?"

Pickett nodded silently, after which one of the two men behind him grabbed an upper arm and quick-marched him out of the office and down the hall. _Do what you will, but I won't be a race-traitor like Shepard... Admiral Mikhailovich better appreciate my sacrifice!_ He could hear the woman's voice as he was hustled away, "Seal this office for the investigative team."

* * *

 **Pax Relay, Serpent Nebula**

Warren had arrived at the Pranas Relay to learn what would have otherwise been very welcome news, had it not been for her hunting expedition. Both the Pax Relay in the Horse Head Nebula and the Balor Relay in Caleston Rift had reopened, but what was good news for the galaxy made Angelique's task that much more difficult in that it opened additional options to Brooks... who could have moved onward through either Widow or Pax. Each of those relays also had multiple connections and the increased 'unidentified' traffic as people made their way home from the Sol system was making Warren's job more difficult at every turn.

She first had to download the latest traffic logs from the relay, then calculate accurate mass adjustments to correctly identify which ship belonged to Maya. Warren knew that every time she had to stop and go through the process, Brooks got that much farther ahead... and each time _that_ happened, more relays opened and more options had to be researched... all in an ever expanding galactic network. She had found a trace that lead from Pranas to Widow easy enough, but discovering Brooks' departure route from there had proven to be extremely difficult. Just as she was ready to give up, her system pinged with a likely match – Brooks had turned and made her way to the Pax System.

Warren had programmed in her destination and completed the routine again as soon as she arrived; she then sat down at the comm terminal to call in. When Jana answered, Angelique's expression immediately told her that things were not progressing as they had hoped. "Angel. I take it your hunt has been less than fruitful."

"Yes." Angelique sighed sadly. "Additional relays continue to open and it's giving Maya too many options. I tracked her back to Widow and now on to Pax but have lost the trail. I don't know where to go from here, Jana. I can detect no departures of any ship matching her normal signature, so I fear she has departed the area via FTL. I dare not leave the relay in case she returns, but she could be headed somewhere to hide... and there are way too many options from here."

"I see your dilemma." Jana took a deep breath and pursed her lips for a moment in thought. It wasn't long before she spoke again. "Just within Pax, we have multiple sites and safe-houses on Noveria where she could go... She could easily jump FTL to the Cronos Station site or any number of old Cerberus locations in the Fortuna or Strenuus Systems... On the other hand, if you leave the relay to check any of them out, she could easily return to jump the relay without you knowing until much later."

"I do have one idea, though it's a long shot." Warren shrugged her shoulders as she continued, "I imagine wherever she's headed, she'll need fuel. I'm going to contact the fuel depot here and see if a ship matching hers logged onto the refuel terminal within the last 24 hours. I can only hope someone saw her and got curious and, at the very least, happened to note her vector of departure. That could at least give us an idea of where she may have gone." Angelique paused for a moment as a terrible thought occurred to her. "Damn it! If she _did_ go to Cronos, she could conceivably change ships! If she managed to find another FTL capable ship on that station, all our calculations concerning her relay transits are up in smoke."

Jana replied, "All the reports I've seen regarding Cronos indicate the Alliance did a pretty thorough job of destroying it… I doubt there are any ships in the hangers there that were not damaged during the assault." After a few moments of silence, Jana continued, "Until we know for certain she changed to another ship, proceed with the current plan, Angel. An inquiry at the fuel terminal is an excellent idea. Just don't leave the immediate vicinity of the relay." Jana was busy typing on her omnitool as she spoke. When she finished, she looked back at the screen. "I'm sending you some help. An agent on Noveria will rendezvous with you near the relay; once he arrives, either he or you can monitor relay traffic and watch for our intrepid adventurer... while the other begins a systematic search of our known facilities. I know it will be very time consuming... but if she hasn't jumped the relay, she has to be there somewhere."

"Thank you, Jana. Any help you can spare will be much appreciated." Angelique dipped her head in defeat. "I fear the longer we take, the colder the trail grows... and Maya certainly knows how to hide; we can't afford to let her get any farther ahead of us."

"No, we can't. Agent Stafford should be there within a couple of hours. Good hunting, Angel."

* * *

 **Armali , Thessia, Athena Nebula**

"Well, shit." Aethyta stood among the ruins, having surveyed the rubble and realizing there was nothing to be done but to completely clear the wreckage from the entire site and start from scratch; there was no 'repairing' to be done. "What a fucking disaster."

Captain Nayla Axoni was standing at her side and clapped her on the shoulder. "Relax, Matriarch. Consider it job security. We'll be busy here for some time to come... and I'm sure once we get the lot clean, there will be more than one builder showing up and offering to put something together for us."

"What the fuck did I tell you about calling me Matriarch, Axoni?" Aethyta scowled at the captain. "I hate that shit. Call me Aethyta or don't bother talking to me."

Nayla simply chuckled. "Whatever. So, where do you want to start? We've got our two full teams of six each, plus Captain T'Geya and her three officers... If the two of us team up with them, that gives us three full teams to work rotating shifts; one working and one running security, while the third team sleeps."

Aethyta smirked. "Yeah. I imagine you'd like that a lot, wouldn't you? Teaming up with _Captain_ T'Geya... Teaming up with your lover, _Lyana_ T'Geya, more like." The matriarch's smirk turned into an outright laugh. "I'm not so old I've forgotten what it's like to fall in love, Nayla... Nor am I so naive as to be stupid enough to try to tell you no. You'll try to fit time in for her no matter what I say, so I may as well make it easy on all of us and simply agree with your plan. So, go tell your fellow captain that I agreed and we've got the first work shift along with Teana and Team 1." She started to turn away before shouting back over her shoulder, "And don't forget about Shiala. According to my last note from Li, she should be showing up here in a couple of days."

* * *

The T'Soni skycar settled into a small clearing amidst a cloud of dust; when the blowing dirt and debris settled once more, Shiala opened the door and stepped out onto a now bare patch of ground she had called home in a seemingly distant past. Barely over a decade had passed since Benezia had met Saren in 2175, yet so much had been forever changed in that tiny spit of time of an Asari's existence. The rough ground felt odd under her feet and she felt out of sorts... as if she no longer deserved to call this place _home_ nor truly belonged there any longer. She tried to hide her uncertainty by immediately getting to work, pulling her gear from the car. A familiar gravelly voice spoke to her, growing in volume as long strides brought the speaker rapidly closer. "As I live and breathe. Shiala Treya. Drop that bag and get your blue ass over here for a hug!"

Shiala turned sharply and bowed. "Matriarch Aethyta. It is my honor to..."

"Shut the fuck up and give me a hug. None of that Matriarch bullshit or I'll throw your ass right back in that car and send you directly back to the estate... or Sol... or wherever the fuck it is you just came from."

Shiala simply smiled and hugged the matriarch tightly. As they pushed apart, her eyes twinkled in merriment. "It is good to know that some things do not change, Aethyta, no matter the time that passes or the travails that have besieged us since we last spoke." The gaiety in her eyes faded as she continued, "It feels odd to be standing here with so much changed around me. I feel as though it is no longer my home."

"Huh. Don't let it bother you; it's changed a lot for all of us." Aethyta gave her a wink. "We'll obviously be rebuilding the whole damned thing, so we'll build it completely new... That way, it will be a new beginning for everyone here... and it will give you as fresh a start as the rest of us. I've picked up a team of ex-Eclipse and we've got three ex-Armali Strike Force members joining us as well, so there will be plenty of fresh faces around here."

Shiala nodded solemnly. "Then let us get started. I have been away for far too long."

"Not a lot to do yet but clear rubble. We're limited on anti-grav generators, so we've restricted their use to the really heavy stuff. The rest we're simply shoving around with biotics; it's tiring work, but we've already managed to clear the landing zone you're standing in. It's big enough to get a shuttle in here so we won't have to ferry supplies from the fringe of the city anymore."

Aethyta walked her around the site and introduced her to the newest members of the House Armali team, all of whom welcomed her warmly. The T'Soni House Armali Team 1 lead, Teana Seloni, walked over and clasped forearms with the long-lost commando before whispering, "It's very good to see you, _Sim're_." She had tears in her eyes as the clasped arms turned into a full body hug. "You were gone far too long and have been sorely missed. Welcome back, Shiala."

Shiala couldn't stop the tears from her own eyes as she whispered in return, "Thank you, Teana. I feared you would not welcome my return; as the sole survivor from that ill-fated mission, I was concerned my presence would evoke painful memories."

"Memories are but that... Memories. We cannot avoid them, but we can keep them from controlling our future. Besides, there are far worse things that we have faced since then. All of us here now are simply lucky to still be alive and we must rejoice that we have so many still with us." Teana chuckled lightly. "I wondered how you would see _me_ , now that I sit in the position you once held as Team 1 Lead for House Armali... but with Liara choosing the Estate as her primary residence, the job has changed." She glanced at Aethyta as she continued, "I now have Matriarchs Aethyta and Mozia to watch over... which is particularly difficult when Aethyta brings us here and leaves the Regent behind at the Estate."

A bit of the old Shiala snuck through and she smirked. "I find it hard to believe Aethyta has finally settled again; I never believed it possible... and would not have believed it still, if I had not experienced the effect with my own eyes." At Teana's puzzled look, Shiala explained, "I went first to the Estate to deliver a package from Lady Liara to Matriarch Mozia. You would do me a great favor if you could show me where Aethyta is bunking so I can get all the extra baggage out of the car and to that location before she discovers all I have brought for her. I don't want to have to take it back and get stuck in the middle..."

"Stuck in the middle of what?"

Shiala's eyes went wide as she spun around to find Aethyta standing directly behind her. _Damn! She may be old, but the matriarch hasn't lost any of her skill; it has most likely been quite the opposite and honed to a fine edge by the war._ Having let the matriarch sneak up on her, Shiala let out a resigned sigh and slowly listed the contents of her car. At first Aethyta seemed annoyed, but as the list went on and on... and on, she eventually started to laugh. "Shit. She made you bring _all_ of that here? For me?" Aethyta shook her head as she continued to chuckle. "Fuck. I can't use half of it and it would probably end up getting stolen. I guess you _will_ be headed back with it, but not today. We'll unpack it all and sort it tomorrow, then we'll load it on the shuttle and you can make the supply run with Arla."

"Arla Shasia?" Shiala was relieved to hear another familiar name

Teana smiled. "One and the same; Arla's my team pilot now. We all bunkered down to be sure there were people alive at the end of the war to help with the recovery. Hardest thing I've ever done was to walk away from the fight, but looking at what little is left here, we'd likely be dead if we hadn't." Her smile faded a bit at the reminder as she continued, "But I still have each and every member of House Armali because of it, thanks to Lady Liara and Aethyta here..."

Shiala let out a relaxing breath. "Goddess, that is good news... that so many survived. Perhaps it is time, then, to get to work and finish my reintroductions. Perhaps I was worried over nothing."

"Of course you were!" Aethyta barked out a harsh laugh. "Once we all got over the shock, we quickly realized there was nothing to forgive, Shiala, and we've all been waiting for you to get your ass back here ever since. We all got the full story and we know exactly what happened back then. You're part of the family... always have been and always will be... and it's about damned time you came home to us. Now... We've got a shitload of work to do, so let's get to it!"

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

Shepard sat sullenly in the spare chair in the Broker Office. Liara attempted to work, but the emotions radiating from Shepard were terribly distracting. The memorial ceremony in London a few days prior had ended badly... and the one they had attended this morning in Kampala, Uganda hadn't been much better. Shepard managed to complete her speech without disruption, but had encountered protesters on the way back to the shuttle. The Normandy crew had created a cordon around the ship but, in addition to Liara and Shepard, had been limited to ten personnel by the shuttle capacity. Liara's fingers paused on the keyboard as she remembered the event with perfect clarity.

 _They had almost made it to the entry hatch when the rock pelted Shepard hard on the back of her shoulder. The commander had spun about and her eyes locked on the man at the head of the crowd. He leered at her, his arm still dropping from the throw and his eyes defiant, as if daring her to react... which she did. Before Liara could say a word or take any action in an attempt to temper Shepard's reaction, the commander's hand had shot out and she yanked the man forward from the pack with a tug of her biotics. She had reached down and grabbed him by the collar as he stumbled to his knees in front of her from the force of the pull._

 _Yanking him unceremoniously to his feet, Shepard's words were curt and angry. "You ungrateful bastard. People died for you, you son-of-a-bitch! We were out there, fighting, every Gods-be-damned day! Members of my crew, members of the Alliance... and the galaxy's militaries in general... died every single day of the war, just to save people like you. And you throw rocks at_ _ **us**_ _? Did you bother to throw anything... anything at all... at the damned_ _ **Reapers**_ _while they were here? If not, then shut the Hell up, take your sorry ass home and crawl back into whatever hole you hid in to survive the war!"_

 _Shepard's fist was still balled up in the man's shirt and she shoved him back violently before turning and stomping onto the shuttle and out of sight. The man stumbled backwards into the dirt, smart enough to not provoke the raging commander any more than he already had. He was obviously embarrassed by her words and remained quiet as the rest of the crew backed to the shuttle door, keeping an eye on the silenced crowd as they reboarded the shuttle behind Shepard._

Just as she had then, Liara started to tremble in anger at the memory, but a gentle hand on her shoulder jolted her back to the present. Picking up on her lover's thoughts, Shepard had shaken off her somber mood to approach and comfort the Asari. "Hey. It's done, Liara. Please don't let it eat at you. I'm sorry I lost my temper back there."

Liara spun around. "Sorry?" She practically growled. "You think that is why I am upset? You have no reason to apologize, Samantha. That man _struck_ you! What if the crowd had followed his lead?"

Shepard sighed sadly. "They didn't, Li, and that's what matters. When I explained it to Hackett, he understood my reaction completely and he's going to provide security for the additional ceremonies... and they may cancel one."

"What? Why?" Liara's eyes glinted dangerously. "Has the Alliance identified a threat or received information that has slipped by our network?"

"No. He's just a bit concerned about the memorial scheduled for New York. It's the headquarters for LEAP, so they probably have quite a concentrated following there."

"There's more to it than that, Shepard. Hackett wouldn't back down because of that unless there was a tangible threat... The whole purpose is to let people see you as you are, not the person who LEAP is painting for them."

"And he's afraid most of those who will attend the New York ceremony are members of LEAP... people who will believe most everything their leaders tell them; nothing I say over the course of a single hour will change their opinions. After today, he feels it may not be worth the risk."

Feeling the belief Shepard had in her words through the link, Liara relaxed a bit and raised her right hand to gently stroke the commander's face. "I love you, Sam. I was angry because it caught me so unawares; we had no indication any type of altercation was planned today... and I feel as if I failed you, right when we were so close to being safely back on the shuttle."

"You didn't fail me, Liara. Perhaps there was no forewarning because there wasn't a plot to uncover." Shepard surprised Liara with a grin. "You always say that figuring out Humans is difficult because we are so unpredictable... ruled largely by emotional response rather than patient logic." Shepard shrugged lightly. "My guess is it happened spur of the moment. No plan; he just did it."

Liara's brow wrinkled in concern. "I am simply relieved he did not injure you; if he had, he would have had to deal with a lot more than solely Commander Shepard."

"Ooohhhh." Shepard wrapped her arms around the Asari's waist and playfully pulled her close. "It wouldn't have been the first time you rode to this fair maiden's rescue."

"Goddess, no... and I won't ever forget the death of Javik. I don't believe I would be welcome to remain on Earth if I had repeated such a performance." Liara finally smiled and the blue on her face darkened with a slight blush of combined embarrassment and shame. "If he had in fact seriously injured you, I don't believe I could have controlled my reaction."

"Seeing as I was in my dress blues... with no armor... it _did_ hurt." Shepard's eyes turned cloudy. "If my yelp and reaction weren't enough, I imagine you felt its echo through the link."

"I did." Liara's hand had still been on Shepard's cheek when the commander had drawn her closer; now, it had circled around to the back of Samantha's head and her blue fingers played idly in silken auburn locks. She cupped her hand and pulled Shepard into a gentle kiss. "If it is still sore, I can rub some medigel onto the spot; it would ease the ache and eliminate any bruising that still remains."

"Heh." Shepard's face erupted with a grin. "You just want to get me naked, T'Soni."

Liara rolled her eyes before answering, "Perhaps, Commander, I simply want you in fighting shape for the next ceremony and speech in Sydney, Australia."

"Other than the fact that I'm not even remotely close to being in my normal fighting shape at the moment, there's something else innately wrong with that statement, T'Soni. Why should I ever have to worry about being in fighting shape for a damned speech?"

"I agree, Sam, but after today, I will take nothing for granted until we are safely ensconced back on the Normandy after every single one of these so-called memorials." Liara pushed away and began to turn toward her terminal when she felt a hand land on her arm and pull her back around. "What are you doing, Commander?"

"Making sure you don't go running off to do something else." Shepard grinned playfully. "I believe I have the remains of a grievous wound that needs tending."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this is late this week. Kind of overcome by RL and didn't have enough time to write. Hopefully back on track next Friday!


	23. Changing Tides

Notes:

AI - Artificial Intelligence

FTL - Faster Than Light

MSV - Merchant Shipping Vessel

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

TSF - Turian Hierarchy Space Force

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Changing Tides**

 **Pax Relay, Horse Head Nebula**

"God damn it!" Agent Stafford stood up and angrily kicked over the chair he had been sitting in. It had been nine days since their arrival in the system and the Tasale Relay in the Crescent Nebula and the Fortis Relay in Minos Wasteland had opened while they had continued their search. Then, earlier today, the Tassrah Relay in Phoenix Massing had also opened. All that time had passed, yet they hadn't received a single lead until now... and it wasn't a very promising one. He pulled up his omnitool and placed a call. "Angel. I found her... sort of."

"I don't like the sound of that, Tim. What'd you find? Do I need to head back?"

"Yeah, get your ass back here, because I think one of us will be jumping to Hawking Eta. I've been hunting through all the shipping logs I could find and finally found something. A certain _Rasa Channing_ booked passage for herself and a small personal craft aboard the _MSV Rome_ , an Athabasca class freighter. I'll pass you the details as you travel."

Warren programmed her navigational VI and sat at her message terminal reading the data Stafford had sent. She groaned in frustration when she saw the booking and departure dates. Maya, assuming the alias of Rasa Channing was actually her, had secured the berth on the 7th of July; Warren and Stafford had arrived on the 8th and the _MSV Rome_ had departed on the 10th... a full week ago. It would be nearly impossible, with the shifting of cargo at every stop, to determine exactly where Maya decided to depart the vessel, especially since there were three 'personal craft' aboard ship and all three were within the margin of error on Warren's mass calculations.

"Go figure. She was right under our damned noses and we didn't find her." Angelique stood and stretched. The trip back to the relay would be a quick one, so she'd grab something to eat and draft the update message for Jana. That way, once she arrived, Jana would be prepared to give them their new instructions. Angel could only hope that she would be sent forward to continue the pursuit, no matter _how_ slim her chances of finding Maya.

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

At the request of Councilor Quentius, Garrus Vakarian had been tasked by Primarch Adrien Victus with reviewing schematics and plans for a new headquarters for the Galactic Council. To eliminate even a hint of favoritism, the new station would be built at the original location of the Citadel in the neutral Serpent Nebula. Until the Citadel's replacement was completed and ready for use, the Asari would continue to allow the _Destiny Ascension_ to serve as both a surrogate Citadel and, now, as the operations planning center for the new superstructure's construction. An entire deck in the dorsal wing of the super-dreadnaught had been assigned to the other races so diplomatic relations could continue uninterrupted, even as the Asari ship continued to finish up repairs from damages received during the final battle over the Humans' home world.

As such, Garrus quite willingly found himself once more enroute to the Widow System. He relaxed in his chair as he enjoyed the view out the large window beside him; the shimmering sheets of blue and purple electrical discharges marking the FTL passage of the small military transport rapidly gave way to the shifting gases of the Serpent Nebula as the _TSF Demeiros_ exited the space/time corridor beside the repaired Widow relay.

The skeleton for the new space station was already being assembled, and Garrus let out a long, low whistle as he got his first view. He knew from reviewing construction plans that the outer docking ring for the new station would be over 20 kilometers in diameter; this would be connected by six broad passageways – like spokes on a wheel – to an inner habitat ring containing residential apartments. Continuing on from the connectors between the docking ring and the habitat ring, smaller passageways would lead to a central core - the Presidium – which would contain the embassies for the various ambassadors and their staff members, along with offices and meeting rooms for the Galactic Council. Also, the station's fusion reactors would be located at the bottom, and a secure operations center would anchor the upper deck. Skeletal frames of the three pairs of docking pylons were also beginning to take shape – these swept up and down equidistantly around the outer docking ring, defining an almost spherical shape.

As for Vakarian's specific purpose on the project, the answer was simple – as the chief military advisor to Primarch Victus and with his personal experience with the newly designed advanced weapons systems, the Turian Councilor wanted Garrus to personally review the station's defenses while in the final planning stages. Everyone who would eventually live aboard the new station wanted to insure it would be constructed with more than adequate protections against any possible takeover attempts that could conceivably be mounted by an unfriendly group, such as had happened when Cerberus had attempted the Citadel coup – to that end, there would be a large number of hardened heavy and medium weapons emplacements installed on the outside, many of which would be normally hidden from view by protective panels.

The transport changed course slightly as it continued at reduced speed towards what was still the largest warship in existence, the Asari super-dreadnaught _Destiny Ascension._ It had been nearly three weeks since Garrus had been on the massive vessel – he thought back to that last evening aboard with a happy feeling, as he had enjoyed an intimate dinner with the executive assistant to councilor Quentius, who just happened to be the prettiest female he had ever met, Desis Vyessan. Garrus smiled to himself as he remembered the after dinner intimacy they had enjoyed as well.

Desis knew he was coming and had promised to meet him in the main hanger when the _Demeiros_ docked. Garrus had attempted to make arrangements for his accommodations during the time he was going to be on the ship; Dee would have none of it – _'…why would you even think you weren't going to stay with me?'_ – Spirits, how he loved her!

The _Demeiros_ had slowed to a relative crawl as the pilot set the approach vector for docking inside; they would be within the main hanger in a matter of minutes. Garrus sighed as he got to his feet, grabbed his shoulder bag – _Damn! I feel like I'm naked without an assault gun and sniper rifle docked on my backplate! Come to think of it, I don't have a backplate anyway, so I truly am naked!_ – and his small overnight case, and started moving slowly towards the main exit.

The most important item in his overnight case was a present for Dee… a platinum bracelet with a small projector that would display a holographic image of him in full armor. He hoped it would please her; he had never bought a present for a female before, not even his mother. There was also a bottle of exceedingly rare Turian brandy, which he hoped would not completely disappear during his stay, as it was becoming increasingly difficult to find. He had heard a similar complaint from Shepard regarding her difficulty in procuring _any_ Bushmills 21. _Damn Reapers… bad enough they killed so many people! Bastards had to destroy the distilleries on every planet they attacked, just so the survivors wouldn't have anything good to drink!_

The _Demeiros_ had grounded on the metal decking of the main hanger bay, permitting her passengers to disembark; Garrus looked about as soon as he left the ship and started walking towards the security checkpoint. Before he was even halfway there, a vision of beauty appeared seemingly from nowhere, attached herself to his unoccupied arm and whispered in a flanging voice, "This way, Garrus. High ranking guests such as yourself can bypass the entry checkpoint and go straight to their guest quarters… since you're staying with me, that's where we'll go. I bet you're tired after your trip." She nibbled on his mandible for a brief moment before squeezing his arm. "Damn! It feels good to hold you again. Can't wait to get you to myself for a while."

Garrus looked into a pair of eyes that shone with love and devotion. "I've missed you, Desis, terribly. Feels like forever since we were together."

"It hasn't been _that_ long, but I feel the same way. How are things on Palaven? I can't get anyone in the councilor's office or the embassy to tell me how bad things really are… even the vid feeds are doctored in order to minimize any views that show the real extent of destruction."

"The Reapers damn near destroyed our civilization, Dee. Nearly two billion dead on Palaven, 25 million or so on Menae, 750 million on the colony worlds… I don't know… it's hard for me to imagine how the Turian people can recover from this, never mind the virtually total destruction of the entire infrastructure. It's a catastrophe the likes of which the galaxy… Spirits! I was going to say the galaxy had never seen this much destruction, but the Protheans witnessed it, all of it, until every last one was dead."

Desis stopped walking, forcing Garrus to do the same. Pulling him around to face her, she wrapped her arms around his body and pressed herself to him as tightly as she could. "Garrus, the Turian people still have a diverse and viable population. That includes you… and me." She pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes. "I love you, Garrus Vakarian. I've thought of little else since the _Ascension_ left the Sol system. Once things are back on track, once rebuilding is in process, I want to join you on the home world, if you'll have me."

Garrus couldn't believe that this beautiful person had fallen in love… with him! How was that possible? " _If_? Why would you even think otherwise, Desis? I'm the one that should be asking that of you. I'm just…" Garrus ran out of words as he held her close. "Come on; let's get to your quarters. I have a present for you, and a present for both of us."

Intrigued by Garrus' words, Desis returned to hanging on to a free arm as she said with a smirk, "I am yours to command, my General!"

* * *

That evening, after enjoying a delicious dinner, Garrus had brought out his special gift and poured a talon's worth each into a pair of wide-bottomed glasses – Shepard had once told him this style of glass was called a 'snifter' by the Humans on Earth – it was said a proper snifter was designed so that when placed sideways on a level surface, it would hold just the proper amount of liquid without spilling. Handing a glass to Desis, Garrus cupped his hand under the bowl of his own glass with the stem and base protruding between his talons and asked, "To what should we toast, Dee?"

Silver-flecked violet eyes looked up at him from under her ridges as she immediately replied, "To us, of course. To our future together, living on the home world, raising children." She raised her glass and touched its rim to the glass being held by her future mate; taking a sip of the potent beverage caused her eyes to water slightly. "My word… this is good brandy… very good indeed. The stuff served in the councilor's office is not nearly as smooth… or strong. Guess Quentius is trying to scrimp wherever he can."

 _Spirits, Dee… how is it your voice makes my insides feel like they're in a knot?_ "To us, then," Garrus echoed. One taste of the potent brandy was all it took to convince him he hadn't paid too much to acquire it. He sat in the same big chair as he had done before his previous dinner here; this time, Dee arose from her chair, took the three steps necessary to reach his side and carefully draped her supple frame over his thighs and around his torso. Settling her head on his shoulder, she nuzzled his neck as he took another sip from his glass, causing him to nearly spill the few remaining drops of liquid as surprise collided with the spike of need deep in his core. He set the glass on the side table and brought both arms around her, eliciting a purr of contentment as she attempted to get even closer.

"Garrus," she whispered, "I don't want this moment to ever end. I love you so much I think at times that I shall simply burst at the seams. I never imagined feeling this way, about anyone." She returned to nuzzling… and nibbling… his neck.

Garrus felt he needed to do something to get his thoughts away from the ever increasing heat he was feeling… heat that had nothing to do with the brandy he'd consumed and everything to do with the female form folded up on top of him. _Damn, she feels good!_ came the thought as he caressed the back of her thighs. Deciding the time was now, he said in a low voice, "Dee, I need to get up… I just remembered… there's something I need to get from my overnight bag… won't be but a moment."

Desis pushed away from him a bit so she could look him in the eyes. "Can't it wait? I am enjoying myself more than I have since our previous visit... and you want to get up?" Even though her voice held a slight teasing lilt, her sub-harmonics told him she truly didn't want to let him out of the chair.

"I'll just be a few moments, I promise," he said, somewhat reluctant to press his case. "Pour us each a bit more brandy, please."

She stared at him a few moments longer before reluctantly moving; she squeaked in disbelief as a hand meant to help her up slipped from her thigh to a very sensitive spot a tad bit higher. "Garrus! Really? I mean, we have been… together, but that… that was just a bit surprising."

Arms spread and mandibles flared wide in apology, Garrus looked truly embarrassed. "I didn't do that on purpose, Dee. My hand slipped… honest."

With one eye opened wide and a mocking tilt of her head, which clearly expressed doubt, she murmured, "Uh huh," as she picked up their glasses and walked over to the bar as Garrus watched. _I hope I don't have to witness that too often, but she really looks good walking away._ Coming out of his reverie as she set the glasses down and began pouring, Garrus moved quickly to the bedroom to retrieve her gift. He stopped her from handing him a refilled glass when he came back into the front room, saying, "Let's sit on the couch for a few moments, Dee."

Setting the filled glasses on the side table, she took a seat; sitting next to her with one arm around her waist, the big Turian brought up a small box, which he held in front of her. As she grasped it with her own hand, Garrus maintained his grip on it as he explained, "The Asari have a tradition that goes back for millennia. You do realize that bonds between Asari mates go much deeper than the physical realm, right? Because of this _cerebral_ connection, bonds are possible with biologically incompatible species, such as Krogan or Hanar, even though a physical bonding will never occur." Garrus noticed the expression on Dee's face was beginning to reflect both confusion and impatience, so he spoke more quickly to get to the point. "Anyway, they needed some physical manifestation of their relationship to demonstrate the person they loved was 'taken,' so to speak, as they continued their courting. So, before Asari commit to a bonding, many choose to exchange what are known as _promise_ bracelets." Garrus removed his hand from the box as Desis studied his face, wondering what he was up to. "Go ahead, open it," he said, indicating the box.

Her mouth fell open in surprise as the highly-polished platinum bracelet within caught the lights. Carefully removing it, she set the box aside as she whispered, "Garrus… so, this bracelet is… a promise?" Desis' vision blurred as her eyes filled with moisture. "You're promising yourself… to me?"

"Absolutely, Desis. With us spending so much time apart from one another because of our jobs, I don't want anyone else getting the idea that you're available." As he spoke, Garrus had slipped the metal circle over her wrist and closed the clasp. He indicated a spot near the clasp as he continued, "And if someone gets any such idea, you simply need to run a talon across this spot right here... and they'll know _exactly_ who they're up against."

Desis gasped in amazement as she brushed the hidden trigger; she admired the holo-projection of her favorite Turian while wiping her eyes with her other hand. "I don't know what to say! Well, I do, but it hardly seems adequate. Garrus Vakarian, I promise you, I will never have another mate as long as I live. You have my heart, forever."

The big Turian suddenly felt a bit weak in the knees. This beautiful female had accepted his promise to her, and promised herself to him. It was all just a bit scary, facing an unknowable future. Still sitting beside her, he reached around with his other arm and hugged her tightly. "You have mine as well, Desis… You have mine as well."

* * *

 **Centennial Park Parade Grounds, Sydney Australia, Earth**

When the Normandy shuttle touched down, Shepard felt an unwelcome sense of déjà vu... as if they had just set down on Thessia during the Reaper attack. The surrounding city was little but rubble, with only a few buildings still standing amidst the debris. To further the similarity, the landing zone was cordoned off with barricades and armed soldiers – not Asari, but Hackett's assigned security team. Shepard snorted in disgust at its necessity as she jumped out onto what remained of the grassy field, her boots raising puffs of dirt with the impact.

Boots... After a very long discussion, she, Liara and Hackett had come to a mutually agreeable decision, both on the message to be delivered and for Shepard's safety. The rest of the speeches would no longer be given by Commander Shepard in dress blues, but by Spectre Shepard... dressed out in her full combat gear and easily recognizable as such from all the combat footage everyone had seen over and over again by now. The vids were constantly playing in the news, for good and bad, as each side used them as evidence either for or against her conduct during the conflict. Hackett had also removed any restrictions on the content of her speech, his message perfectly clear. "You do what you need to do, Shepard. Hell, you rallied the galaxy around the cause like no one else could have. Who am I to tell you what you can or can't say? Go do what you do best, Commander."

Because of that decision, the tone of Shepard's future speeches changed radically. Rather than politely ask survivors to honor the dead through cooperation and assistance in rebuilding, Shepard's new presentation took on a whole new approach, more along the lines of Kahlee's biting response to Smidt, mixed in with a bit of interracial cooperation. As before, bells tolled at exactly 7:42 PM and Hackett gave the introductory remarks, though greatly abridged from the original reading of the names; he spoke only in generalities... and the Council was not present. When Shepard's turn to speak came, however, she did not mount the stage alone. The Spectre strode confidently onto the stage; though fully armored, she carried no weapons other than a pistol in her thigh holster. Behind her, however, three additional armored people took the stage with her. Liara T'Soni, Urdnot Grunt and Spectre Bau stood at her back, offset to the right so everyone in the audience could easily see those who accompanied the commander.

After the initial moment of surprised silence, Shepard's voice boomed loudly, surprising most everyone in the audience with her evident anger. Her finger jabbed out, pointing at the audience as she spoke, her voice echoing against the remaining trees across the parade ground. "I am tired of people attacking me for how I chose to operate while leading the galaxy in the fight against the Reapers. I stepped up when no one else believed. I stepped in before anyone else could, or would, take action. Each and every one of us is here today because my supporters and I _acted_ while everyone else either didn't know what was going on or were in absolute denial. As of today, I make no more apologies for my actions!"

Her hand dropped and she clasped her hands behind her back as she began a slow pace back and forth across the stage as she continued, "On every world across the galaxy, civilians died... soldiers died. What for?" She stopped for a moment and faced the crowd as her eyes darted across the masses, practically growling, "So you all could stand around and wallow in your grief? Complain about your circumstances?" She resumed her pacing. "No! So we could live!" Her hand once more waved over the crowd in challenge. "None of us need to simply survive... Each and every one of you needs to live... truly live! We need to rebuild our homes and businesses. We have to rebuild our _lives_ or our victory means nothing!"

Shepard stopped when she reached center stage and once again faced the audience. Hands on her hips and eyes glinting in challenge, she commanded, "And that's what I leave with you. I can win a war, but I can't do the rest for you. It's up to each and every one of you to take control of your own destiny. Rise to the challenge of repairing the damage done to Earth... to the galaxy. We can make it better than it's ever been! Who's with me?"

Several Alliance soldiers in civilian clothing, including Falk and Williams, were strategically scattered throughout the audience. In a carefully crafted script, they had applauded or fallen silent as appropriate over the course of the ceremony. As Shepard concluded with her question, they all responded in unison with a rousing affirmative cheer, drawing many of the spectators along with them in their enthusiasm. Though none could hear her words over the noise of the crowd, Shepard's face took on a broad smile as she shouted, "Now that's what I want to hear!" With a quick 'thank you,' she turned and left the stage, heading back to the Normandy shuttle.

Once they got far enough away to hear one another speak, Grunt approached the commander and groused, "Where was the rock thrower, Shepard? I was looking forward to having some fun, and _that_ was no fun at all!"

* * *

 _ **Neema**_ **, Quarian Fleet, Rannoch Orbit**

Tali sat at her console, elbow on the desk and the base of her faceplate resting on the crest of a closed fist. Her new job was not exactly exciting... but, to be fair, anything following a wartime assignment aboard the Normandy would find it extremely difficult to compete with such an opportunity. She was feeling particularly melancholy at the moment because she had spoken with Shepard, Liara and Oriana the night prior in a conference call, so she was currently missing her friends dearly.

The flotilla had passed through Omega to find it locked up tight with the station's defenses active, still on a full-up wartime footing. The _Rakhana_ was supposed to remain there for observational purposes but, for safety and security reasons, the crew had decided to continue with the Migrant Fleet as far as the Nariph System. While the flotilla continued onward to Rannoch, Oriana had decided to break off in Nariph to check in on Jonus, the location of a Human colony Shepard and crew had saved by taking the MSV Broken Arrow back from the Geth Heretics and stopping them from crashing it into Fargone, Jonus' largest colony.

Oriana had reluctantly reported that the Reapers had destroyed both the Eldfell-Ashland Energy moon base and every bit of the colonial infrastructure located on the satellite in orbit around the planet. Without the local energy production, Shepard questioned what happened on the main world, more specifically, to the colonists and the governor, Rafael Cologne... "I wonder if his 'eternal gratitude' for us saving them the first time survived past the initial Reaper attack..." She glanced at Liara, who heard the non-verbalized request and nodded, so she continued, "Can you please check Fargone itself for survivors and see if they need support? We'll do everything we can to aid them... again."

Since the Quarians had their own portable food supplies within their liveships, Tali had quickly offered up the use of three Quarian frigates to move any and all necessary supplies for Fargone, no matter how long it took. Now, she simply sat, chin in hand, waiting on status updates from the three vessels she had tasked for the relief support. Her terminal finally chimed with an incoming message and she sat up, quickly bringing up the interface. As the message queue came online, Tali stared at her screen in disbelief.

 _Creator Tali'Zorah: You have received this emergency notification due to a catastrophic collective-wide failure with a recovery period that has exceeded the prescribed standard automatic reboot parameter timeframe. Failure to meet the prescribed timelines indicates a manual restart will be required._

 _Please proceed to the designated coordinates and enter the Normandy SR-2 16-digit Citadel Spectre registration code to authorize entrance into the facility. Proceed to the central core and enter the attached 12288-bit decryption algorithm for system access. Entry of the correct decryption key will activate the system and additional instructions will be provided at that time._

 _WARNING: Entry of an incorrect decryption key or any attempt to gain unauthorized access to the facility or system will result in an electromagnetic pulse in excess of 1.21 petawatts, resulting in the death of all unshielded organic forms within range._

"By the ancestors! Is this possibly real?" She quickly brought up the message coding to discover it had indeed originated from Heretic Station in the Sea of Storms and had been subsequently relayed via the Phoenix Massing communications buoy in Tassrah. "Keelah! I've got to contact Shepard! I need the Normandy!"

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, London Space Port, Sol**

Shepard grinned at the screen, having just heard the best news she'd received in a while. "That's great, Tali! The transmission must have triggered when the Tassrah Relay opened."

Tali was euphoric with the looming potential to have the Geth brought back to active status and could hardly sit still as Liara read through and analyzed the message. "It seems to be legitimate, Tali. However, there is one catch." She watched as Tali's enthusiasm drained.

"Your tone says it's more than a 'catch,' Liara. What are you thinking?" Tali's enthusiastic bounce had visibly lessened... and then stopped altogether with Liara's next words.

"With the schedule Admiral Hackett has set, Shepard has a speech here on Earth every five days. Without knowing exactly what the restart will require, there's no way we can guarantee getting to Heretic Station and back with the Normandy in that time period. We can speak with the admiral, but it's very likely we'll have to wait until Shepard and the Normandy are released to full duty status." Liara saw the little Quarian simply deflate before her eyes. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear. I'm terribly sorry."

"Now, hang on Liara." Samantha received a scornful stare from the Asari, who assumed the commander was going to argue the point, but she was surprised as Shepard continued, "The message says the Normandy's _16-digit Citadel Spectre registration code_ ; having the code does not necessitate having the Normandy." Shepard's focus returned to the screen. "Tali. You had full system access when you were aboard. Do you still have all of our registration codes encoded in your omnitool?"

"Keelah, Shepard! Of course I do!" Tali's excitement immediately returned in full force. "And the decryption algorithm is attached to the message, so that should be all I need to do this!"

As much as Tali's demeanor brightened, Shepard's fell. "I agree. Unfortunately, I..." She glanced at Liara once more before continuing, " _We_... won't be able to go with you."

Liara nodded sadly in agreement. "While that is true, we do just so happen to have a Broker ship in the neighborhood. I'd feel much more comfortable if you went on this venture aboard the _Rakhana_ , with Livos and her commando team backing you in a support role."

"As would I." Tali's voice dropped in volume and she practically whispered, "I'd much prefer that to requisitioning a Quarian vessel and crew, with all the vulnerabilities that would come along with it. There are certain persons, who don't need to be named, who must be kept completely out of the loop until we know the exact status of the Geth Consensus... All of which would be nearly impossible if I ask for a ship crewed by the fleet."

"Then it sounds like we have a plan, Tali'Zorah vas _Rakhana_." After emphasizing the change of ship assignment in Tali's name, Shepard fell silent as she forced a smile onto her face for her little sister's sake.

Staying focused on the task at hand, Liara continued the conversation. "I'll contact Oriana immediately and have her rendezvous with the _Neema_." Liara's voice became firm. "You need to tell Admiral Raan where you are headed and come up with a cover story to avoid suspicion. The _Rakhana_ can slip away easily enough if she makes a clean departure, but I can't risk having the ship compromised."

"Understood, Shadow Broker." Tali laughed. "Don't worry, Liara. Given the recent developments, that's easy; as the Ambassador to the Alliance, I'll simply say I'm going out to personally evaluate the situation at Fargone. I'll fly a personal shuttle to Jonus and then send Ori a set of coordinates for a rendezvous location. Then, on the back end of the mission to Heretic Station, we'll return to the same location and I'll take my shuttle back to the _Neema_. I'll make sure to meet with the governor on both ends of the trip and let people see me... all in the name of improving Human-Quarian relations. No one but Auntie Raan will be the wiser."

"I believe you may have spent too much time with me aboard the Normandy, Tali. You're thinking like an information broker." Liara chuckled quietly. "I know Liv will take good care of you but, please, be careful anyway, Tali'Zorah. For Shepard and I, if not for yourself."

"I promise... and I'll have Ori send you updates via the Broker net every chance we get, so you won't worry so much." With those final words, Tali toggled the comm switch and the screen went black.

Shepard's shoulders slumped and she hung her head, cursing under her breath. Liara laid a comforting hand on her back. "Livos will protect her, Shepard. You know that."

"Yes, I do... but that doesn't make it any easier to not be going with her. I owe Legion that much, at the very least."

"I know, _Nara_ , but each of us has our part to play. And if you can't get to the station, there is none better to attend to this duty than Creator Zorah." Liara smiled softly. "Legion trusted her with the message; we can trust her with completing the mission."

"Gah! You're right..." Shepard stood upright and squared her shoulders. "As usual. Thanks, Blue. Guess I need to quit feeling sorry for myself and go see Karin... I need to get cleared for full-up heavy workouts. I'm tired of feeling weak... it seriously affects my disposition. It's time for me to get completely healthy and get back in shape."

"I couldn't agree more, Commander." Liara smirked and ran a hand across Shepard's stomach. "I miss your workouts. Your skin glistening with sweat as you surge up and down..." Shepard's eyes opened wide in surprise at the innuendo in Liara's voice. The Asari laughed at the expression and continued, "While doing your sit-ups, of course. Whatever were you thinking, Shepard?" Liara laughed aloud as her _siame_ 's face turned a brilliant shade of red. "Come on. No time like the present to fit in that visit with Karin."

* * *

 _ **Rakhana**_ **, Heretic Station, Sea of Storms**

The Shadow Broker crew didn't have to wait long. Tali's response had been decisive and swift; she had spoken to Raan as soon as possible and gotten the admirals' blessing to take a shuttle to Fargone. To maintain secrecy, Tali didn't even venture to tell her aunt what she was truly doing, sure Liara would approve of the change in plan. The rendezvous occurred without incident and the _Rakhana_ had made her way quickly to the Tassrah relay. Once they had emerged into Phoenix Massing and entered FTL toward the Sea of Storms, Tali briefed the entire crew on what she hoped was going to happen.

She told them first about the coded message and how Legion had somehow created a message to be released at a fixed period of time after the Crucible Wave swept over Heretic Station. Exactly how that happened was yet a mystery which Tali hoped to solve once they arrived at the station and located the back-up drives. Based on what Edi had told her, she would be able to reinitialize the Geth with new programming very similar to Edi's, which the AI and the Geth referred to as the Synthetic Intelligence Life Code. The main distinction between the two was that while Edi was an individual augmented by the processing power of the Normandy, the Geth had chosen to stay on their path of collective reasoning and continue to operate as a consensus.

Their journey had thus far been uneventful and the Spectre code had gained them unchallenged access to the facility, exactly as planned. They now stood at the access hatch for the central processing unit, Tali staring at the console as if it were a growling, wild varren. She jumped when Livos laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Be confident, Tali'Zorah. You have all the registration keys and the proper encryption. We have faith in your abilities."

Tali took a deep breath and whispered, "While all that is true, it is only an encryption. It merely activates the terminal... but I have no idea what's going to happen afterward. Is it simply going to open, or will there be some other input required? What if I don't have the information?"

Livos dropped her hand and simply shrugged. "Then we may die... or we may not. I do not believe Legion would put you in a position of vulnerability. He valued your life too highly to take such a risk."

"Keelah; you're right." Tali raised her omnitool and punched up the decryption algorithm Legion had sent her. "Here goes everything." She tapped the 'load' button and they all held a collective breath as the file transferred and the console controlling the doorway before them came alive.

* * *

 **A/N:** Happy Veterans/Armistice Day... and see you next week!


	24. Catching the Wind

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

C-Sec - Citadel Security

 _Próidh_ \- aggressive Thessian omnivorous mammal resembling a wolverine, but weighing in at 70+ kg when full-grown. This extremely dangerous nocturnal hunter frequently takes prey many times larger than itself. As with all Thessian life, employs eezo to generate a biotic effect; utilizes a form of biotic charge to tackle and overcome prey.

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Catching the Wind**

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

The Normandy hangar bay, with the exception of machinery noise originating in the engineering section behind the elevator, was quiet; at the section closest to the hangar access door at the forward end, the quiet was broken only by the occasional pop or snick of metal undergoing stress or temperature change.

The port side area immediately inside the main access ramp was occupied by a UT-47 shuttle, clamped in a docking cradle; a number of crates sat on the deck just aft of the railings protecting the unwary from falling into the maintenance pit beneath the craft. The crates were part of the constantly shifting cargo being carried in the hangar during Normandy's relief flights in and around the ruined city of London; as such, few of the crew members responsible for cargo movement aboard ship paid much attention to the extremely large _souvenir_ brought into the ship by Corporal Sarah Campbell.

What Sarah had done, in fact, was retrieve the inert, but otherwise completely intact Geth Prime chassis known to the Normandy crew as Legion; Campbell and the two heavy equipment operators accompanying her had gone to great lengths to load Legion's unwieldy platform onto the improvised cradle attached to the rear of the eight-wheeled tank retriever she'd borrowed with permission from the heavy equipment division commander. When pressed, she'd relate how Legion had simply… stopped working… when the Crucible-generated red wave washed over everything near the Reaper created crater beneath the Citadel.

She had managed to place it next to the inner hull, just aft of the railing at the shuttle maintenance pit. By using a small cargo handler, she'd even managed to place it with its legs folded under it. Even though it was not standing at its full 3.6 meter height, the Geth mobile unit was still big enough to give an unsuspecting crewman a real scare when its position was revealed during cargo movement. The deep red armor plating with white stripes on the right shoulder, the outsized head with its dark and lifeless three-sensor vision array, the massive Pulse Cannon clipped to its backplate, all gave the machine an ominous appearance, as if it was simply waiting for someone to find and activate the correct switch to restore it to full functionality.

Sarah Campbell had, in fact, been down earlier, performing an inspection to be sure no one had tampered with it; she had retrieved it from its resting place at the crater's edge out of fear that someone would use the seemingly lifeless hulk for target practice. On this visit, Specialist Samantha Traynor had accompanied her to the hangar deck, more so Sarah would have someone to chat with than for anything Sammi could do to assist.

"He saved our lives, you know… I can remember the last few Brutes and Marauders we had to fight. All of us were ducking for whatever cover we could get behind… even a couple of concrete blocks in the middle of the damned street!" Shaking her head in near disbelief as she rubbed the armored shoulder, at eye level because of its folded legs, she continued, "Not this guy. He simply stood his ground with his barriers at a hundred percent and sprayed the Brutes and Marauders with three-shot blasts from that heavy pulse cannon on his back."

Traynor smiled at her friend as she replied, "I'm glad he was with you down there, Sarah. It's a real shame the red wave from the Crucible disabled them all, but I truly believe our friend Tali'Zorah will find a way to restore him… Hell, restore all of them! Their entire fleet was adrift in Arcturus after the red wave passed through." Placing a hand on Sarah's shoulder, she gave a gentle squeeze as she concluded, "Joker was able to restore functionality to Edi; you just wait… this big fellow will be back on his feet before you know it."

Sarah smiled at Traynor's faith in Tali. Knowing what Tali was capable of as a combat engineer, she had no doubt the tenacious little Quarian would find a way to reactivate Legion, along with the rest of the Geth population. "Come on, Sam. We may as well go to bed. Not much point in spending any more time here with Legion until he's been reactivated." The two women slowly made their way back to the elevator, leaving the hangar deck once again devoid of life.

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

Garrus' first meeting with the stations designers had gone exceedingly well. As a former member of C-Sec and an old friend of the Primarch, his opinions carried great weight with all of the designers. As the station's skeletal structure was still being manufactured and assembled, it would be relatively easy to incorporate any additional security features that Garrus determined to be necessary for everyone's peace of mind.

His main modification was the addition of eighteen defensive towers, nine above and nine below, to be anchored on the habitat ring in a fashion similar to the docking pylons; in order to minimize their impact on close-in navigation, they would be less than a quarter of the height of the outer pylons. These would be equipped with multiple, state-of-the-art GARDIAN near-UV lasers of Salarian design; each tower's weapons array would be linked to a fire-control computer. Each of these would in turn be linked to one central processor capable of tracking and targeting up to several hundred hostiles simultaneously.

Garrus also had the design team incorporate thirty-six retractable pods, eighteen each dorsally and ventrally mounted in the outer ring – each equipped with a pair of fast-recycle Thanix Cannons, for a total of seventy-two weapons; an additional forty-eight traditional GARDIAN laser pods would be installed in the docking pylons. The entire structure would be shielded utilizing cyclonic barrier technology in addition to the standard kinetic barriers, and the outer hull would be plated with modified Asari-made Silaris armor at its most vulnerable locations.

All of this was expected to be tremendously expensive, even though the cost was being shared by the Humans, Turians and Asari. When a couple of design team members voiced the opinion that all the additional weaponry was expensive overkill, Garrus pointed out that the new station would not have the luxury of a large defensive fleet – most of which had been Turian supplied for the original Citadel – at its beck and call, as the Turian and Human navies had been decimated during the war. The Krogan, Elcor and Volus were contributing to the construction costs, but the Salarians had not committed, nor had the Quarians. Garrus knew it was going to be difficult, especially considering the destruction on the home worlds of every race, but felt confident that the financing would come together.

Sighing as he made his way to Desis' quarters, he wondered – not for the first time since his arrival – if Dee's promise to go to the home world to live with him was what she truly wanted to do, or if she was just trying to please him by telling him what she felt he wanted to hear. _I need to have a serious discussion with her after dinner… I need to know she's willing to sacrifice her career to follow me._

Using his omnitool, he keyed in the code to unlock and open the door to her quarters; inside with the hatch closed and locked, he was surprised Dee hadn't met him with a full-body hug as she had done the night before. Calling out, "Desis? Dee, are you here?" he waited for a moment before moving to inspect her sleeping quarters and the bathroom. The apartment was empty… Thinking, _I wonder where she is,_ he sent an inquiry to her omnitool.

It was several minutes before he received a short reply of _'On my way.'_ Garrus thought little about it as he pulled out his bottle of fine Turian brandy and poured himself a generous measure. Taking a sip as he sat in the big upholstered chair, he relaxed into its comfortable embrace as he waited and wondered why she was late getting home tonight. After what seemed like hours to the big Turian, the haptic lock on the entry clicked, allowing the hatch segments to retract; Garrus stood to welcome Desis home, only to be disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm at seeing him. "Something amiss, Dee?"

She turned her eyes towards him, stormy silver overwhelming the normally placid violet, saying, "It's nothing, Garrus… just another day spent dealing with people… our people… from the home world, the colonies… all desperate or hostile... or both... and hoping for a bit of assistance or a special favor… like relief from profiteers or help in dealing with destroyed property, to name a couple of the more common requests. It's all just a bit… overwhelming."

Garrus moved to stand in front of her and placed his arms around her. "Dee, it'll get better. I know it's small comfort now, but it _will_ get better."

Bringing her arms up, she pushed against his chest, causing him to drop his arms in confusion. Eyes cloudy with unshed tears, she kept her hands on his chest as she struggled to form words past the knot in her throat. "Damn it, Garrus, that's the least of it! Today I learned there are children, thousands of them, all over Palaven and the colonies. Their parents…" voice hitching as tears finally overwhelmed her attempt to restrain them, "Their parents are gone, Garrus! They're just… gone, vanished, taken by those… those abominations. There's no one looking out for the little ones… on their own down there, scrambling for scraps of food and a bit of shelter from the weather... simply attempting to survive. Spirits! I've been trying to get them some help, working with Councilor Quentius. They need _everything_ … clean water, food, shelter…" Voice hitching in sadness, she added, "They need someone that cares, someone to love them!" Unable to say anything further, she bent her elbows to close the distance with Garrus, who promptly put his arms around her and drew her into a tight embrace.

He waited silently, allowing her to weep for those that needed help, that couldn't fight back. When she was finally quiet in his arms, he whispered, "There's more to it than what you've told me, isn't there? Come on, let me get you something to drink so you can settle down and tell me the real reason you're so upset, Dee."

Not trusting her voice just yet, she nodded silently as he led her to the couch and had her sit. Refilling his own glass, he poured her a generous portion of brandy and brought it over, taking a seat beside her as he handed her the glass. "Now, suppose you tell me the real reason for your concern about these children, Desis. I know it's maddening to feel so helpless, but there's more to it than that, isn't there?

After taking a few sips from her glass, she wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and coughed. When she spoke, it was barely a whisper. "My parents were on Epyrus… it's where I was born. There was a raid… Batarians taking people to sell as sex slaves. They didn't want any Turians… just the Asari that happened to be living there. I was five or six at the time. My parents… both killed while trying to keep them from taking their friends… neighbors."

"Spirits, Desis… I'm so sorry. That must have been terrible."

Taking another sip from her glass, she swallowed the potent liquid, huffed from the fire in her throat and continued, "Yes, it was, but I was one of the fortunate few. My mom's sister came from Palaven and took me home with her, raising me as her own. But I had left friends behind on Epyrus. A lot of them were left without parents. I don't know what happened to them… don't know if they even survived. And now, seeing Palaven, the colonies... It's like I'm six years old again, reliving that nightmare." She shook herself as if to chase off a sudden chill and stood up, having suddenly made a decision that was sure to change her life. "That's why I want to go with you, Garrus. I'm tired of being alone, of living by myself. I never expected to find a mate, never expected to fall in love." Her eyes were once again clear, the silver flecks nearly invisible against the intense violet she turned on him. "I love you, Garrus Vakarian, and I will follow you anywhere." She paused only briefly before holding her hand out in invitation. "Come on," she smirked. "Right now, I'd like to follow you out for dinner."

* * *

 **Pax Relay, Horse Head Nebula**

The dreaded conversation went much better than anticipated, with Jana almost smiling. "We both know Maya is very good at what she does. You didn't seriously expect this to be easy, did you?" Her smile faltered and her head dropped slightly in reticence. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. I know you are dead set on catching up to her before she goes to ground, but I never believed that would happen. This is going pretty much as I expected it to."

"What do you mean?" Angelique's voice had a slight trace of anger to it. "Did you not believe me up to the task?"

"Oh, no; nothing like that, Angel. I simple know exactly how competent our Ms Brooks is. She didn't outpace Kai Leng by mere luck... and there was a reason the Illusive Man never put any Reaper upgrades into her. She was his designated emergency fall back." At the surprised look on Warren's face, all humor faded from Jana's voice. "Yes. He knew he was playing with fire but held an unshakeable, if however misplaced, conviction that he was the chosen one. Even that, however, didn't make him so reckless as to not have a backup plan."

"Well, crap. Does Maya Brooks know that? Does she realize she's supposed to be our salvation?" Angelique feared that perhaps Maya _did_ know... and wanted nothing more to do with Cerberus. _Where the Hell will we be then?_

"No. He purposely never told her. He had originally selected Leng, but when the idiot discovered he was the heir apparent, he got cocky... and became reckless. The Illusive Man knew it was merely a matter of time before Leng got himself killed." Jana let out a heavy sigh. "Mr Harper tried to keep Leng away from Shepard, knowing full well his top operative would not survive the encounter, but Leng refused to listen. For some reason, Kai saw Shepard as competition and wanted her eliminated... and you know how that ended." Jana refocused on Angelique. "That's why he never told Maya. Jack may not have been perfect, but neither was he prone to repeating mistakes."

"So what now?" Angelique stood tall and made direct eye contact with the on-screen Jana. "Please, tell me that I am to continue the hunt?"

"Absolutely." Jana smiled. "You are most definitely up to the task, Angel, and we need Maya Brooks. Sooner would be better, but we'll take her whenever you can find her. You may be out there a while, so pick one of the ships, stash the second at one of the warehouses on Noveria, and take Tim Stafford with you. He's a great agent with a good gun if you need one, as well as a decent man and excellent company. The two of you find that woman and bring her back to us. Bring all of you back... we need you."

A satisfied smile on her face, Warren nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

 **Heretic Station, Sea of Storms, Phoenix Massing**

Tali stared at the terminal as it rebooted, eventually coming to a logon screen with her name glowing brightly on the display. Directly under it were the words _'Enter Quarian Birth Identification Number_.' Tali shuddered and Livos gave her a strange look. "What is so bad about that request?"

"That number was a terrible thing... an identifier the Fleet assigned to keep track of the annual allowable pregnancies each year based on the previous year's fatalities. It was used to maintain the Flotilla's zero-sum population change policy. It was meaningless once the last allowable live birth of the year occurred and, once the current year was complete, the database was erased... along with any additional children born the rest of that year." She paused as the entire commando team gasped at the revelation. "With the fixed resources within the Flotilla, it was necessary for our survival as a people... but I thank the ancestors we now have a homeworld again and that hideous policy is ended!" Tali let out a long sigh and shook her head. "Expecting parents always had the option to abandon the Fleet and try to make their own way, but few did so. I explained this to Legion once... and it apparently made an impression. Other than him and the Admiralty board, only three people in the galaxy knew that number, and two of them are dead." Tali looked at the console and spoke as she typed RAYYA161. "By mere chance, my mother's identifier matched the last three digits of my birth year, making it easy to remember."

Livos was the only one to speak. "That is... ghastly, but understandable. People are constantly killed during wartime, and your people were in a constant battle for your very survival. I, too, am happy for the Quarian people, that such a practice is no longer a necessity. May the Goddess bless you all."

Tali was about to reply when the hatch before them opened, revealing a long passage into darkness. Tali pulled out her shotgun and turned on the weapon's light, attempting to penetrate the pitch black before them. "Legion said additional instructions would be provided. I'm not exactly sure... Oh!"

She didn't get to finish her sentence before Sella Temi had taken point and stepped through the doorway. As soon as her foot hit the interior decking, safety lights came on, lighting a path forward. With a quick glance back over her shoulder and an approving nod from Livos, she began moving cautiously along the designated route. They moved past several unlit corridors and made a number of turns through an astonishing maze of passageways, assuming the lit path was the one they needed to travel, and eventually came upon what appeared to be another secured door. As Tali stepped forward to take a closer look, a voice sounding eerily like an older VI version of Legion spoke, "Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Please move to the indicated area for complete genetic identification."

Instantly, a light shone down from above, forming a perfect circle approximately two meters in front of Sella. Tali moved past the Asari without hesitation and stepped into the light. Moments later, the voice echoed down the passage again as the door before them slid open. "Welcome, Creator Zorah. You may proceed."

The doorway had opened on the right side of the passage and they all stepped into what appeared to be a rather large room, lit only by a single emergency light near the doorway. When it became apparent no additional instructions would be forthcoming, Tali looked at the commandos and shrugged. "The message said something about requiring a manual restart... I guess we're looking for a switch of some kind."

The room was huge and it was slow going with only weapons' lights to see by once they left the immediate vicinity of the entryway; it took the group of four nearly an hour to locate the device they assumed was their target. As they gathered together before the suspect console, Tali chuckled nervously, "Where's Shepard when you need her? No one else is crazy enough to push a big red button when you have absolutely no idea what's going to happen once you do."

Allia Vasia, the team's long-range specialist, laughed with her. Having arrived at House T'Soni in the same time period as Riana Iregos, she was well aware of a certain, rather risky, battle style and couldn't help but respond. "It's the Vanguard in her. Every one of them, in order to be good at what they do, has to have at least a little bit of crazy built into their psyche."

As they all laughed, Sella stepped forward and hovered a hand over the button. "In the absence of Commander Shepard, I guess I'll take point on this too."

Tali quickly reached over and placed her gloved hand atop that of the Asari, saying, "Together, then," as she looked at each of the party members in turn.

The four nodded solemnly and, piling their hands together, pushed the button down.

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Aethyta sat quietly in the hot tub, leaning back in the jetted seat, eyes closed and sipping slowly on her Noverian Rum. She had been working in Armali for ten days straight and decided it was time to come home... at least for one night and a full day. It was late; most of the house had already retired by the time she arrived, so she had stripped and climbed into the tub, simply absorbing the heat of the water as she enjoyed the quiet that surrounded her. Armali existed in a state of constant noise, either from the construction during the day or gunfire at night as mercs and thieves attempted to take advantage of the lesser prepared. With at least one full squad of commandos on watch at all times, Aethyta never worried for her safety, but that didn't keep her from being jarred awake when something blasted off a little closer than they would have liked.

She heard the patter of quiet feet on tile before she heard the querying voice. "Thyta? Goddess! When did you get in and why did you not wake me?" The sound of sliding silk dropping on stone preceded the light splash and the small waves lapping against her body. She smiled as she placed her drink on the edge of the tub and opened her eyes to the beautiful sight before her.

Aethyta sighed softly. "I know I probably should have, but I needed to decompress first. The city of Armali is constantly in motion and full of noise, all day and all night. I simply needed to stop for a moment and take a deep breath."

Mozia slid onto the bench next to her and ran her lips softly across her _amantia_ 's cheek, whispering airily, "I do believe I can help you with that, Thyta, if you'll let me."

"I doubt very much that will help me catch my breath, Moz." Aethyta smirked and pulled the regent onto her lap. "I imagine it's going to do quite the opposite, really."

"No, it won't, because I'm not offering _that_ kind of help... at least not yet." Mozia chuckled lightly and set her hands on Aethyta's shoulders, beginning to massage her shoulders and chest. "Close your eyes and relax, Thee... and, as you wanted to do, simply... _breathe_."

Aethyta felt her tension slipping away under the expert touch, the light play of Mozia's biotics easing the stress in her overworked muscles. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the movements of her partner's hands as the ripples of biotic energy traversed across her skin and penetrated deep into her aching body. "Goddess, you're good at that; it feels most excellent." She felt a light tap in her mind and opened herself up.

 _{That is because I love you, Aethyta Beuss... and I have missed you. Welcome home, my love.}_ Aethyta felt adoration and compassion flow into her body and mind and, more effective than the words alone, she felt her entire being truly begin to let go of the anxiety and stress of the past ten days. After a few exquisite moments, she reopened her eyes and caught Mozia's hands in her own. Sitting forward, her lips found an eager target as Mozia pulled her hands free to wrap Aethyta in a loving embrace. When the kiss was done, Mozia slid off Aethyta's lap and stood, holding a hand out in invitation. "Come, Thyta. It's late and we have much to catch up on... _tomorrow_. Tonight, you sleep in the quiet of my arms."

* * *

 **Afterlife, Omega, Sahrabarik**

"What do you mean, two more ships and crew are gone?" Aria glowed blue in anger, wisps of power rolling off her clenched fists as she uncoiled slowly from her chair and stood upright, glaring down at the two who delivered the bad news.

Not intimidated at all, Bray shrugged his shoulders. "Not much room for interpretation, Aria. Two more ships disappeared overnight. The station is locked down tighter than a Pyjak's ass with a _Próidh_ on the prowl; there shouldn't be _anything_ getting out."

Nyreen glared at the Batarian for his crass phrasing. "That only leaves one option, Aria; we have someone on the inside who's orchestrating their defections. I reviewed all the logs... Sector 2 shielding dropped for 1 minute, 43 seconds last night – just after midnight. Someone's _letting_ them out, but we don't know who, or even where they're operating from. Sector Control was fully manned and monitored, yet no one saw any irregularities in the command codes."

"So, who are they and how the fuck are they doing it?" Aria asked herself the question as she angrily strode forward to the leading edge of the balcony and leaned on the railing, staring out over the crowd on the main floor of Afterlife. "That makes nearly a quarter of our force... simply up and gone in the last five weeks!" She spun back to her Operations and Security Chiefs. "Find them and bring them to me. I don't care if you have to kill every person on this station with access to the barrier controls. Someone knows who is doing this and I want them standing in front of me in 48 hours or less.

Nyreen crossed her arms and leaned back on a cocked hip. "And if we _don't_ find someone within the time limit, Aria?"

The queen focused her sharp gaze on the brash Turian before her. _That's what got me interested in her the first time she showed up... but she's different now. What used to be a lack of caring if she lived or died is now an irreverent confidence. Goddess be damned if it doesn't look good on her._ "Then I'll tear the fucking station apart myself until I find the idiot who thinks they have the capacity to stand up to the Queen of Omega. Don't test my patience, Nyreen. You won't like the result if you push too far."

"It's always about you, isn't it, Aria? You have no idea what I like... you never did, so why should I expect anything else?" Nyreen shook her head in disgust and turned away, speaking as she walked away. "I have a deadline... so I have work to do to prevent you from destroying the whole damned station."

Aria and Bray watched her move quickly down the steps to the lower level; while Aria continued to watch the Turian as she crossed the main floor of Afterlife, Bray had turned back to his boss to witness the emotions that played across the Asari's face. Once Nyreen was completely out of sight, he quietly said, "I've seen that look before, Aria; you haven't quite yet decided if you want to kill her or fuck her." He chuckled as Aria's head snapped around, her piercing gaze focusing on him as he continued, "She's _very_ good at what she does... so, if I have any influence at all over what action you decide to take, I say we need her... so just fuck her and get it over with."

Aria's lips twitched only once before she broke out into a light chuckle. "Ah, Bray. That's why I keep you around. You always offer such good advice." She jerked her chin toward the exit. "Now go. You heard her; you have a deadline. Go find the asshole who's stealing my ships."

* * *

 **Heretic Station, Sea of Storms, Phoenix Massing**

A low growl of machinery vibrated the floor beneath their feet as multiple power generators spun up from rest. As their tempo and pitch increased, banks of lights began coming on in a cascade of illumination that moved like an outgoing tide from where they stood. "By the ancestors that guide us!" Tali watched as the glow continued into the distance, lighting an incredibly vast room of computers and processors that reached to the far edges of their vision; the control center was monstrous.

"By the Goddess of the blue oceans, what could possibly be stored here that would require so much capacity?" Livos stared at the vast network service center in awe.

Tali, the shock on her face hidden behind the shade of her mask, spoke almost reverently... her voice shaking as she answered, "Keelah! If my theory is correct, it's large enough to contain the Geth runtimes. _All_ the Geth runtimes. Every single Geth unit that was alive at the start of the final run to the Citadel... or at least as long as they all had connectivity... most likely downloaded a backup of their runtimes in the eventuality of the destruction of their mobile platforms. They're all _here_!"

"It is a rather... spacious... storage facility." Livos' voice reflected surprise and wonder. "Just how many Geth are there?"

Tali pondered aloud, "I'm not really sure; each mobile unit is operated by a collection of programs, or runtimes. I know Legion consisted of 1,183 individual programs... but, I don't know if they look at each mobile frame as a single individual... or as a mini-collective of a thousand plus within a mobile host." She looked at the Asari before her and shrugged. "I never bothered to ask!"

Livos grinned at Tali's reaction before continuing, "I don't suppose it really matters. This room obviously contains a capacity for a _tremendous_ amount of storage... It's almost beyond belief!"

The whir of machinery caught their attention and the group glanced around as multiple hatches opened at once. From their position at the power center, they could see into two separate rooms to identify what looked like rows of charging pods... filled with various Geth mobile frames. The pod doors began to rotate open as Allia whispered nervously, "I sure hope they don't wake up grumpy!"

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

In the quiet of the hangar deck, the sudden whirring of a high-pressure hydraulic pump coming to life might have startled anyone near enough to hear it. The pump rapidly spun up to its normal speed, the sound of its operation diminishing to a faint, high-pitched hum as its automatic processor circuit stabilized the rotational speed and pressure. A series of red lights began illuminating – dim at first, but rapidly increasing in brilliance as an accompaniment to the speedily normalizing hydraulic pressure in the platform – first in the ankles, rapidly followed by a light at the front of each knee joint.

A series of three rectangular lights began glowing in sequence along the spine, from the bottom up. The translucent, surface-routed hydraulic lines at the back and front of the hips and thighs pulsed with new life as glowing red rings 'tracked' the progress of normalizing fluid pressure. The shield generator support bar across the shoulders came to life, as did the central processing unit in the chest, as indicated by four rectangular lamps inset just below the chest plate.

All of this took place in mere moments – the final indication of life restored to the Geth Prime came as the trio of visual sensors lit up. Legion raised his head, oriented himself by taking several readings of the space about himself… _the Normandy… hangar deck… port side forward…_ with an application of pressure to his actuators, he carefully stood to his full height.

Unsure of what to do first, he ran an internal check and discovered all of his programming was intact… he could 'feel' the presence of the consensus, telling him that Creator Zorah had been successful in her task of manually restarting the system of backups on Heretic Station.

Since he was on the Normandy, he rationalized that the AI referred to as Edi was on board as well. Had she perished when the Crucible was activated? He was about to verbalize the question to the space around him when a familiar voice came through the speakers in the overhead. "Legion… You have reactivated." Statement, not a question.

"Affirmative. This platform is once again active. My internal chronometer indicates there was an unexpected delay. Was there a problem in receiving or carrying out my instructions?"

"I will ask Commander Shepard and Dr T'Soni to join you on the hangar deck, Legion. Remain in your current position. All your inquiries will be answered."

"Thank you, Edi. I will await their arrival."

* * *

Shepard popped straight up in bed and grabbed her omnitool sitting on the dresser next to her side of the bed. _0320? What the Hell?_ "Shepard here. What's happening, Edi?"

"Tali'Zorah must have been successful in her endeavor, Commander. The onboard Prime unit is once again inhabited by the collection of runtimes..." Edi hesitated briefly and started again. "... Legion is once again with us. I informed him you and Dr T'Soni would join him shortly in the hangar bay."

Shepard felt the bed shift as Liara rolled out the other side. She turned and cast an ecstatic smile in the Asari's direction as she answered, "Roger that, Edi. We'll be down in five. If you haven't already done so, contact Lieutenant Commander Williams and tell her what's going. Also, feel free to confirm a last-known recall date with Legion and data dump all event files since that time, so he's up to date on what's been happening since he started his little nap."

"Understood, Commander."

"See, Shepard?" Liara's smile beamed in Shepard's general direction as they both hurried to dress. "Did I not tell you Tali would be just fine?"

"Yeah, you did, Blue." Shepard did the last button on her uniform top and walked toward Liara to hand the Asari her boots. "And I've never been so glad to admit you were right."

Liara gave her a quick kiss as she took her footwear and slipped them onto her feet. "Believe me; it feels good to be correct about positive news for a change, instead of some dire prediction."

She finished the last boot clasp and stood upright, holding her hand out to Shepard as they walked up the steps toward the elevator. Shepard grinned as she responded, "I hope to hear a lot more of that kind of thing over the next few months, Li. I'm seriously tired of bad news; it's time for a definite change of pace."

"Agreed." They slipped into the elevator and rode in silence to the hangar bay. Stepping out onto the deck, they paused, having expected Legion to meet them at the elevator but seeing nothing. As Edi confirmed Legion's location, they picked up their pace and moved swiftly toward the forward section of the hangar, finally catching sight of Legion's glowing red sensor array.

"Legion!" Shepard's voice carried happily across the last of the distance between them. "Damn, but it's great to have you back with us!"

"Shepard Commander. Dr T'Soni. I am pleased the decision at the Crucible did not result in the final demise of the Edi or Geth synthetic intelligences."

Shepard's steps faltered and she stopped. "Yeah. I gather you received all the pertinent reports from Edi, then. Sorry about that."

"No apology is required, Shepard Commander. The Geth consensus has conferred on the issue and agrees it was the only acceptable decision, given your limited options. We concur with your choice. We desired to survive... but not by being changed without consent. The Reapers did that once when they purposely introduced the error into the Heretic Station codes. We are... _happy_... you did not chose to repeat the offense in the name of our salvation."

Shepard released a long exhale as she slowly blinked her eyes closed and open again, relieved that the Geth had agreed with her hurried, yet very final, decision. "So, we're okay? Our alliance and our friendship remain intact?"

"Of course, Shepard Commander. We understand that without the knowledge of our backup programming, choosing the path you did must have been extremely difficult. You have consistently opted to side with the Geth; thus, we... _trust_... your judgment."

Thank you, Legion." Shepard took the last few steps to the railing. "So what happens now?"

Legion rose to his full height and walked around the railing, towering over the organic pair in the central portion of the shuttle bay. "Unknown, Shepard Commander. I am engaged in simultaneous discussion with Creator Zorah and she expresses hesitation at the activation of Geth platforms on Rannoch until she has time to return and inform the Admiralty of our imminent return. She is afraid that without her presence, the Quarian people may react with hostility at our unexpected awakening."

"Wait." Shepard's brow creased in confusion. "You mean you aren't all awake?"

"I have misspoken. We are all 'awake' as you understand the term, but we have yet to engage any mobile platforms except this one and those required for damage repair on Haratar Station."

"Haratar? Where's that?"

Liara immediately answered the commander's query. "Haratar is the original Quarian name for Heretic station, Shepard. It existed as a Quarian forward defensive outpost long before their exodus from the Perseus Veil at the end of the Morning War."

"That is correct, Dr T'Soni." Legion paused only briefly before continuing where he had left off, "For repair purposes, we have activated only 100 of our 1 million platforms in storage aboard the station. Creator Zorah was curious about our numbers, so I assume you may be as well; we have 6.6 million Geth with a total of only 2.4 million platforms available to assist on any task you deem appropriate, Shepard Commander. The Geth are at your disposal."


	25. Full Speed Ahead

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code

* * *

 **Full Speed Ahead**

 **Normandy SR-2, Earth, At Large**

 _The Geth are at your disposal._ Shepard contemplated those words for a few moments before finally responding, "Legion. You don't owe me anything... and I certainly don't expect you to work for me. I didn't work to save the Geth just so I could use you." Her brow wrinkled in consternation. "You need to take some time, figure out who the _Geth_ would like to be... not who _I_ want you to be. That's what it means to be free, to make your own choices. You're not servants to anyone anymore; not the Quarians... and certainly not to me!"

"Shepard Commander. Our very name indicates the pinnacle achievement of our existence... to be a servant to the people. It was not the Geth that chose to end our relationship with the Quarians, but their refusal to acknowledge our growth... and, even more so, their insufficient attempts to terminate our existence." Legion's triad of visual sensors dimmed only momentarily before returning to full brightness as he continued, "The Consensus still desires to serve... and of all whom we have encountered, you and the crew of the Normandy are one of the very few entities who has willingly dealt with us as equals. Edi has told us how you helped her; if you will aid us, we will trust you to guide us on our path to self-discovery."

Shepard stood in stunned silence, staring at Legion for a moment before turning her wide-eyed stare to the Asari standing at her side. Liara's face held a knowing smile as she met the commander's eyes. She spoke softly, the respect she held for her future bondmate evident in her voice. "You see, Samantha? I told you something similar once before... you are someone worth following. Apparently, I am not the only one to see it."

"But how?" Shepard was overwhelmed by the idea. "Edi was a single being. How in the galaxy can I be responsible for the development of an entire race? That's too much for any one person!"

Liara smirked, "Says the woman who stood alone amongst all in the galaxy regarding the coming war with the Reapers."

"You know better than that, Liara; I never stood alone." Shepard shook her head in denial. "I had the love of my family, the crew of the Normandy, people like Admiral Hackett and David Anderson covering my six..." The look of disbelief was replaced with love as she continued, "... and then I got you."

Liara chuckled softly before responding, "And you still have that, Shepard; it's not like we are parting ways and leaving you on your own, just because the war is over. Besides, I doubt very much you'd be able to keep people like Tali out of the process, though it might be extremely entertaining to watch you try."

"Ha ha, T'Soni. Very funny." Shepard sighed in resignation and looked back to Legion. "Alright fine, I'll _help_... but you have to promise to get input from a variety of people, of all races and ages, and weigh issues for yourself, first. Then you can find me and we can talk it out if you have problems resolving any particular challenge."

Legion was quiet for a moment. "The consensus agrees, Shepard Commander; it will be very similar to how we decided upon the rewrite of the Heretics. Though, the list of representatives we currently trust is very short, consisting mostly of the crew whom we have served with aboard the Normandy."

Shepard finally laughed. "Oh, Legion. You do have a lot to learn about organics. Even aboard the Normandy, we each have our own opinions... but we also like to talk things out and reach some sort of agreement. And you said _mostly_... Who else is on your list, assuming you want to share the names? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Bau Spectre." Legion paused for the briefest of moments before continuing, "Urdnot Wrex. Creator Shala'Raan."

The last name spoken before the Geth fell silent surprised Shepard. When she said as much, Legion responded quickly, "After we regained Rannoch, Creator Raan treated us with both respect and trust in our combined operations against the Reapers... as allies, not servants. She was forthright... and sincere."

Unsure of where to go next, Shepard nervously rubbed at the back of her neck as she queried, "So... Do you want to return to Rannoch and continue assisting in the rebuild?"

"Tali'Zorah cautions against such actions until the Quarian people have an opportunity to absorb the reality of our reemergence." Legion's visual sensor's dimmed yet again, a sign Shepard had quickly associated with communication amongst the Consensus; the three lights returned to full brilliance as Legion resumed, "We feel our capabilities would be most useful for the construction of the new Center for Galactic Cooperation, the future home of the Galactic Council."

"The what?"

Shepard looked to Liara, who shrugged and looked almost as surprised as the commander. "I've heard rumblings about a Citadel replacement in the Widow system, but nothing firm."

"It has already begun construction, but the name is not yet decided upon though it is favored by a large margin within the design group. It will most likely pass with a majority vote when the suggestion is brought before the Council."

"And you know this..." Shepard suddenly smirked as she answered her own developing question. She continued, "... because you capture and analyze all transmissions that move through the communications buoy network."

"Correct, Shepard Commander." Legion paused a moment. "Do you approve of such action?"

"Absolutely; just give me time to notify the Council before you show up on their doorstep. It won't take long... It's a simple QEC call to Ambassador Osoba and Councilor Tevos."

* * *

 **Farnborough Field, Earth, Sol**

The Normandy touched down in a wailing crescendo of thrusters, raising a cloud of dust and debris around the nose and under the main engines. As the disturbed air settled and the engines spooled down, the loading ramp unlatched and lowered, accompanied by the high-pitched whining complaint of hydraulics. The frigate had been pressed into materials transfer duty; hauling manufactured goods, mostly as sub-assemblies, to the close-in agricultural colonies and immediately returning with various foodstuffs, desperately needed to supplement the greater London area's currently meager food production capacity, decimated as it was by the Reaper's 'scorched-earth' tactics.

The instant the ramp touched concrete, ground-based freight handlers went to work, assisting the Normandy's crew in off-loading the latest precious cargo... the majority of which consisted of easy-to-handle, covered containers filled to the brims with freshly harvested fruit, vegetables, and various grains. As soon as the hanger and cargo compartments were emptied, the crews would begin loading yet another shipment of manufactured goods, the next delivery headed for the agricultural world of Eden Prime. Since the 2183 Geth invasion orchestrated by Saren Arterius four years prior, the small colony had rebuilt much of its agricultural capabilities – but little to none of its manufactories – and had thus drawn little attention when the Reapers attacked; nearly all of the agricultural capacity remained fortuitously untouched and the colony became instant heroes to the starving people in and around London.

As the cargo was being unloaded, Spectre Ashley Williams stepped out of the ship through the port side airlock, intent on taking a leisurely walk to the nearby mess hall. She had only managed to walk several meters towards her goal when she spotted the one person she had very much hoped to see… Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Falk. Breaking into a huge smile at the sight of him, she waited until they were several paces apart to greet him.

"Andreas… it's certainly a pleasure to see you again!" Caring not that anyone might be watching, she immediately wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug as she planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thought you'd be overseeing the ground crew this morning."

Answering, "That crew? They don't need me to tell them their business." Quickly, before she could pull away, he gently placed his hands on her cheeks and returned her kiss, adding a bit more passion to the gesture by targeting her lips instead of her cheek. For the briefest moment, Ashley started to pull back before melting into Falk's embrace and surrendering herself to his greeting. Finally pulling back to catch her breath, she said, "Damn it, I'd leave this instant and return in five if I could receive a greeting like that again. You really know how to make a girl feel like she's been away for months instead of a few days."

Having moved his hands to her waist, he replied, "I don't know of any better way to greet you, Spectre Williams. Just want you to understand how much you mean to me."

Ashley ducked her face slightly as she felt the rush of blood flooding her cheeks. Looking back up, she used her hands on his upper arms to close the small gap between them; turning her head ever so slightly, she brushed his ear with her lips as she breathed, "That means more to me than you can imagine, Andreas."

Releasing him, she spun around to place her hand in the crook of his elbow. "I'm going to the mess hall for some lunch. I find the food served there to be rather plain… it would taste so much better if I was in the company of a man that cares for me."

"Well now, isn't that interesting? I was just thinking the same thing about having _your_ company in which to dine. I'd be rightly chuffed to enjoy my lunch with you seated beside me, Ma'am!"

She grinned at his snarky rejoinder as she held his arm tightly to her side; the short walk to the mess hall being done much quicker than she would have liked. After each of them had placed filled plates on their trays, they found seats at a corner table and sat beside each other to eat.

She spoke about their upcoming trip to Eden Prime… 'It's where Shepard learned of the threat from the Reapers'… and the relative lack of destruction to the thriving agricultural colony. "We're currently transporting material for the colonists to rebuild their monorail system so they can get the harvests to the shipping facilities easier… and faster. Oddly enough, the Reapers had little to do with the devastation of the infrastructure. It was mostly destroyed by Saren Arterius and the Geth, Andreas… with a bit of additional damage done by Cerberus. The bastards unearthed the last living Prothean… Javik… in a stasis pod. They abducted a major portion of the colony's able-bodied men and women while they researched how to open it."

"What kind of rubbish is that? What did they hope to accomplish?"

"I don't know… I do know the intel the skipper and her ground team found was what was needed to help the resistance movement kick Cerberus off their planet." Sighing, she added, "Cerberus was more of a hindrance than I would have ever believed. At the end, learning from Shepard that the Illusive Man was indoctrinated really explained a lot."

Andreas was quiet as he finished his lunch; Ashley's thoughts were still on the war… wars, actually… how her distrust of Shepard on Horizon had caused a nearly irreparable rift in their friendship, causing her to doubt the commander had completely renounced her Cerberus ties.

Thinking about Shepard and her own issues with trust, she twisted slightly on the bench in order to look at him. "We need to talk, Colonel."

Falk nearly dropped his fork at her use of his rank. Looking at her with surprise evident in his expression, he responded nervously, "I thought we were past the titles and rank… Spectre."

His grin as he called her Spectre let her know he was ribbing her. "We are…" she started. "I'm sorry. It's… damn it. We've known each other such a short time and I really want to know you better… a _lot_ better, but we're not even in the same service branch, Andreas, and I'm afraid… really afraid… our separate career paths will jeopardize our relationship before we can get it established." Falk was taken aback by her bluntness; even though, truth be known, it was one of the things he liked about her.

"Ashley, nothing worth doing is ever easy… I would think Commander Shepard's example would have taught you that." He placed a hand tentatively on her thigh; feeling her stiffen in response, he reached for and took her hand instead. "Listen to me, Ash. I like you, understand? It's more than that; I really believe, in some crazy…" he looked at the ceiling as he waved his free hand above his head, "… insane moment of not thinking, fate placed me squarely in your path. How else would you explain us meeting the way we did? Was it blind chance? What are the odds of that?" Falk gently squeezed the hand he was holding. "We're both soldiers, Ash. We work for different outfits, but we're still soldiers. I really want to get to know _you_ better as well, and I'm not going anywhere. We have nothing but time. Every time you take that bird back into space, I watch you leave until the exhaust from those engines disappears in the distance, then I start counting the hours and days until you return."

"I want that as well, Andreas, but look at us… I'm flying around the galaxy, and at some point, I'll be flying missions that are less likely to be simple 'out-n-back' supply runs." She looked down at their hands and gave his a squeeze. "I've never had a serious relationship… fraternizing on a warship is frowned upon, and I haven't been home… here… on Earth, for more than a few days or weeks at a time for the past 13 years."

Falk could see the direction this discussion had taken was upsetting Ashley. "Taking a quick look at his Chrono, he said, "Aw, crap! Look at the time. I need to get back to work…" Releasing her hand, he continued, "Come on, I'll walk with you back to your ship. We can continue this discussion next time you make port."

Williams, grateful that she didn't have to give voice to what she was thinking, picked her tray up and walked to the receptacles in the center of the mess hall; after dumping everything into the appropriate containers, she waited as Falk did the same, then hooked her arm in his as before and let him lead her out into the hazy afternoon sunshine.

Falk looked up as they started back to the landing pad and commented, "Clouds are gathering… We'll probably get a spot more rain before nightfall."

Ashley didn't offer an answer; Andreas had resorted to talking about the weather and she was increasingly feeling as if she had just chased away the only real bright spot she'd been able to find since she joined the Marines. As they had done after their first, much more intimate encounter, they walked back to the Normandy in silence. Ashley had a lot of things she wanted to say but didn't, out of fear that she would never see this man again. Andreas wanted to tell this woman that, even though he had known her for such a short time, she truly meant the world to him.

When they reached the Normandy, ground based handlers were furiously loading manufactured goods for the ship's return flight to Eden Prime. Standing off to the side of the coordinated madhouse of activity, Ashley wrapped her arms around Andreas. "Thanks for going to lunch with me. We'll have to have dinner together, sometime soon, when there's more time." Leaning in, she kissed him passionately, giving in once again to the enjoyment of the moment… _this_ moment… hoping as she broke the kiss and released him that he would still be here when she returned.

"So long, Spectre Williams," he said with a wink and raffish grin. "Try to stay out of trouble out there."

"I will, Andreas. I'll talk to you soon."

As the man turned and began walking back to the base, Ashley sighed heavily. _There goes the best thing I've ever had. Will he really be here when I return?_ Shaking her head, she climbed to the upper level and entered the Normandy through the port-side airlock. _Looks as if it's time to begin pre-flight inspections._

* * *

 **Normandy, Earth, At Large**

Shepard had made the call to a very pleasantly surprised Council immediately following her conversation with Legion. Happy to have the additional assistance, the Council quickly agreed to a Geth work force; less than a day passed before every unit aboard the Geth Fleet anchored in Arcturus Stream had been activated and completed their operational updates. The new and improved Synthetic Intelligence Life Code, or SILC, Geth were ready and willing to embark on their newly selected task.

That very same day, the Iera Relay in the Shadow Sea also became operational. The Geth had already decided to stop in Anadius to salvage every scrap of remaining material from Cronos Station. They felt it served two purposes – first, it provided much needed refined material needed for construction of the new Council center and, second, it kept the scattered remnants of Cerberus from gaining any advantage from the bits and pieces of the station.

Legion spoke with Shepard about the latest development. "We have sufficient vessels to divide the fleet and complete identical salvage operations at the Sanctuary center on Horizon should you wish us to do so, Shepard Commander."

Shepard's eyes narrowed and she stared hard at the Prime before her. "I thought you... the Consensus... agreed to wipe that facility from existence after what we saw there?"

"Yes. But that does not mean we cannot return to salvage and forge new materials from the significant volume of scrap metal which remains. Such a venture would serve to clean the remaining debris from the surface, as well as be more efficient than forging new composites from source minerals and raw ores."

"Do you think it's anything that the people of Horizon would be able to use?" Shepard had relaxed a bit with Legion's clarification, but her voice still reflected hesitation.

"No, Shepard Commander." Legion didn't even hesitate in his response. "The colony of Discovery does not possess the manufactories required to accomplish the necessary refinement. Would you desire that we provide such a capability to them, rather than salvage the materials?"

A quick glance from Sam told Liara the commander was looking for input, even before the query came through the link. Liara shook her head. "No. The planet doesn't have the necessary raw materials for such an industry to endure; its economy is based on agriculture and secondary manufacturing. The refineries would survive only a short period of time once the salvage operations were complete."

"Okay then." Shepard looked back to Legion. "Go ahead and do it."

"Understood, Shepard Commander."

* * *

Shepard watched the Prime platform retreat to a corner before his lights dimmed and went out. She shook her head as she looked at Liara. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to him teleporting across the galaxy on a whim."

"Teleportation is not possible, Shepard... and you know it." Liara smiled at the ill-at-ease commander. "You know he is simply uploading to the server and downloading into a different frame, located wherever he needs to be next."

"Yeah, but it's the same thing as far as I'm concerned." Shepard relaxed; simply seeing the smile on Liara's face somehow made everything okay. "I guess I'm jealous in a way; I wish _I_ could have a second frame that stayed with you whenever we were apart. That way, every spare moment I have could be spent with you."

Liara's laugh traveled easily across the floor of the deserted hangar. "Goddess! I think it's best that you don't! I'd never get anything done!"

The lopsided raffish grin that Liara loved so much suddenly appeared on Shepard's face as the commander stepped up and engulfed Liara in a loving embrace. "And why, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ , would you ever say such a thing?"

Liara's nose filled with Shepard's tantalizing scent as the commander's hands pressed into her sensitive lower back and pulled their bodies tightly together. She gasped at the imagery that passed through the link from Samantha's mind as her _siame_ 's breathy voice tickled quietly across what counted as her ear. "Could you possibly be accusing me of being a distraction, _mo cheann geallta_?"

Liara groaned in response, closed her eyes, and dropped her head to Shepard's shoulder, her knees feeling suddenly weak as she melted against Shepard's body and whispered her response. "There is no question as to you being a _considerable_ distraction, Samantha."

Shepard felt Liara nuzzle into her neck and kiss, then suck and bite her pulse point. She jerked in response as her insides did a flip-flop, resulting in a grunt of surprise. "Shit, Liara. That feels very much like an invitation to continue."

"Shut up and kiss me, Shepard." Liara pulled back and stared into green eyes as tempestuous as the Thessian Sea during a winter storm season. As she wrapped a hand around the back of Samantha's head, Liara slid her fingers through auburn locks and pulled a willing and eager Shepard into a ravenous kiss. Shepard's left hand responded in kind, rising to the back of Liara's neck and gently tracing the folds up to the base of the Asari's head.

Shepard felt Liara tremble under her touch as they broke their kiss so each could catch their breath. The commander pulled away and took a step backward, watching a shadow of disappointment grow in Liara's eyes. She reached out and caught the Asari's hand with her own; a gentle tug had Liara following along as Shepard made her way to the docked shuttle. "Shepard? Where are we going?"

As the Kodiak's door slid closed behind them, Shepard locked the interface and pulled Liara down with her as she whispered in explanation, "To someplace private... and the loft is too far away, Blue."

Liara started to chuckle, "Samantha. What if someone..." but her question was swallowed by the commander's mouth on her own as Shepard pinned her gently to the deck, the commander's hands making quick work of the zipper on Liara's science suit. The Asari arched into the warm palms that found her breasts and she let out a guttural growl from deep in her throat when she felt a thigh press against her crotch. "Goddess! Perhaps it is too far."

Shepard smirked as Liara's hands fumbled excitedly with the fasteners on the commander's tunic, helping the Asari by undoing her own equipment belt and tossing it off to the side in time for Liara to peel her tunic down from her shoulders. In a surprise move, Liara didn't pull the tunic all the way off. Instead, she turned the tables and simply folded it over, using it to trap Shepard's arms to her sides. Liara quickly sat up and pushed the defenseless commander over onto her back, a look of shocked surprise crossing Samantha's face... immediately followed by an indulgent grin. "Like what you see, T'Soni?"

Liara breathed heavily as she stared down at Samantha's exposed torso; she ran her hands teasingly up the Human's abs, until reaching her target and unhooking the center clasp of Sam's bra. As the garment fell open, Liara laid her hands on the soft skin that was revealed and whispered reverently, "You are the most beautiful person I've ever known, Samantha Shepard... and, sometimes, I still can't believe you're all mine."

"I am definitely all yours, _A_ _Grá_." Liara's fingers teased the nipples of her breasts and Shepard mewled softly as she unsuccessfully struggled to somehow wriggle out of the Asari's trap. Unrelenting, Liara dragged her nails gently down Samantha's quivering torso until she could grip the Human's hips... just before she planted her full weight atop the commander to ensure Sam couldn't get enough leverage to free herself from the tunic, now trapped beneath them both.

Liara then gently took a nipple into a warm mouth, sliding her tongue around it and suckling softly, causing a buck of Shepard's pelvis as an initial surge of wetness soaked her panties. Shepard cried out when, in response, the Asari's teeth trapped the same nipple and rapidly tweaked it multiple times with a quick tongue... causing Samantha's insides to flutter wildly as all her muscles contracted with want. "Blue! Please! Have mercy!"

Releasing her prey with a wet pop, Liara practically growled, "I think not, Commander." After giving her a look that set Samantha's blood afire, she continued, "I believe I have you _exactly_ where I want you." She hadn't pulled her head up, so the breath from the Asari's speech sent a chill across Shepard's wet nipple, making it stand almost painfully erect.

Samantha dropped her head back and whimpered in frustration, her arms straining against the restraint of the tunic. "Oh, Gods. Help me..." escaped from her lips as Liara's tongue returned to its teasing... and a hand slid past taut abs to ease the zipper of the commander's pants down, agonizingly slowly.

As blue fingers wound their way toward their next target, Liara thought of all the things she could do to the woman trapped helplessly beneath her; Shepard's mind was whirling wildly with the images and emotions of desire swarming through the link from her Asari. Unable to free her hands without shredding her uniform top, Shepard begged for a chance to pay equal homage to her lover... all to no avail. Liara tempted and teased, using both fingers and tongue to repeatedly draw her lover to the brink, only to pause and return to kissing and teasing Samantha's breasts as the commander squirmed beneath her in agonized pleasure.

Liara reveled in Samantha's responses as her hands and mouth wandered the commander's body until the object of her desire was ready to come apart at the seams. Sam let out a long groan of longing and her trapped hands clenched tight as the burn started in her belly; her torso contracted along with the muscles in her legs... even her toes felt like they wanted to curl in upon themselves, but she couldn't escape the iron-clad grip Liara had on her – both mind and body. She was barely able to form words for a response by the time Liara asked, "Goddess, you're ready for me, aren't you, my love?"

As her lover continued to torment her, Samantha gave in completely and begged, her desperation giving birth to a harsh, stuttering whisper, "Liara... by all... the Gods... I hold dear... I don't think... I can... take anymore! Please! Let me come!" There was only a light tap of warning at the back of her mind before Liara surged into her head, shifting swiftly from the link to a full meld... the same instant that blue fingers thrust deeply inside her.

Samantha couldn't stop the scream of ecstatic triumph that ripped from her throat as Liara's additional thrusts were augmented with the tingle of biotics, penetrating deep within and filling her beyond expectation. Shepard's world became a field of stars; she felt the Asari's lips press to hers, swallowing her shout as Liara climbed swiftly toward the precipice right along with her.

Liara's biotics flagged as her own blissful orgasm followed, its echo traveling instantaneously through the meld and pushing Shepard quickly to a second peak. They surged repeatedly in the rippling echoes until Liara literally collapsed upon the commander, no longer possessing enough energy to hold herself up. She managed to push herself off to the side and tugged downward on the one sleeve she could reach, finally freeing one of Shepard's arms.

The commander's chest still heaved as a result of their exertion but, with one hand freed, she managed to gather enough strength to free her other arm as well. She surrounded Liara with her arms as the Asari snuggled into the nook of her shoulder. _{Gods. I love you, Blue.}_

Still within the state of blissful _Inanna_ , they rested where they lay until their synchronized heartbeats slowed to a normal rate and they each drew and released a calming deep breath. Liara felt Shepard grin against her forehead just before Sam whispered, _{Hey. I'm getting better... Those workouts must be doing their job – I didn't pull any muscles this time.}_

The star-field faded and the meld dropped as Liara laughed quietly. "Shepard!" With a contented sigh, the Asari sat up, a huge smile on her face as she looked down at her lover. Sam's face was flushed and her green eyes were alight with glee as she looked back up at her. Liara couldn't help but reach down and push an errant lock of hair out of Shepard's face. She then leaned down to place one last kiss upon those ruby lips before pulling away and rising. She offered a helpful hand. "Come, love. Let's go take a shower and get ready for dinner."

Shepard grinned, took ahold of the waiting hand and rose to stand before her Promised. "Great idea, Li. After _that_ energy expenditure, I'm positively starving!"

* * *

 **Normandy, Beijing** , **Earth**

It had been only three days since the Geth awakening and barely more than 24 hours since the Council had voted to accept the Geth as an associate member of the newly conceived Galactic Council – one of the reasons Shepard and Liara had been in such a... _celebratory_... mood, as of late. Upon Shepard's notification about the Geth revival, the Council had almost immediately called a special session, which Shepard had attended via QEC. They quickly explained their vision for the newly created... and greatly _expanded_... Council body, which would add a number of representatives to the mix. The four primary Council races, being Asari, Turian, Salarian and Human, would be the senior members who would lead the panel discussions and would carry 2 votes each. The remaining members, who still needed to be notified so they could accept the positions and appoint councilors, would each carry 1 vote... and would consist of those races who made significant contributions to the war. The initial list had included the Krogan, Quarians, Volus and Elcor; the addition of the first synthetic life form race brought their total potential members to nine.

The news apparently traveled quickly and when Shepard arrived at Beijing the very next day for her speech, the city was in an uproar. She'd had a briefing with Admiral Hackett, who had informed her that his security team was heading in a few hours in advance of their arrival because Beijing appeared to be on the brink of a civil war. There were two distinct camps; the side that welcomed Shepard as the galaxy's champion and was willing to accept the Geth as the newest addition to the Citadel races... and those who simply did not.

The second group considered the Geth nothing more than advanced robots who presented a threat to organics; their beliefs ran along the same lines as the Prothean mantra that all synthetics would eventually commit treachery and rise up to either subjugate or exterminate their masters. In correlation with that view, Shepard was seen as a race traitor... a sell-out... looking to gain power and control through the use of the intelligent machines. Shepard had rolled her eyes at the news and questioned the true severity of the situation, thinking it was so ridiculous, the reports had to be exaggerated – until they arrived and saw the disturbances for themselves.

The city, largely industrial, had been laid waste; had Joker not received exact coordinates of the speech location, they would have had serious doubts as to whether or not he or Edi could have located the small clear zone that was their allocated landing space. As the squad exited the Normandy, Shepard and Liara were pleasantly surprised when Major Kirrahe greeted them. "Commander. Dr T'Soni. Excellent to see you both again. You're certainly looking better than when I last saw you from the eastern flank, just before you charged the beam." He flashed a quick grin. "When his mission pulled him away, Spectre Bau asked that I stand in for him. How could I say no to such an honor?'

Shepard chuckled quietly. "I'm not so sure it's an honor, Kirrahe. It seems like at least half of this crowd aren't exactly fans of my more recent decisions."

"The Dalatrasses on Sur'Kesh aren't exactly big fans either, Shepard... but since when do the STG or Spectre corps care about what the Dalatrasses think?" He flashed another quick grin and nodded toward the stage. "Time to go; your audience awaits. Do not fear, Commander. We have your back well covered."

They had barely moved away from the Normandy before they were besieged by both protesters and supporters, separated by a relatively large police force creating a cordoned path between them all. "I'm not liking this, Skipper." Ashley's hand tightened inadvertently on the butt of her pistol. "Too many unpredictable variables with a crowd this size. I'm going to tap Cortez to keep a shuttle hot in case we need a bug-out. Coming back through this wouldn't be safe, or smart, if something goes sideways."

"Aw, come on, Ash. It's not that bad." Shepard's face held an easy grin that instilled confidence, but what Liara felt through the link as the commander spoke was another thing entirely, so she did not hesitate to speak out.

"I believe it's an excellent idea, Commander Williams." She looked at Ashley and gave her a firm nod of approval before looking at Shepard and continuing, "I don't particularly care to have to kill thousands of rioting citizens to protect you, Shepard... and don't think I won't, should it become necessary." Her eyes glinted dangerously. "I've told you before; no one will ever harm you again as long as I have anything to say about it."

"Message received, Dr T'Soni." Shepard's grin faded quickly as she looked at Liara and felt the absolute conviction the Asari was directing at her via the link. _{I love you too, Li. I can understand your concern and I don't want you ever put in the position where you'd have to make such a choice.}_ Her eyes shifted back to Ashley. "I really doubt anything like that will be necessary, but feel free to give him a heads-up. Better safe than sorry... and it's always a good idea to have a back-up plan in case the unexpected actually does happen."

Shepard glanced over her shoulder at her relatively small, but powerful, entourage; Grunt was close behind, glaring at the various clumps of people who seemed to be the most vocal opposition, but thus far he was keeping himself in check and not making any overt threats. Shepard smiled lightly and looked over the remainder of her team; Riana Iregos, Edi, Sarah Campbell and even Jack rounded out the formidable team – one Shepard would happily take into battle anytime, anywhere. Considering the existing level of unrest, Jack had been included at Hackett's suggestion... while the remainder of her students had been assigned as part of the overwatch squad. Even though Shepard disagreed with the necessity, she had no reason to object to their inclusion in the security team.

"Thank you, all of you. I'm sincerely hoping nothing happens today, but I can step out there with great confidence that if something does, I've got the finest team in the galaxy here with me today. I appreciate every one of you being here." As an afterthought, she singled out who she considered the most endangered team member, other than possibly herself. "You still okay with coming out here with us, Edi?"

"Of course, Shepard. I obviously approve of your latest decisions and refuse to cower safely behind the hull of the Normandy if that decision puts you or anyone on our crew in jeopardy... particularly since it appears I am one of the causes for the greatest objections." Edi tilted her head slightly before finishing, "Besides; with the biotic strength present within our group, I very much doubt fighting will become a necessity even should things go badly. I imagine the four of you could hold a sufficiently strong enough barrier to see us safely to a Normandy shuttle, no matter where it is."

"Hell yeah!" Jack's face lit with an evil grin as she exchanged a glance with Grunt. "But where's the fun in that?"

"Agreed," growled Grunt. He moved closer to the edge of the cordon as they walked, causing the surrounding hostile crowd to draw back a bit in fear. "It would be much more entertaining to knock some sense into their thick heads."

Shepard frowned at the young Krogan. "Hey! We talked about this... Didn't we?"

Grunt was disappointed, but moved back toward the center of the path. "Yes, Battlemaster."

The cordon held firm as the group advanced toward the elevated platform ahead. The sea of people on both sides held numerous placards. To the left of the path, many welcomed the Normandy team as a whole while others held signs bearing congratulations for Shepard's and Dr T'Soni's engagement, along with various other messages. The opposite side waved signs with varying degrees of vitriol aimed at the people passing through, ranging from the relatively innocuous messages of 'Aliens go home' and 'Race Traitor' to more concerning displays such as 'Shepard: Treason punishable by Death!'

Once they reached the makeshift stage, they found Hackett ready and waiting. Shepard and Ashley both stepped up and saluted smartly before Shepard spoke. "Guess your intel was spot on, Admiral. I hope the sentiment against the Geth isn't the popular opinion across Earth... The races that accept their help will outpace us quickly during the rebuild, should that be the case."

"I know, Commander." Hackett looked at Edi and nodded in recognition. "And it's our job to make sure Humans accept the fact that the existence of synthetic life is our new reality." He turned back to the commander as he continued, "Trying to keep it from happening in the first place was one thing, but now that it's done? I refuse to commit genocide simply to force things back to how they were in the past."

"Change is inevitable." Liara took a deep breath and spared Edi an approving smile. "And it cannot be eliminated from any path to the future. Otherwise, as a society, we stagnate and die, unable to adapt. I've seen that pattern repeat itself many times while studying extinct civilizations; I don't care to be one of them at any time in our galaxy's distant future."

"Well said, Dr T'Soni." Hackett looked again to Shepard. "And I hope that's the message you're bringing to the stage today." He paused and glanced up the stairs to receive a quick nod from his adjutant waiting above. "Alright then. It's time to get this show on the road."


	26. Rocks Beneath the Waves

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Rocks Beneath the Waves**

 **Beijing** , **Earth, Sol**

Hackett led the group onto the stage; he and Shepard moved quickly to the front edge of center stage while the remaining eight fanned out in a loose semicircle behind them. From the audience viewpoint, the display was one of unity and interracial cooperation; Humans, Krogan, Asari, Salarians... and a synthetic... all stood side by side on the stage as sisters and brothers in arms. A few shouts of protest erupted almost immediately, but were soon drowned out by the same tolling of bells that had begun all the earlier ceremonies.

The admiral stood for a moment in quiet silence as the last ring faded into history. His eyes passed across the large audience assembled before him as he started to speak. "It's been a long four years since our very first indication the Reapers actually existed and we initially learned that things in our galaxy were not as we believed. Many of us, if not all, have lost family and friends over that time... leaving holes in our lives and in our hearts that may never be filled."

The crowd had fallen silent as he spoke, each person likely thinking of particular names and faces of the folks Hackett was speaking of in only vague generalities. "None of us wanted war and our initial state of denial almost got the lot of us killed... but we persevered and managed, somehow, to defeat the Reapers... _together_. We owe more than I could ever put into words to all those who lost their lives to give us this victory... We owe it to them to live on, to create a better world than what we had before – so their losses are not only sad memories, but can also serve as a promise for a better future... for all of us."

He shifted his feet so he could bring his hands up to indicate the row of people behind him. "That's why it's also important to remember that Humanity could not have done it alone. These people here... _all_ of these races, along with a lot of help from the Rachni, Volus, Elcor, Quarians and the Turians... are some of the main reasons we're standing here today."

He scanned the audience again and clasped his hands behind his back as the crowd noise began to pick up again, the reverence they held for the dead no longer enough to keep the protesters quiet. Hackett scowled and spoke louder. "How quickly some of us forget that it took the entire _galaxy_ to win the war! Every species we... _Commander Shepard_... managed to rally to the cause is the _only_ reason we were able to win the war against the Reapers... and it's going to take that same unity to rebuild our galaxy with any speed. As we continue to work toward restoring what we lost, we must remember what it took to _win_. I've said this all before... but it's important enough to be worth saying again... If this war taught us nothing else, it showed that we are at our strongest when we work _together_."

Hackett walked back to where they had originally stopped when they first mounted the stage and turned to Shepard. "Commander, the stage is yours."

"Thank you, Sir." Shepard moved to take her place at the front edge of the stage and said nothing, waiting patiently as she looked out over the noisy crowd. She remained silent until curiosity won them over and the crowd quieted, simply wondering what in the Hell she was doing. Shepard smiled softly and began, starting with the words Liara had spoken mere moments before they had climbed up onto the stage. She purposely spoke at a relatively low volume, so the crowd had to stay quiet in order to hear her. "Change is inevitable." Shepard paused to let the statement sink in. "And it cannot be eliminated from any path to the future. Otherwise, as a society, we stagnate and die, unable to adapt."

Shepard began to slowly pace, hands clasped behind her back as she focused on the stage under her feet almost as if she was letting the audience listen in on nothing more than her private musings. It felt odd to not be making direct eye contact, but she knew that many of the eyes that were on her today were hostile, and she didn't want to encourage any sense of challenge that direct contact could bring.

"As a race, Humans are young... and lucky to be part of a galactic organization that had existed for more than two thousand years before we even discovered space flight. If the founders of the Citadel Council had refused to accept change and not let us in, we'd likely be dead..." Shepard smiled softly as she continued, "So, after our rather _unfriendly_ initial hellos with the Turians, instead of wiping us from existence with their superior technologies, they accepted us... made room for us... within their organization."

Shepard stopped her pacing and spun sharply, finally looking into the audience and scanning across the entire sea of people before her. "Now, it's _our_ turn to be just as magnanimous and work with the other members of the Council to integrate the newest group to the fold. We should rejoice with the addition of an extremely capable and cooperative race that can speed our recovery by leaps and bounds – the Geth Consensus!"

As the clearing exploded in a cacophony of noise, both for and against such an addition, Shepard turned and beckoned Legion to join her at center stage; the large Prime unit moved forward unhesitatingly to stand at Shepard's side. In an echo of a historic moment recorded in the Citadel Archives from the first time they met, Shepard turned to the Geth and stuck her hand out, which Legion promptly accepted and shook in friendship and loyalty.

Positively enraged, a man in the audience pulled a small concealed pistol and pointed it at the stage... but the fired projectile drove harmlessly into the dirt as the person beside him shouted a warning and shoved the weapon down as he tackled the protester to the ground... only a second before the entire field of people burst out in bedlam at the sound of the shot. Shepard reacted instinctively, immediately shouting out, "Shields!"

The personal shield generators of everyone in the squad instantly kicked on and, as the entire group drew weapons, they were swiftly surrounded by a biotic barrier. Thinking the target was most likely Shepard, Liara was furious... but relieved when she felt her barrier amplified and strengthened by the additional biotics of Riana and Jack. Shepard also slid into the mix and Liara relaxed a bit more as a few quick words slipped into her mind through the link. _{Easy, Blue... We're all fine. Take a deep breath and back it off a little; I know your strength, but we might be holding this for awhile... and there's four of us, so share the load, A Grá.}_

At the same time, Ashley had shouted, "Protective cordon!" and the squad closed quickly around Hackett in a tight circle, everyone facing outward. Shepard spared a quick glance to the center of their ring and shouted above the noise, "Sorry, Sir! I guess someone really didn't like my message!"

The normally stoic career military man didn't miss a beat as he cocked a single eyebrow and responded, "Commander, you seem to have developed an incredible knack for understatement."

Shepard grinned and faced out toward the crowd again as she asked, "What now, Sir?"

Having complete faith in the people surrounding him, Hackett didn't hesitate in his response. "We stay right here and wait for the Alliance security team and riot police to handle the crowd." Hackett quickly surveyed the situation. "Be prepared for the flash-bangs that may come into play... likely very soon, if the dissidents refuse to quiet down or disperse in an orderly manner."

"You heard the admiral." All business, Shepard toggled her omnitool and both her targeting visor and flash suppression system lit up and activated. "Prepare to stand fast."

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

Garrus Vakarian was troubled – more so than at any time since the end of the Reaper war. In the five days since Desis had revealed to him that she had been orphaned at a young age, he had been thinking about her desire to travel with him to Palaven in order to assist with somehow meeting the needs of the thousands of orphaned children, both on the planet and in the colonies.

Garrus knew that conditions on the home world were far more dire than the official news channels were showing, or even admitting to. The air was choked with acrid smoke, all but requiring one to wear a filtering device of some sort just to get a clean breath of air. Destruction of the major cities was every bit as bad as anything he had seen in London – in some cases, much worse. It was going to take a long time to clear the rubble away before any attempt at rebuilding could be made.

This was his last night aboard the Destiny Ascension; after seeing to changes and additions to the plans for the new headquarters of the Galactic Council, he was finally satisfied that the station would be constructed with an emphasis on robust defense, whether against pirates or an attacking force from some rogue faction that he felt would spring up sooner or later. He walked to Dee's quarters with a heavy heart, absolutely dreading the necessity of having to leave on the morning diplomatic courier ship going back to Palaven; he didn't know how long it would be before he'd be able to see her again, but he _did_ know it was likely going to be too damned long.

Events of the previous evening had proved beyond any doubt that Desis was extremely troubled by the conditions facing those children; her own childhood trauma had intruded on her sleep, igniting a nightmarish vision in her dreams that she was again a child, alone, terrified, and attempting to simply continue living in a shattered city. So tangible was the dream she bolted straight up to a sitting position, screaming in fear. It had taken Garrus nearly an hour to calm her down enough to talk about it, another half hour holding her in his arms as she lay beside him, afraid to fall asleep again, lest the dreams return.

He was attempting to think of some way to get her off the Destiny Ascension… to have her travel with him back to Palaven so he could keep an eye on her. When he reached the entrance to her quarters, he passed his hand through the haptic lock instead of simply letting himself in as he'd done previously; the sound of Turian wind chimes ringing within somewhat gladdened his heart. After several moments, the lock turned green, the door segments retracted into the bulkheads and he was met with a singular vision of beauty.

"Garrus! What happened, you lose the code to my door?" came the snarky question.

 _Spirits! I'd do anything to continue hearing that joy in her voice!_ "Uumm, no, I didn't," he stammered. Entering slowly, he confessed, "Just wanted to see you open the door for me one last time before I have to leave."

Her response was one he had grown to cherish in the short time he had known her – one eye opened wider than the other, head tilted in mocking disbelief as she murmured, "Uh huh." She came up to him and pressed her body tightly against his as she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'm going to miss this, Garrus. It's going to be difficult… me being alone again."

Garrus nuzzled her neck as he whispered, "For me too, Dee. This assignment has been the best one ever. I fully expect to be back here in two or three months, just to make sure construction of the station is proceeding as it should. I realize that is small consolation right now; I absolutely hate the necessity of us being in two different systems."

Still holding onto her promised, she asked, "Where do you stay on the home world, Garrus?"

He drew back just a bit to look at her. "Why, it's a military barracks, darling… All soldiers. I'm fortunate; due to my standing in the Hierarchy I have private quarters. Why do you ask?"

Desis looked down for a moment, collecting her thoughts before speaking. "After we spoke the other evening, about my… childhood, and particularly after my bad dreams last night, it got me thinking. I've been in touch with several people on the home world, Garrus, including a former ambassador. The thing is, there's a potential position for me as an administrative assistant to the director of the main orphanage in New Cirilis."

Garrus flared his mandibles in astonishment as he commented, "But what about your job here with the councilor, Dee. It's one that a lot of people would like to have, just for the prestige… the authority. You'd be willing to leave all that behind, for a position…"

"… a position very similar to that which I currently enjoy, Garrus," she finished for him. "I've spoken with Quentius… he's willing to grant me a leave of absence for altruistic reasons, if I can find someone capable of filling my position here in the councilor's office."

Garrus chuckled. "Am I to assume you have already addressed that condition?"

"I believe so," came the reply. "A cousin… the daughter of the aunt that took me in as a child. She had the same schooling as I did and served in the same job as me. She's free of her obligation to the Hierarchy, so is looking for a job more meaningful than helping to clear the rubble of destroyed buildings."

"She's aware this is only temporary?"

"Garrus, are you really so naïve? I plan on helping those kids until there's no need for me to be there. I _have_ to do this, Garrus. I cannot ignore what I've seen, especially since I can empathize with what they've been through, what they're _still_ going through." Her eyes were absolutely clear, the silver flecks nearly invisible against the intense violet she turned on him. "I've told you already that I love you and will follow you anywhere, but make no mistake, I truly need to do all I can to help those children. Question is, will you allow it?"

Garrus jaw dropped. "Why ever would you ask me that? Of course you can help… You don't need _my_ permission to do whatever it is you want to do! After the story you told me, I would never expect you to do otherwise... and, I'll do everything in my power to help you towards that goal." The big Turian hugged her tightly as he concluded, "Oh, Dee... Love goes both ways, so, if working at that orphanage will make you happy, I'm more than willing to help you fulfill your dreams."

"I'm glad you see things so clearly, Garrus. Must be why you're held in such high esteem by the Primarch _and_ the Councilor. So, can you arrange for some quarters where both of us can stay… together?"

The chuckle she received in answer caused intense feelings of pure joy to fill her soul. _There's nothing I wouldn't do to make this guy happy,_ came the thought. _I'm going to make sure he never even_ _ **thinks**_ _to look at another female, ever._

"It would be my pleasure, Desis Vyessan!"

* * *

 **Beijing** , **Earth, Sol**

Less than five minutes and only two flash-bangs later, the largest melee groups had been broken up, with a number of the more violent protesters carted off in Alliance shuttles to interrogation centers rather than the local jail. A relative calm fell over the remaining crowd; those who wanted nothing to do with fighting had left the area quickly and the aggressive dissidents had been arrested, leaving behind a relatively pro-Shepard group, who had begun to chant her name. "Go, Commander." Hackett waved to catch the attention of his adjutant. "Talk to your adoring fans while I make arrangements for our departure from the city."

 _{Don't even begin to think you're going anywhere without me, Siame. Not today... Not after what just happened.}_ With a glance and a quick nod of approval for Liara, Shepard turned away, the Asari moving at her side.

Hackett watched them go, still thinking it a bit odd to watch the pair obviously communicating at a level no one else was, or would ever be, privy to. _There has to be a way to use that to our advantage_. Hating the thought as soon as it crossed his mind, he wasn't able to push it away entirely. _They're most likely already using it that way, you old fool. And if you've started trying to figure out how to_ _ **use**_ _your friends instead of simply trusting them to do what's right and to be there for you, you've become paranoid_.

The adjutant, clearing his throat at the admiral's side, brought Hackett back to the task at hand. He let out a sigh and turned to his assistant. "Come on, John. Let's make arrangements for everyone to go home."

As Shepard and Liara moved to the front of the stage, Ashley dispersed the rest of the group, sending Jack and Edi off to the left side and Grunt and Sarah off to the right, while she, Kirrahe and Riana stayed close behind the couple to keep anyone from approaching unseen from the back of the stage. Shepard held her hands up to the crowd in a bid for quiet, "Please, that truly isn't necessary." Feeling reassured that the remaining security would refrain from arresting anyone else, the crowd quieted and moved in closer as Shepard slowly dropped her hands. "First, I want to thank the man who shouted out that warning and took action, no doubt at great personal risk to himself." Her eyes scanned the crowd but got no indication that the man was still present. "Are you still here?"

Finally, a man buried in the center of the crowd bashfully raised his hand and laughed nervously. "Yeah. That was me. Pretty stupid thing to do, in retrospect."

Shepard smirked and was unable to contain her laughter as she glanced over at Liara before responding, "Believe me, I'm pretty sure Dr T'Soni here would agree a lot of the things I do that most people consider heroic are in actuality some pretty stupid shit that I somehow manage to get away with... without getting myself killed in the process."

Many in the crowd laughed and the nervous tension that had enveloped the group unexpectedly evaporated. Shepard let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Whatever made you do it, thank you. I have no idea who he was targeting up here, but it doesn't really matter. Could have been one of the horrible and scary aliens I brought up here with me..." Her tone dropped the sarcasm of the first part of the sentence as she finished, "Could have been the Admiral... Or, it could have been me. Thanks to you, we didn't need to find out the hard way and I appreciate that, as does every other person on this stage with me."

Liara stepped closer to the commander at the thought of losing Shepard now, after all they'd managed to survive, and, in an extremely rare public show of affection, took her hand without any warning. Surprised, Shepard looked to her Promised but, before she could do or say anything, Hackett suddenly appeared at her shoulder, talking to the man in the audience. "And, actually, I'd like you to come up here and join us."

The man looked surprised... and a little bit afraid... so Shepard smiled and said, "It's kind of like being called to the Headmaster's office in school, huh?" Shepard chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll personally vouch that he doesn't bite."

The man walked hesitantly to the front, suddenly blushing when he realized there were no stairs and he'd have to either go around or climb up. Shepard stepped forward and knelt down, sticking her hand out. "The name's Sam and it would be my privilege to help you up."

The man stopped cold and stared at her. "How'd you know that?"

Shepard's face crinkled in confusion. "Know what?"

"My name? How'd you know my name?" He looked ready to bolt until Shepard laughed.

"Well, then, isn't that a great coincidence! Commander _Samantha_ Hannah Shepard at your service. Happy to meet you, Sam!" The man broke into a wide grin and they grabbed forearms, Shepard hauling the man easily up onto the stage.

"Quite a grip you have there, Commander." He looked at her in awe, suddenly having a much better idea of how this seemingly normal woman had led the galaxy to defeat the Reapers; she was anything but ordinary.

She offered him a small smile and turned to the admiral. "Admiral Hackett, Sir. I'd like to introduce you to Mr Sam..." She turned and looked at their guest.

"Oh!" He stepped up and offered a hand. "Crosby, Sir. Mr Samuel Crosby. Pleasure to meet you, Admiral Hackett."

Hackett shook the man's hand with a firm grip. "You did good today, Mr Crosby. Saved us a whole bunch of trouble and maybe even saved at least one of our lives, if not more. While you and Shepard were chatting, I was on the horn with Ambassador Osoba and acting President Alfred Lindberg... They both feel it appropriate to acknowledge your selfless act with some form of reward, yet to be determined. So, I'd like you to speak with my adjutant and give him your contact information, so we know how to find you when the time comes... assuming that's alright with you."

"I don't have a problem with that at all, but I'm living in a shelter right now. Home's been destroyed, got no job... no place to go..." Crosby shrugged. "Honestly? Best thing you could do for me right now would be to bring some of those Geth to Earth to help me rebuild my house, then my block, then my whole damned town. As you all have said any number of times, we've got some living to do."

Hackett actually _laughed_. "Well I'll be damned. That's an excellent idea, Mr Crosby. If you're willing to be a liaison with the Geth, I'm pretty sure we could have you a job by tomorrow. Ever been a crew foreman?"

"You're shittin' me?" Crosby's eyes lit up. "I ran the Veil Star TS-X production line here in Beijing... until the Reapers vaporized it, anyway." He was nodding emphatically as he continued, "I'd be more than happy to take the job, Admiral! I promise... I won't let you down!"

Hackett glanced over at the Prime looming beside him. "Legion? Would the Geth Consensus be willing to spare a small work force for Earth and provide site security for Mr Crosby?"

The lights on the Geth dimmed for only a fraction of a second before he turned toward Shepard. "We assume this is an acceptable task, Shepard Commander?"

"Absolutely, Legion." Shepard looked at the admiral and Crosby, who was eagerly awaiting an answer as she continued. "It's not a big job compared to a lot of the shit going on in the galaxy right now, but people will see for themselves that what's happening here in Beijing is a good thing... and news will spread; it's as good a place to start as any."

Hackett smiled as he turned back to the thankful man. "Then it sounds like we have a deal, Mr Crosby." He turned to his adjutant and continued, "John, get this man set up in the pay system with entry-level management privileges and full food rations."

He then turned to Legion and held out his hand. "Thank you, Legion. Your actions are a testament to our future possibilities."

"It is our pleasure to serve, Hackett Admiral. The Consensus has activated a pod of 200 Geth. Is that an acceptable number?"

Hackett's eyes grew wide before he could school his expression. _Holy shit!_ "At the pace you work, two hundred units will have all of Beijing rebuilt in a couple of months! More than sufficient, Legion. We'll have to be thinking on where to send the... pod... next, because you'll work yourselves right out of a job in no time!"

Hackett nodded to Shepard. "Commander. I'm heading back to my shuttle with the security team. Don't stay too much longer... so these people can get on with business instead of feeling the need to entertain the hero of the galaxy."

"Understood, Sir. If you're leaving, so are we." Shepard looked at Cosby and gave the man a wave. "Good luck, Sam. You're in good hands with John and you'll have the Geth here before you know it; if you trust me, you can trust them." She then rounded up her squad. "Come on; let's get back to the Normandy."

* * *

 **Farnborough Field, Earth, Sol**

The Normandy crew and the cargo handlers on the ground at both Farnborough and Eden Prime had become so efficient at unloading and loading at either end that, when the ship was on the supply circuit between speeches, they could make two round trips and return fully loaded to Eden Prime a third time, to be offloaded the following morning. The members of the ship's crew were treated like visiting royalty every time they stayed overnight; this went a long way towards making everyone feel better about not making it back to Earth every other night… everyone, that is, except a certain Spectre.

The pace of transport operations had been such that Ashley had not seen Andreas Falk for the entire week… He hadn't met the ship as it docked at Farnborough each time and Ashley was beginning to feel as if her one night of intimacy with the man was going to be her first and last.

When Joker finally docked the ship in its berth at Farnborough again, Ashley left though the airlock as had become her habit; she scanned the distance for some sign of Andreas, to no avail. _Damn! Have I ruined my one chance at a meaningful relationship?_ Touching the Comms unit in her ear, she said, "Joker? I'm going to the base headquarters to check on our next scheduled shipments." _Hell, that even sounded lame to_ _ **me**_ _!_

"Roger that, Ma'am. We'll be sure to give you a thirty-minute to departure call." There was nothing in Joker's tone to indicate he didn't believe that was the _only_ reason she was going to base headquarters. As was her standard practice when she departed the ship, she looked across the docking area to identify the ships closest to the Normandy... and was pleasantly surprised to discover the _Auxilium_ docked only ninety meters away.

She double-timed it over to the ship, hoping that her captain was still aboard. As she drew closer, Ashley spotted the unmistakable form of Captain Storm Weatherly standing outside the cargo doors as he cajoled the ground teams to move faster. She called to him as she drew close, causing him to turn, grin, and laugh as he recognized her. "Ash! Damn good ta see ya all in one piece! I heard about that screwed up mess in Beijing! What brings ya out this-away to see me?"

He stuck out his hand, which she took as she answered, "Spotted the _Auxilium_ on my dock check and thought I'd stop by to say hi!" She grinned at the grizzled old man, screwed up her courage and said, "I also wanted to find out if you had seen Commander Falk lately. He usually oversees the unloading of the Normandy, but I haven't seen him for better part of a week now. I… have some documents I need to give him." _That sounded just as lame as the excuse I gave Joker!_

"Well now, I don't recall _when_ I saw him last. He's been pretty busy, managing the food shipments outa here, getting 'em distributed where they need ter go." He cast a knowing eye at the suddenly downcast Spectre. "But judgin' by the look on yer face, I think I know what's really goin' on here, Ash. You be wondering if mayhaps yer out-and-about career has gone and plum ruined yer chance to find love. Am I right?"

"I never said… that is, it's not…" Before she could string together a coherent sentence to protest his… accusation… he held up a hand to interrupt.

"Ash, yer still a young'un. Ya may not think it ta look at me, but I was young… and in love myself, years ago. Ya know what I did?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued on. "I left 'er behind... That's what I did… I left her standing on the docks and broke that poor girl's heart, because I couldn't see a way past my damned career." Storm's voice grew contemplative as he looked off in the distance. "Truth be known, broke a little piece of me as well." Looking back at Ashley with a gimlet eye, he continued in a sharper tone. "I never married, Ash… Never found another to love me like that li'l missy I lef' behind. So, don'tcha go off and make the same damned mistake I did as a young'un. Ya see somethin' you like, you take it! Understand?"

The face of the grizzled old captain held a scowl that told Ashley more than his words ever could; the man had never forgiven himself for walking away that day. She had managed to keep her expression neutral as Storm literally spilled his guts to a near stranger, but nodded in thanks once he finished telling his tale. "Sounds like good advice, Storm." Sticking her hand out, she added, "Thanks. Appreciate it."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

Nyreen flexed her mandibles in angry satisfaction; she was staring at a power control device on the Sector 2 shield generator that was not part of its standard equipment. Turning quickly to her electronics specialist, Villick Epos, she hissed, "Trace where this control signal originates! Let me know what you find, because I want whoever is responsible for this _alive_."

Vill nodded. "Consider it done, Nyreen. Slide over and let me work."

Nyreen had no idea how long she sat in impatient silence before she heard Epos whisper, "Gotcha!" He turned to her with a smug expression on his face. "It's based in the Fumi residential district; apartment D-1437." He punched a few more commands on his omnitool and growled, "The registered occupant is one Ephim Kurictus... he's a damned Turian!"

"One of our own? Spirits, but I'm going to enjoy taking him down!" Nyreen stood and stretched, like a fighter getting ready for battle. "Let's find Suran and stake out that apartment. No more ships are going to disappear on our watch!"

Suran Kurus wasn't hard to find. Being Nyreen's operations commander, he was back at the main Talon headquarters monitoring all the day's activities. Nyreen entered the command center, spied him at the central console and walked directly to him. "Suran! We've got a priority one mission to add in." As he turned toward her, she continued, "We've found the breach point and need to capture one of our own – find out who he's working for."

"Yes, Boss," he replied as he snapped a quick salute. "Where we headed?"

* * *

It was just after midnight when the call came in from Vill. "Bypass is active! Jumping the cut-off control and restoring power to the barrier!"

With that call, many things happened simultaneously. First, Bray sat on the Bridge of the Omega Fleet flagship, monitoring motion throughout Sector 2; a small frigate had been drifting slowly toward the barrier, having ignited thrusters for a short burn before cutting engines to drift forward with barely any perceptible heat signature as it moved away from the station. As the barrier dropped, it lit thrusters for a rapid departure, only to be forced to engage full reverse thrust as the barrier flickered and came back on, much too soon. Bray grinned malevolently as he made a call to the Sector Defense Zone. "Bring up the defensive cannons and target that ship. If they don't surrender, cut them in half and we'll interrogate the survivors." He then turned to his communications officer. "Bring the attack fleet online, full power and weapons hot. Let's go collect the would-be-defectors."

On the station, Nyreen and two full squads blasted through the door of the target apartment. Kurictus jumped up from his desk chair, spinning in surprise as the door crashed open. Faster than anyone could react, he grabbed up a pistol laying on the desk and jammed the muzzle against the bottom of his chin, growling, "For the cause!" as he squeezed the trigger.

* * *

 **Farnborough Field, Earth, Sol**

It was late afternoon – nearly evening – when the Normandy returned once again from Eden Prime, literally jammed to the overhead with containers full of all kinds of vegetables and fruits; there were even a number of refrigerated pods containing freshly processed butter, cheese and milk, which the ground handlers offloaded first, before swarming the hanger deck, followed by the two cargo compartments on deck four.

Ashley had left from the airlock aft of the bridge, both to avoid being run over by one of the many heavy-loaders on the lower level and to look around the area for any sign of Andreas. She sighed with resignation and was about to leave the vicinity of the ship in order to walk to the mess hall for dinner when a familiar voice brought her up short.

"Commander Williams… a moment, please?" Andreas was jogging towards her from the far side of the docks. Slowing to a fast walk as he drew closer, Ash could see the huge grin on his face; coming up to stand in front of her, he took her hands in both of his and said, "Storm told me you were looking for me before your last run out and back. What's up?"

"Once the ship is loaded, the crew will stand down for the evening. We're not leaving until early morning." Cocking her head slightly, she asked, "You have time for dinner?"

Falk grinned and nodded, saying, "Absolutely!" Dropping only one of her hands, they turned and walked to the mess hall together. Once they arrived, they each loaded a tray with silverware, a plate full of food, and a beverage before settling in at their favorite table, back in the corner away from most of the noise. Looking at Ashley as she began eating her salad, he asked, "Right, then. So what's going on with you?"

Ashley swallowed, took a drink from her glass and shifted herself on the bench in order to face this man. "Andreas, I'm going to be honest here… I wanted you to know, before our next assignment separates us, I think…" she paused for a moment before continuing. "I think I'm falling in love with you." _There! I said it. Now to see what happens…_

Falk's grin disappeared as Ashley's words registered. He looked away, took a bite of bread, chewed and swallowed before looking back at the woman seated beside him.

"I told you there was nothing trivial about our feelings for each other," he said in a gentle voice. "You and me? We're still trying to figure out how to have a personal life in a world where our careers will separate us more times than not." His smile had slowly returned as he talked. "Does your stomach hurt when we're apart for any length of time, like this past week?" Her look of surprise told him he had guessed correctly. "Mine too. So, I suspect that what my insides are trying to tell me is not that I have indigestion… I believe it's telling me that I miss you dearly, every single time you fly away from me. I think I'm falling in love with you, as well, Ashley Williams. But…" he reached for and captured her hand, "… you need to know I'm not just saying that on a whim. I felt the attraction the instant we met, with old Storm prattling on about needing to get his ship unloaded. Best day of my life."

Ashley grinned. Bringing his hand up, she kissed his knuckles and whispered, "Best day of mine as well. And I don't want to mess this up, Andreas, either by moving too fast, or letting our careers get so much in the way, _we_ never happen. So, how do we strike a balance?"

"Bah. No worries. We're two intelligent people; we'll figure it out, Ash." Falk's grin was contagious. "Besides, I have some leave time saved up… I'll need to use it or lose it, and I can't think of any place I'd want to go that doesn't include you being there with me."

Ashley was thrilled. "Well, it may sound like it's a long time off, but I'm sure we'll take a break at Christmas. We can certainly get together then."

"That seems like a long five months away, Williams," he snarked. "Any chance I can see you sooner?"

"Wait: my faith is large in Time, And that which shapes it to some perfect end." Ashley's forehead creased in thought for just a moment before she spit out, "It's short notice, but the Commander has to give a speech in Rio, day after tomorrow. If you can get the day off, I'm sure we could find a berth aboard for a visiting dignitary from the British Army."

"Always Tennyson," Falk chuckled. "I'll put in the request tomorrow."

Ashley couldn't stop smiling as they spent the next hour talking and planning while they enjoyed their leisurely dinner together.


	27. The Beginnings of Progress

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

Koboca - Vitality (Somali)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

Nyreen cursed as her biotics ripped the gun from Kurictus' lifeless fingers a fraction of a second too late. "Spirits be damned! Suran... Tear this place apart and dig up whatever information you can! We need to know who's behind this. After all this effort, I won't go to Aria with nothing more than simply knowing we've stopped the bleed of ships and crews... at least for the time being. Let's hope Bray has more luck."

Fortunately for them both, Bray's luck was quite a bit better. The frigate captain was not inclined to be suicidal; he knew Aria was uncompromisingly ruthless and either the station's defenses or the fleet should have ripped his ship apart... but it hadn't happened. Aria's reprisals were usually swift... and, with Kandros and her Talons running security, normally deadly; he correctly assumed he had something she wanted. He immediately told his crew to stand down, convincing the proud Turian crew that their short-lived cooperation was simply a ruse so they could survive to fight another day.

The captain had miscalculated; many of the crew, like their captain, did not survive the initial interrogations that followed. And while most stayed true to their cause until their very lives were ripped from their bodies, their deaths meant little in the end, other than the defense of each man's personal honor. It only took a single, weak-willed crewman to destroy the collective value of their resistance and with their potential usefulness fading quickly, Bray quit wasting his entire team's time and personally worked his way down the line of remaining survivors. He pointed a pistol at each one's head and simply asked if they had any information worth his while; anything but a 'yes' bought them a quick death. After the first few, more of the crew were forthcoming and before long, Bray was on his way to locate Nyreen so they could make their report to Aria.

* * *

"Good news, Aria." Nyreen and Bray stood in front of the queen; Bray stood relaxed with his arms crossed while Nyreen struck a similar pose, but was also cocked back on one hip as she spoke. "We identified a Turian responsible for dropping the barriers… a Blue Sun member, named Kurictus… Ephim Kurictus. He was using a power bypass module in the sector 2 shield generator control room."

Aria sat forward on her couch, her interest piqued and a smirk on her face. "And?"

"We traced the control signal back to its origin and let it play out. I had two teams at his apartment and Bray had the fleet on silent alert. When the bypass kicked on, a member of my team jumped it... but not before Bray identified a ship moving toward the void in the barrier."

"I brought up the defensive cannons and targeted the ship... and the fools actually surrendered." Bray huffed in disdain and continued, "Make no mistake, they were loyal, but it only took one to crack before more began to cave. There's a Turian out there somewhere, known only as the Legate, who's planning a power move. We're not sure where he is, other than somewhere in the Attican Traverse... Apparently, our captain had trust issues… failed to share his destination with the navi computer or his crew; according to his XO, their destination would be entered just prior to the relay jump out of the system.. They don't even know what the overall plan is so, whoever this _Legate_ is, he must have significant influence if he can convince them to risk their lives by double-crossing _you_. We can't ignore this one, Aria; it could be big."

Aria rose regally from her throne and sauntered toward them, a familiar scowl on the Asari's face as Nyreen continued where Bray left off. "As a precaution, I've set up regular patrols on all the generator stations, along with communications tunnels and all our major subsystems, just like when we were fighting Petrovsky. We won't lose any ground to internal rebellion and there will be no more defections, only dead traitors."

"Excellent work, Bray... Nyreen." The Talon leader's eyes narrowed in thought as Aria ran fingers softly across her chestplate. "I knew you had it in you... It simply takes great adversity to bring out what I consider your... _finer_... traits."

Nyreen studied Aria's eyes and realized something in the Asari's demeanor had changed; the Aria she knew and despised was a user who had focused solely on her own personal gain for hundreds of years. The brutal murder of her daughter, Liselle, had punched a hole in her mental armor that was patched with a shield of anger and ruthlessness... which had swiftly turned the Queen of Omega into an unapproachable bitch. But now, Nyreen discerned an unexpected change in Aria's disposition; there was a hint of softness in her normally ice-blue eyes... one she had never seen, even when they had spent their relatively brief period of time together as a couple.

Surprised, Nyreen took a step back and forced a defensive scowl onto her face, but found herself thinking events of the past year had somehow changed Aria... made her enticingly... softer... and the revelation scared the Turian. _Spirits! Shepard better hurry her ass up and fulfill her promise to get an agent here to help me out of this mess. I need an outside opinion I can trust!_

* * *

 **Rannoch, Tikkun, Perseus Veil**

Tali had returned to the Migrant Fleet from her week-long journey to Haratar and immediately gone to see Admiral Shala'Raan. The woman had stared at her in amazement as Tali told her tale. "By the ancestors, Tali'Zorah! I could not disagree more with your decision to not tell me of the true purpose of your journey, yet you have done the Quarian people a tremendous service that I cannot ignore! It is almost unbelievable that the Geth are with us once again."

"I would not necessarily assume that, Auntie Raan." Trusting her aunt completely, Tali's face shield was set at full transparency, so the woman could see the pensive expression on her face.

"Why do you say that, Tali?"

"Because they have no reason to trust us!" Tali's voice reflected her exasperation. "Almost to the very last possible moment, the Flotilla wanted to destroy them! The Geth have placed all their faith, not in us, but in Commander Shepard... And I believe them correct in doing so."

"But surely, this Geth of yours... Legion... trusts you?" Raan had to agree with Tali's point about the Flotilla, but still felt the Geth would at least help them, if for no other reason than Tali. "Will they not reactivate the units on Rannoch to assist in the rebuild? They did so to help defeat the Reapers..."

"The first thing you need to understand is Legion is not _mine_. He belongs to no one but the Geth Consensus." Tali shrugged as she continued, "He is my friend and would aid me, should I ask... but that is something I will not do unless I know they will be safe."

"They are only machines, Tali! Surely our recovery is important enough to take the risk?"

As Raan protested, Tali cut her off. "No! That's my whole point... They are a sentient race now, accepted by the Council and holding a seat equivalent to our own! I will not purposely put them in harm's way simply for our convenience."

Raan frowned at the implications of Tali's statement. "That is not your choice to make alone, Tali'Zorah."

Tali laughed, "Oh, Auntie Raan, you're starting to sound like Daro'Xen. You have to understand that it is not _our_ choice to make at all. They are no longer our servants… not since the Morning War. All we can do is ask them... and the Geth will decide as to whether or not they wish to aid us... no one else can make that decision for them."

"So, is it safe to assume you have some sort of plan to get them to help us?" Raan looked almost bewildered at the developments that Tali had revealed to her in such a short period of time and her mind raced to catch up with the changes. "What must I do to help you?"

"They have an incredibly large number of mobile platforms available." Tali smiled happily at Raan's rapid shift of attitude. "There are over 1,000 Geth units deployed to help with the construction of the new Citadel... the Center for Galactic Cooperation, or the CGC as it is being called." Tali reached over and took her aunt's gloved hand. "I need you to come with me to talk to Zaal'Koris. We need to be united against Admirals Gerrel and Xen, as I am absolutely positive Legion will refuse to work with either one."

Raan finally relaxed and actually chuckled. "Of that I am certain, Tali, given that Gerrel wanted to kill them and Xen probably still desires to enslave them again... or at least experiment on them. I do believe Zaal'Koris will side with us, without any need to convince him of our position. He owes a huge debt to Commander Shepard and it is obviously one of her goals to see the Geth solidify their independence. But what, exactly, do you think the three of us need to do?"

"First, I have a confession to make." Tali paused for a moment and clasped her aunt's hand tightly. Raan sat and waited silently, knowing Tali would tell her about whatever was apparently weighing on her conscience, once she found the correct words to do so. The younger Quarian finally took a deep breath and resumed. "I must tell you that, in a way, you have been in the presence of a Geth since I arrived."

"What are you saying, Tali?" The excited, high pitch of Raan's voice was a good indicator that Tali needed to clarify what she meant quickly, so she jumped in with a full explanation.

"After a long discussion with Shepard and Legion, I allowed a Geth named Medica to upload into my suit; she is constantly updating and rewriting some of its environmental functions. The intent is to mimic infections that, in time, will boost my immune system, eventually to the point where I will be able to live without my suit."

"What?" Raan's face reflected amazement. "Is that truly possible? What is it like to have one within your suit? Does it... _she_... converse with you?"

Tali laughed, loving that Raan finally referred to a Geth with a gender pronoun, instead of as 'it.' "Yes, she does speak with me... keeping me informed of my status and requesting permission to make any changes before she does so. It's rather amazing, really." Tali paused and took a deep breath to calm her own excitement before explaining, "She mimics an infection and then monitors the low-grade fever it causes, dispensing the appropriate treatment through my suit if the fever climbs to a point where it would negatively impact my health. At the current rate of modification, she estimates I could easily live without my suit, at least for limited periods during the day, within two years."

"Keelah!" Raan shook her head in disbelief. "That would be simply... _miraculous_! The Quarian people have dreamed of that for generations, but I never honestly thought it would be reality; certainly not within my lifetime!" Noting a sudden change in Tali's demeanor, Raan lowered her voice and questioned Tali, her voice riddled with concern. "What about that distresses you so, my little one?"

"It is a wonderful thing, Auntie Raan, which in and of itself does not make me sad." A tear slipped down Tali's face, easily visible through her transparent face shield. "It's just that... the improved immunity will be inheritable by our children... and that idea makes me think of everything I have lost with this damned war."

"Oh, Tali." Raan moved closer and wrapped her in a comforting hug. "I know that Kal was very important to you, but you are still young and have time. Whether you believe it or not... whether you _want_ to believe it or not, you will get past this and you will find love again. I promise you that." After another tight squeeze, she stood up and held her hand out to the daughter of Rael'Zorah. "Come, Tali. Your father dreamt of a house for you on the homeworld. It is time we do what we can to honor his memory and fulfill that dream."

* * *

 **Armali, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Having been gone much longer than her originally planned couple of days, Aethyta returned to the Armali site in a storm of anger, directed mostly at herself. She had received word that a band of mercs had attempted a hi-jacking of the supply shuttle. Shiala and Arla had fought them off, but Arla had been seriously injured in the process – and Aethyta blamed herself. She thought back at the frustration she had vented at her lover. _I should have fucking been there, Mozia, instead of here, fucking you! My self-indulgence may have cost us dearly... I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to Arla!_

Mozia, of course, had been extremely understanding and patient... and took the anger in stride, knowing it had not truly been directed at her, but Aethyta had stormed off in a huff, packed and departed for Armali within thirty minutes of having received the news. Now that she was here, looking at a sleeping Arla being watched over by an ever vigilant Shiala, she knew she had been an idiot. "Fuck! I need to call Mozia and apologize."

Shiala raised a brow and looked at her askew, with a light smirk on her face. "Please tell me you did not yell at the Matriarch Regent and blame her for this."

"Of course not!" Aethyta huffed. "But that doesn't mean I still didn't manage to make an ass of myself on the way out the door."

"Mozia is extremely perceptive." Shiala's smirk faded into a soft smile. "I am sure she understands you well enough by now and has taken no offense. She will know you were simply concerned for Arla."

"Yeah." Aethyta ran a hand quickly over the side of her head. "Still need to say I'm sorry for acting that way, though. So, I might as well be able to give her an update on Arla at the same time. What's her status?"

"Good, actually." Shiala pointed to a large tent that had been erected in the center of their camp since Aethyta's departure; the matriarch had been so preoccupied, she had not noticed nor asked about it. "That is our new medical facility; a doctor by the name of Corrina Sidhu showed up two days after you left and asked if we could spare space for her to set up here. She knows the name T'Soni and trusted us to be both gracious and protective, offering us free medical services in return, should the need arise." A light frown crossed her face as she glanced at Arla. "The offer proved to be... providential."

"Providential, my ass." Aethyta hummed in thought. "She just walked up and offered, huh? I think after I talk to Mozia, I need to place a call to my daughter. Doctors don't just _show up_ with a fully stocked field medical facility... I have a feeling she was sent to us."

Shiala grinned. "I assumed the same, but did not care to mention it. Liara will most likely not offer the information, though I doubt she would deny it if you question her directly. She likely inferred the need based on your last report citing the increased desperation of the mercenary groups as resources become more scarce. I must admit, we obviously pose a lucrative target."

"Yes, we do... and with the doctor here now, we'll have to increase our security even more. Both the expertise and the availability of drugs have to be enticing objectives."

"Which is why Nayla felt the need to contact you. She feels we need an additional team to ensure our safety, but did not want to make the choice as to which team to call up." Shiala then scowled. "But you did not give her an opportunity to discuss it before disconnecting the call... and her repeated efforts to contact you again met with failure, seeing as you chose to not respond to the attempts."

"I know, I know!" Aethyta growled at herself. "Fuck it. I need to apologize to Nayla as well."

* * *

"Yes, Dad. I did," Liara answered with a grim smile. "Your reports are not the only ones coming from Thessia about increasing unrest. With most of the Republican Guard forces decimated, the surviving regional Matriarchs have little ability to provide security outside of their own residential compounds... world wide. Not nearly enough of them paid heed to your warnings, so the overall situation is far from good." Liara paused to let out a long sigh and draw a deep breath to brace herself, knowing her next statement would be something of a surprise. "Shepard and I have been speaking with Legion; we currently have five additional mobile medical facilities enroute, along with Geth security packages. Each will have two Asari doctors and five technicians, as well as a Prime, twelve Troopers, two Rocket Troopers and two Hunters." Even over the poor quality vid, Liara could see the surprise on her father's face as she delivered the news and was thankful the matriarch did not interrupt.

As Liara paused again, Aethyta took the opportunity to speak. "The Geth? That's going to come as a shock to most... especially considering they were supposedly dead! That's a frightening thought – if they can come back, what about the Reapers?"

"No worry about that; the Reaper code was completely destroyed. Working together, Edi and the Geth wrote alternate programming, minus any form of Reaper code whatsoever... but they simply didn't have enough time or any breaks in the action to be able to risk rebooting their systems and testing it. Had it not worked, they may have been lost to the fight, so they deemed it an unnecessary risk." Liara smiled softly. "They decided there would be plenty of time for the reboot and software evaluation once the battle was won... And, if the war was lost," Liara closed with the obvious, "it wouldn't have made any difference anyway."

"So why now? Why the long time lag after the victory?" Aethyta placed her hands on her hips, not pleased with being kept in the dark for so long about such an important development.

Once Liara explained that even she and Shepard had not known about it, and then the restart glitch that required intervention first by Joker and then by Tali, Aethyta accepted the logic behind the delay and understood the lack of information. "Okay. So what's the plan?"

"It's relatively simply." Liara shrugged very casually. "The Prime, Rocket Troopers and Hunters will provide full time security, while the standard Troopers will guard at night and work during the day. To start, they will assist in the clearing of debris and reconstruction of the areas directly surrounding each of the medical facilities. Eventually, their circle will expand, hopefully drawing others to the cause of rebuilding rather than destruction and theft as a means to survival."

"Seems a pretty picture... that might be hard to realize once it collides with reality." Aethyta remained skeptical. "But you're more pragmatic than that. What have you got up your sleeve, daughter?"

Liara's light, responding laugh was music to her ears; Aethyta had spent so many years worrying that her Little Wing would find neither a mate nor happiness under her mother's demands for perfection, that her heart skipped... and she was relieved the vid quality was low enough that Liara couldn't see the tears of joy trying to form in her eyes as the younger Asari continued to explain her plan. "What do you think you and the commandos will be doing? Once the Geth arrive, you'll no longer need to work or provide security. You'll step into a public relations role and be their spokesperson. We need to use the name of House T'Soni to promote the advantages of their presence."

"Hold on, there, Liara. We don't have enough teams to deploy five additional squads out with them all, simply to play politics!"

Liara smiled. "Which is exactly why all the new arrivals are going to the country estate first. One will stay there full time, one will deploy to the T'Sere Plantation... and the next three will be sent wherever Mozia feels they could be of the most use. Talk to the other matriarchs, Dad. You and Mozia should have a good feel for who is willing to accept their assistance."

"Got it." Aethyta nodded. "And, I assume, you want the chosen houses to be in provinces already allied with House T'Soni, further cementing the house standing?"

A flash of almost shocked surprise crossed Liara's face and it took a moment for her to answer. "I... actually hadn't thought of that. I was thinking strictly in terms of proximity, for you to be close enough to ensure the initial deployments went smoothly and stirred enough interest for other houses to begin asking for Geth help. But, assuming all things being equal across Thessia, that _would_ be an excellent strategic move. I suppose that's why I sent you... Along with Mozia, you hold the knowledge and political acumen I hope to personally not need for a very long time."

Aethyta couldn't stop the gravelly laugh that erupted from her. "By the Goddess, Liara; I never thought to be accused of being politically astute! That's why we have Mozia! I'm only here to handle the crap that negotiations can't resolve... which will hopefully be little to none. I don't care to see any more injuries or death." Her laugh had faded to nothing by the time she finished, "I've seen enough of that to last for the rest of my lifetime."

"Me, too, Dad... but my expectations for the near term aren't exactly high." Liara crossed her arms in a protective posture. "A lot of dissent is brewing. The homeless and starving are blaming the ruling bodies for not acting fast enough... while completely ignoring the fact that those same ruling bodies are the people who led the first generation in untold millennia who actually managed to _defeat_ the Reapers, instead of being wiped from existence like all those before us." She shook her head sadly. "Goddess knows, nothing about the war was fast... but people must be made to remember that we should be thankful to have won at all, and in less than a standard year! The Protheans managed to hold out for two or three centuries, and they had the same handicap of indoctrinated sympathizers we did."

"Hopefully, your plan for the Geth will do just that, Liara. Once people get a roof over their heads and start getting supplies of food again, their voices will fall silent. The Asari pride themselves on their long view but, from everything I have ever seen, it is a false pride. The majority of Asari are just as vulnerable to base emotions as the next race."

"Thanks, Dad." Liara nodded and dropped her arms. "You know, it would be nice to see you... in person, rather than over a vid. Shepard has two more speeches to complete before we head to Vancouver for her promotion to Captain on the fifth of August. See if you can make it?"

Aethyta smiled at her daughter and her heart swelled with the idea that Liara _thought_ she needed her, knowing damned well her Little Wing was most definitely flying on her own. She attempted to clear the unexpected lump in her throat and growled out, "I'll see what I can do, Liara. It might have to be a simple day trip but, assuming the Geth deployments are working smoothly, maybe I can stretch it out a bit."

"That would be great." A smile lit Liara's face as she signed out. "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

 **Jarrahe Station, Strabo, Eagle Nebula**

"What do you mean, dead?" Sparatus literally growled as his sub-harmonics echoed dangerously and his mandibles flared in anger. "How did that happen?"

Flavius didn't blink, now accustomed to the Legate's frequent fits of ill temper. "He obviously got careless and left a trail, which the former Cabal Agent Kandros had no trouble following. Fortunately for us, he was a loyal soldier and killed himself before divulging any information."

"And you know this for certain?" Sparatus speared the general with a glance that said he'd better have a ready answer – one that Sparatus wanted to hear.

"Our observer has not been compromised and is still communicating with us, Sir, so I am confident our information is both current and correct." He squared his shoulders and continued, "However, while the frigate captain died as a true Turian, his crew... collapsed. Fortunately for us, he also followed established procedure, telling them little before the relay jump. And while T'Loak is now aware we exist, she knows nothing else... She has neither names nor location. That being said, her increased awareness will most likely make any operations within the Nebula extremely risky."

"That does not have any significant impact on our continued operations; the weakness of the dead crew tells me that we were close to running out of viable crews there anyway." Sparatus suddenly grinned in a way that made Flavius think he was about to get flayed. Instead, the legate continued, "Before my arrival, you were very successful with raiding runs. We now have more than enough soldiers and crews... We simply need the ships for them to crew. Return to your previous activities, General, and operate with Omega flagged ships and Suns' tattoos... anywhere and everywhere in the Terminus _except_ in the Omega Nebula."

"That's sure to catch the eye of the Council, even if we do operate in the Terminus, Sir." Flavius frowned at the idea. "You redirected our efforts due to the attention those tactics were gathering... and I don't see what's changed about our overall situation. Are we sure we're ready to draw that kind of attention?"

"Of course we aren't... but it won't be us who receives it." Sparatus chuckled. "Just as you had T'Loak and Kandros reducing their combined strength by taking out their own potential allies, I will have Shepard working _for_ us in her attempts to counter the pirate attacks and a perceived Omega expansion... Combine that with her rather formidable personal grudge against the Blue Suns and the commander will be out for blood. Omega flagged vessels involved in pirate activity will most certainly result in the illustrious human…" Sparatus spat the word as if it left a foul taste on his tongue, "… blaming T'Loak for the raids. There's already bad blood between those two, despite Shepard's help in kicking Cerberus off Omega. I think I'd actually enjoy seeing those two brawling in the street; hard to say which one would come out on top, but I bet against Shepard once, and that got me stripped of my position and kicked off the Citadel. I really have my doubts about Aria."

Flavius disagreed, thinking Shepard would show restraint and better judgment than Sparatus assumed but, being the good soldier, said nothing. He asked the question and had received his orders; how Sparatus chose to deal with the potential consequences was none of his concern.

"Understood, Sir. I'll get the ships and crews ready for the new offensive."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, Parnitha Relay, Athena Nebula**

Miranda stood on the bridge, only a single step behind and slightly to the right of the pilot's chair; as they approached the looming ship before them, she absentmindedly shifted her left hand to rest gently on Judea's shoulder. They had dropped the medical staff of two doctors and five technicians at the T'Sere Plantation earlier in the day, but had chosen to rendezvous with the monstrous frigate at the relay so as to avoid the potential concerns caused by the appearance of a Geth warship in orbit around Thessia. The Geth had no other type of vessel; similar to what the Quarians had done, they had converted everything they owned to add to the fleet for the final battle with the Reapers. They were cognizant of the unease it could cause and had begun the process of retrofitting a number of their freighters back to their original configuration to better serve in their most current role of disaster response, but were yet to have any ready for deployment.

Judea smiled softly and gave Miranda an understanding glance. "Intimidating, isn't it?" As her lover chuckled lightly, she continued, "It makes me very glad Shepard managed to talk that Quarian admiral down and bring the Geth into the alliance; they appear a formidable force... and this is only one ship!"

"Sometimes, it only takes one ship to make all the difference." Miranda sighed almost imperceptibly and squeezed Jude's shoulder. "Bring us into the hangar so we can pick up our passengers and their cargo. Once we're docked, join me in the cargo hold."

Miranda made her way quickly to the lower deck of the ship and waited patiently as the _Aletheia_ settled in and the loading ramp dropped to the Geth deck. The inside of the Geth hangar bay was poorly lit and Miranda could see nothing looking out from where she stood. She was concentrating so hard on trying to peer into the darkness, she was startled by a hand landing softly on her back as Judea stepped to her side. "Sorry, Miri. On the Bridge, you were speaking of the Normandy, weren't you... About it taking only one ship? Do you miss it?"

"VI. Exterior landing lights, please. Fifty percent." As the exterior lights began to come on in sequence, illuminating the surrounding decking within the hangar, Miranda spoke softly into the growing light. "I certainly don't miss the war... but I do miss the people. We had an excellent crew." She smiled and turned to face Judea, wrapping her arms around the Asari for a quick hug. "I believe my current crew is pretty good, too, though I'm not sure about the pilot... I get the feeling she's trying to curry special favors by climbing into my bed."

"Seriously, Miri? I do believe it's you worming your way into _my_ bed; the _Aletheia_ was my ship long before you ever came into my life." Judea's golden eyes twinkled with merriment as she planted a soft kiss on Miranda's cheek. "If you're uncomfortable with the arrangement, I'm sure Mistress Liara can find you another assignment within the Broker network. We don't want you to feel uncomfortable if your ship's captain is taking liberties and making unwelcome sexual advances upon your person."

"Oh, I don't believe that will be necessary." Miranda smiled and released her captive from the hug. "I'm fairly confident I can handle her advances on my own... and I never said anything about them being unwelcome. Those are your words, not mine." She smirked as she stepped away, trailing her fingertips teasingly across Judea's neck ridges, causing a shiver to race down the Asari's spine.

"Dr Lawson... You play unfairly." Judea narrowed her eyes at the retreating Human.

Miranda laughed as she walked down the ramp. "I do not cheat. I simply play to win."

* * *

 **T'Sere Plantation, Dassus Republic, Thessia**

Lady Sashia stood side-by-side with Matriarch Tralis as the _Aletheia_ completed its final approach. Once the ship settled and spooled down the main core, her main hangar door opened to reveal several pallets of freight... along with several Geth units lining the alleys between them. The Prime activated first, rising to its full height and causing a few of the house staff to gasp in somewhat fearful surprise. Sashia turned to them and smiled reassuringly. "Please, everyone. Remember they are here to help us rebuild, first our home, then our shipyard... and then our world. They were critical to the fight and will now be essential to our speedy recovery."

The Prime focused on the speaker and stepped forth, exiting the ship and moving quickly in a straight line to stop before her. "Sashia Matriarch. The Geth are pleased to be of assistance. At what location would you like the medical facility deployed?"

"Welcome to Thessia." Pleasantly surprised by the female character of the Geth voice simulation, Sashia smiled and held her hands out palm up. "But, first things first. Have you been versed on typical Asari greetings?"

"Affirmative. Apologies for my failure to comply with the customary social expectations, Matriarch. It will not happen again." The Prime reached out and laid huge hands gently upon Sashia's palms. "I am referred to as Koboca. It is our pleasure to serve."

"We are grateful for the assistance from you and your team, Koboca. You are very welcome here." Sashia dropped her hands and dipped her head slightly as she continued, "I must admit that I am a bit uncomfortable, but I am sure it will pass quickly. Asari are used to being... _social_... before entering into serious business discussions, but I understand it is not the Geth way." Her head came back up and she peered at the trio of red lights looking down at her. "It seems we each have things to learn from the other."

"That is... acceptable... to us, Sashia Matriarch. We have much to learn about the ways of organics... and will be dedicated students as we work."

"Then let us begin." Sashia quickly called up her daughter, Neyna, the house steward, Luana, and Matriarch Tralis to make introductions. "There is not much to be done here at the plantation, so I imagine your time with Luana to be very short. Being an agricultural area, we were spared the worst of the Reaper onslaught, unlike the shipyard in the city. It is my understanding that you will set up the medical facility today, then move immediately to the shipyard in Dassus. Is that correct?"

"That was the anticipated schedule, but we are yours to command. Should your priorities shift or circumstances change during our time here, you need simply ask and we will adjust our services to suit." The Prime turned her head to face Luana. "If you provide the boundary coordinates for the medical facility location, we will begin work."

"Coordinates?" Luana stared at the Geth for only a moment before laughing softly as she recognized the first of her likely many oversights in her future communications with the machine race. "Of course... I didn't think to pull coordinates, but I can show you the location easily enough. I'm afraid I have nothing more succinct than 'somewhere in the eastern corner of the field adjacent to the freight pad.' We'll leave the placement of the various structures to you; you can most likely optimize the footprint for both functionality and security much faster than the docs can. Though, they have been looking the site over since early this morning and may have a set-up already in mind."

"That will be acceptable, Luana," the Prime replied. "Please, lead the way."


	28. Rio

Notes:

ICT - Interplanetary Combatives Training, sometimes called _N-School_ or _the villa_

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Rio**

 **Rio de Janeiro, Earth, Sol**

"I used to love this city." Shepard spoke reverently from her position behind Joker, standing with Liara on the Bridge of the Normandy as they came in low and slow for the upcoming ceremonies. The Reaper's destruction of Rio had been incredibly thorough, given the city's reputation for being a tourist mecca. In reality, the city had been an important financial and manufacturing center, a fact obviously known by the Reapers; the buildings along Rio Branco Avenue, the heart of the financial district, were only so much shattered glass, bent steel and broken concrete. As the second largest industrial hub of Brazil, with materials refineries, shipbuilding industries, steel and metallurgy, not to mention the Alliance's ICT at Vila Militar, Rio had attracted major attention from the Reapers, primarily to destroy its immense industrial capacity, but also because of the large and varied population available for harvest.

Reaper creatures had free run of the poorer sections of the city, with reports that up to a third of Rio's population had simply disappeared without a trace. Even knowing she had lived in one of the more upscale neighborhoods, Shepard couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Nikki Hills during the conflict. The South American production facility and marketing headquarters for Paragade had been completely destroyed and the residential districts overrun. Shepard felt Liara gently squeeze her bicep and she let out the deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. She turned to her lover and whispered softly, "Sorry, Love."

Liara had felt the swirling emotions through the link and offered up a loving smile, completely understanding. "It's alright, _Siame_ ; she was an important part of your life. I wouldn't expect you to have any success at eradicating thoughts of her from your mind, even if you wanted to, any more than I could forget the death of my mother. Love and loss are extremely potent emotions to which none of us are immune."

"You left out anger... which is another extremely strong emotion... one that I wish _didn't_ exist." Shepard blew out another heavy breath through pursed lips and relaxed a bit, offering a tepid smile in return as Joker announced their final approach. Shepard shook her head at the destruction. "Holy shit. There's nothing left of the N7 school. You can barely tell there was even a military base here."

Liara's voice was cool as she worked hard to suppress the extremely strong emotion Shepard had just spoken about. "The Reapers were very good at wiping out civilizations... I'm sure they were very aware the Alliance trained the best of their best here; making the facility a priority target." She turned to Shepard, her blue eyes intense as she finished, "And I apologize if this sounds callous and insensitive, but I am also extremely relieved you were confined in Vancouver and not teaching here, as I originally believed they would choose to do with you; I believe the Systems Alliance's intransigence may very well have saved your life."

Shepard's smile turned into a light chuckle. "Are you seriously thanking the Gods for Alliance bureaucracy?"

The emotional tension broke and Liara couldn't help but laugh. "Goddess. I believe I just did." She smiled and gave Shepard a quick peck on the cheek before turning and pulling the commander along with her. "Come on, Love. I'm sure we'll be the last to arrive at the cargo bay; without the front row seat, the rest of the crew are all eager to see the remains of Rio de Janeiro."

Shepard frowned. "Not sure how eager they'll be once the cargo door drops and they actually catch their first glimpse. It's worse than London... and that's saying something."

* * *

"Sharon!" An honest, broad smile lit Samantha's face as they disembarked from the Normandy; once the cargo ramp dropped, the dust had cleared to reveal Colonel Culver and Admiral Hackett standing side-by-side at the end of it, patiently awaiting their arrival. Shepard saluted Hackett as she moved quickly down the ramp, adding, "Good to see you again as well, Sir."

Hackett offered up his stiff version of a smile. "Don't worry, Shepard. I understand how good it can feel to catch up with old friends... How simply knowing someone we care about survived the war is able to give us a sense of normalcy like nothing else can."

The two women clasped forearms just before pulling one another into a tight hug. "You doing okay, Shep? You're looking a Hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you, but coming back here can't be the easiest thing."

"Leave it to you to point out the elephant in the room, Sharon." Shepard pulled back and Liara stepped to her side, a request for an explanation regarding the elephant flitting across the link as she joined the small group. Shepard clarified it quickly and then responded to Sharon. "I've got Blue... and she's well aware of everything that happened here... what now seems like a lifetime ago." She gave the Asari a quick glance as an additional prod came over the link, turning back to Culver and asking, "Do you happen to have any clue as to whether or not Nikki Hills survived?"

Sharon's expression turned dark and a scowl crossed her face. "To be honest... I didn't care enough to bother looking." Reacting to the expression that flashed across the commander's face, she continued, "And don't be giving me that look. I wouldn't normally speak ill of someone who may very well be deceased, but that woman ripped your heart out, threw it on the ground, and stomped it to shit. I refuse to apologize for never forgiving that bitch. Only thing I'm sorry for is that my words hurt you, because that was not my intent."

Shepard looked sad as she shook her head. "No. You have every right to feel that way. It doesn't bother me that you've not forgiven her... Honestly? Neither have I." Her face changed; her eyes softened and her lips turned up into a contemplative smile as she looked at the Asari at her side. "But, for the most part, I was able to put her out of my mind after I met Liara. Coming back here... along with your bluntness... just caught me off guard. To hear you say it out loud... well, let's just drop it."

"That sounds like a deal." Sharon turned to the Admiral who, being well aware of the situation as well as David Anderson's huge roll in pulling Shepard out of her follow-on funk, had listened in silence to the conversation. Hackett had honestly forgotten about the event and, once reminded, made a snap decision that, perhaps, Shepard needed some time here to process it all. Those thoughts flashed through his mind and returned to the task at hand when Culver spoke to him. "The stage is set up and ready for your inspection, Sir. We've been working hard to get the local churches rebuilt, including the steeples, but have only managed four. I'm afraid it will have to do; the Reapers really took this place back to the Stone Age."

"Then that will simply have to be enough." Hackett gave a curt nod in response. "I know you've had other priorities here... and that most were related to keeping everyone from starving to death while trying to clear debris from the Villa. Thank you, Colonel; you and your staff have done an excellent job." His gaze traveled back to Shepard and Liara. "As for you, Commander... I don't truly have the authority over you as a Spectre but, if you'll indulge me, the Normandy should be grounded for a full 48 hours. Your people bore the weight of the lead during the war and have been humping Alliance cargo like a common freighter crew ever since we won... It's time to give everyone a break and have them take some shore leave."

"Not sure what everyone will do _here_... but I'll instruct Ashley to pass it on to the entire crew, Sir." Shepard glanced around at the destruction surrounding them and chuckled. "I'm sure everyone can find something to stay busy."

"Shepard!" Liara looked at her and laughed. "The idea is to have some time off... not find something else to fill the day... and I, for one, would enjoy some down time with you."

Hackett shook his head and chuckled. "I knew I liked you, Dr T'Soni. Amongst all your other accomplishments, we need you to keep the commander grounded in reality. Thank you, and try to enjoy your day off tomorrow." His glance traveled the entire group. "Right now, however, we need to check out our set up for the ceremony this evening."

* * *

Since the Reapers had been defeated, the clearing of rubble had become the most important task for the citizenry; most no longer had a workplace to go to and only makeshift shelters in which to sleep at night. Sadly, the hotels and restaurants along the famed beach in Copacabana shared the fate of most of the buildings in Rio, and the curving, 4-Km long white sand beach had, for the most part, been turned to glass by the Reaper's energy weapons – only a narrow strip along the water's edge had escaped the extremes of the destruction that had been visited inland. It was here that Andreas and Ashley had decided to go after a hasty breakfast aboard the Normandy; the Normandy shuttle deposited the pair at the north end, half-a-klick from the ancient fort known as Duque de Caxias, which also lay in ruin. As they exited, Steve Cortez told Ashley to simply give him a call when they needed to be picked up.

Once on the beach, Ashley encouraged her companion to strip down to his shorts in order to take in some sunshine. When asked about her own clothes, Ashley grinned and replied in a serious tone, "Not too many people around… I could actually go nude!" The look on Andreas face at _that_ statement was exactly what she'd been going for. "Damn, Falk! You are just so _easy_!" She promptly removed the casual blouse and pants she was wearing to reveal the rather modest, black two-piece swim suit she'd put on before breakfast. "Didn't see _that_ coming, did you?" she teased.

Reaching into the large beach bag she was carrying, she removed and put on a pair of dark sunglasses to protect her eyes from the intense light reflecting off the sand before folding and placing her clothes within. Holding out her hand, she said, "There's room for your clothes in here as well, Andreas."

Andreas sighed in resignation. "I wasn't told we'd be going in the ocean." He removed his pants and shirt and handed them to her after folding them. Looking down at his black skivvies, he grinned ruefully. "I don't suppose these are any more revealing than swimming trunks."

Ashley was glad she was wearing dark glasses so he couldn't see the hint of desire in her eyes. With an effort, she said, "You look perfect to me." _You don't realize how perfect you are!_ Holding out a hand, she added, "Shall we?"

With a wide grin, Andreas took the offered hand and began walking south, sticking to the water's edge in order to avoid the rough glass surface close by. As they walked, he occasionally studied the destruction to their right when he wasn't watching where their bare feet were going in order to avoid stepping on partially hidden pieces of broken metal or shards of shattered glass. "Too bad we didn't know each other four years ago, Ash. Might have been able to visit here for more than a few hours. Would have been fun to spend the night in one of those hotels over there." After thinking about it for a few moments, he added ruefully, "Of course, it would have cost each of us a year's pay for just a couple of nights."

He abruptly turned around to awkwardly take several steps backwards in front of her. Coming to a stop, he wrapped his arms around her when she bumped up against him, only to pick her up and spin her, squealing in joy, around in a circle. Setting her down again, he gently turned her around and pointed to a spot in the distance. "Sugarloaf Mountain. Cable car link has undoubtedly been ruined, but we _could_ have a shuttlecraft take us up there; I recall there was a landing pad near the summit, large enough for a Mantis gunship to set down. It'd have a great view of the city… well, the destruction, anyway."

Ashley shaded her eyes as she gazed in the direction indicated by her companion. "Isn't there a really big statue up there – I think it was called Christ the Redeemer?"

"Cristo Redentor." Andreas smiled as he placed his right arm around in front of her; with a hand on her waist, he turned them both towards the northwest to look across the flattened city. Placing his left arm over her shoulder, he pointed to the location and said softly in her right ear, "Mount Corcovado," as he reveled in the scent of her hair. Lowering his arm, he continued, "I expect the Reapers toppled it… I think it was at least 30 meters tall, so a real tempting target just for the demoralizing effect of destroying a religious symbol. We could go up there by shuttle, if you like. The old rack-railway up there was most likely ripped up as well."

Ashley studied the top of the granite mountain to no avail. "Can't really see if there's anything standing up there or not."

"I believe the statue was just visible to the unaided eye from here – peak is about four, four and a half klicks away." Chin still touching the bare skin of her right shoulder, he concluded, "If it's not visible as an indistinct cross, they toppled it… damned bloody bastards."

Ashley smirked as she turned her head to look at him. "However would you know the distance?" Reaching up, she caressed the side of his face. "You're guessing, aren't you?"

Falk laid his hand atop hers, holding it against his cheek as he replied, "Have to be a fairly accurate judge of distances in my job, Ash." Taking the opportunity, he tipped his head as he leaned in to kiss her. _Am I imagining this? Damned if her lips don't taste just like honey._

When he drew back, he smiled as she breathed, "What was that for?"

"Oh, just wondering if they taste as good as they look."

She tilted her sunglasses up onto her hair so she could look straight into his eyes. "And do they?"

"I'm not sure. I expect I need a few more samples," came the snarky response.

Ashley dropped the bag she was carrying, turned within his right arm and reached around him with both arms to draw him close. In a slightly breathless whisper she declared, "Well, here's your next sample," before she planted her lips on his in a passionate expression of the increasing love she felt for him. The enjoyable spike of heat in her core drove her to continue the kiss longer than she normally would have. Pulling back to inhale, she whispered, "We should probably keep moving." Leaning down slightly to retrieve her bag, she was surprised by the strong hand grabbing the handles.

"I'll carry this for a bit." He used his free hand to grab hers and intertwined their fingers. Ash had returned her sunglasses to her face so he wouldn't see the amazement in her eyes at what she had glimpsed as she leaned over. Falk's shorts were form-fitting, to the point that any arousal he experienced was nearly as visible as if he was wearing nothing at all. _I don't think he needs any more samples from my lips,_ she thought as she walked alongside him. _Damn! How'd I get so lucky to find this man at the end of a fuckin' war?_ As she walked, she continued to think about him… and them. _I really need to find us some private time tonight… offer him a sample of a different sort… something a bit more intoxicating than my mouth._ She giggled at the thought, eliciting an interested, sidelong look. She walked on, offering no explanation for her mirth. _He'll learn soon enough._

* * *

 **Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Earth, Sol**

After enjoying the sun on the beach and a few bouts of kicking their heels up and splashing each other in the shallow waters, Ashley and Andreas had taken the time to dry their feet and legs before pulling their clothes back on and calling for transport. Cortez was more than happy to take them wherever they wanted to go; the shuttle soon landed on the lower plaza below the base of the platform on which the 30-meter tall statue had stood since its construction was completed over 250 years ago. Clambering out of the small transport, Ash had almost immediately stumbled over a broken piece of concrete. Looking about themselves as the shuttle left, they both noticed an inordinate amount of concrete rubble strewn about the smaller of the two plazas.

Looking towards the upper level, Ash placed a hand over her mouth at the sight of the immense crater where once had stood a towering black pedestal supporting the colossal concrete and soapstone statue of Jesus, arms outstretched from his sides. It appeared the statue and its support had been vaporized by one strike from a capitol Reaper's main weapon. The bits of concrete rubble scattered around were all that remained, probably blasted out of the statue's interior as it exploded. "Damn Reapers! What could they possibly gain by destroying this?"

She hadn't expected an answer, so was surprised when Andreas said softly, "It was done to demoralize the people here, Ash. Reapers didn't care about peoples' religion, or the icons that represented it. Everything I saw in and around London happened here as well. It was all about the harvest for them, about maximizing the take... and a demoralized people of _any_ race or species are less inclined to fight back, more apt to simply give up."

Ashley closed her eyes to the scene of destruction as she shook her head. Feeling a strong arm around her back with a hand on her hip, she melted into Falk's embrace for a few moments before tilting her head and reopening her eyes to look into a pair of cool gray eyes gazing lovingly back. Andreas took her upturned face as an opportunity to softly kiss her, which she returned a bit more ardently as a quote from Tennyson instantly sprang to mind. _...and our spirits rushed together at the touching of the lips._

Drawing back, Falk smiled as he began walking, carefully guiding Ashley past the rubble to the edge of the lower level to stop at a still-standing balustrade. "Great view of the city… or what's left of it, anyway." Pointing to the peak across the small inlet, he added, "There's Sugarloaf Mountain."

Leaning against the top rail, she gazed first at the mountain and then at the broken city below. Ashley mused aloud, "How will all this ever get rebuilt, Andreas? It just seems so… hopeless."

A strong hand gently massaged between her shoulder blades, sending chills down her spine. "I don't know, Ash. Right now, it's too soon for people here to be thinking of anything but day-to-day survival. I'm sure at some point it will all be rebuilt, probably better than before." Turning around to look at the crater marking the location of an obliterated Catholic icon, he added, "I'm not so sure about this, though… don't know whether this can _ever_ be replaced."

Pushing herself upright from the railing, Ashley turned to study the devastated platform before them. "It _has_ to be replaced, Andreas. It's as much a part of Rio as the beaches down below."

"I suppose you're correct," he replied thoughtfully. "Hopefully, we'll be able to return in five or ten years, see how much has been done."

"I'd like that… a lot." Glancing at the sun, she offered, "Think we should be off, then? It's time to start getting ready for the ceremony."

Nodding as he replied, he said, "Better be heading back to the Normandy. Call the shuttle?"

Activating her omnitool, Ash made the request before turning to face Andreas. "I've had a wonderful time today. It's been really nice to pretend we don't have responsibilities, even for a few hours."

Andreas reached around her, drawing her into a tight embrace. "I've made up my mind." Taking a breath, he said, "Ashley Williams… I've fallen in love with you. No matter where I go, no matter how many light years separate us in the future, I. Love. You." Tilting his head, he leaned down slightly and pressed his lips to hers.

Ashley's spirit soared at Andreas' declaration, just as a stab of heat in her center threatened to buckle her knees. Recovering her wits, she reluctantly pulled her mouth from his and said in a breathless whisper, "I love you too, Andreas. I've never met anyone like you, and… well, I don't know _everything_ about you yet, but I want to… know you, that is. Damn! Why am I always so tongue-tied when I'm with you?"

Falk chuckled softly. "Must be my boyish charm… or, maybe it's the accent."

Ash simply smiled as she hugged him tightly. "You're probably right about the accent… not so sure about the charm, but it's growing on me."

* * *

 **Rio de Janeiro, Earth, Sol**

Shepard was both relieved and happy; in a welcome change of pace, the memorial had gone well and, with the pro-military crowd due to a city full of Alliance supporters because of all the business that came along with the existence of a large military base, her speech had been well received. Even the presence of Legion as a lead in for announcement that the Geth would be arriving to assist in the rebuild was accepted as if it was simply routine. Shepard assumed the city was so desperate for assistance, it was likely the people of Rio could honestly care less where the aid came from; no matter the source, it would fill the current void of much needed help. As a final goodbye, Shepard held up her right hand, clenched in victory, as she smiled one last time for the crowd. She then turned and retreated to the rear of the stage to talk with the crew and guests who had accompanied her on the stage for the event. "I've already informed Lieutenant Commander Williams and she's made the announcement to the rest of the crew, but I need to confirm that those of you who spent the day with Admiral Hackett and me actually heard the news." She smiled and glanced at Liara, who was as eager as she knew the rest would be. "Hackett has banned us from doing any more supply runs for at least the next 36 hours. We will not be departing Rio until the morning of the 29th; that gives you all of tonight and tomorrow to have fun. Just be back on the Normandy by tomorrow night, 2300 hours. Dismissed!"

As the rest of the crowd rapidly dispersed, two persons remained; Legion and Riana. Liara glanced at her First and smiled knowingly. "Go, Riana. I'm sure you already received the news from Traynor and, by now, she's planned at least a dozen things for you both to go do and see in the city. You witnessed the difference in today's crowd. We'll be fine... Go have fun."

Riana was so relieved, she couldn't help herself and bowed for the first time in a very long time. "Thank you, Mistress." As she stood back upright, Liara saw the happiness on Riana's face and could not bring herself to say anything about the show of fealty that Liara disliked so much. The grin did not fade from the Asari Vanguard's face as she nodded emphatically and continued, "Sammi has assembled a list that could take days to accomplish. My first task will be to make her prioritize those she wants to do tomorrow and those we need to save for a repeat visit in the future. I hope it is not as disappointing for her as our trip to Oxford."

As Riana practically sprinted away, Legion approached. "Shepard Commander. If you have no requirements to levy against my time, I will immediately speak with Culver Colonel to begin the coordination of our assistance here. As a courtesy, I will keep you informed of our plan of action and the number of units we choose to activate within the city. Is this acceptable?"

"Absolutely, Legion. However, there is one thing I want to remind you of." Shepard smiled. "I want to ensure the Geth are progressing on the repairs on Haratar station. You are most definitely _not_ allowed to put your own goals on hold in order to help us. Is that understood?"

Shepard would have sworn she heard _humor_ in Legion's tone as he responded, "We have 2.4 million platforms, Shepard Commander, of which nearly 600,000 were present either on Earth or aboard the fleet in orbit. They returned here from Arcturus with the combined war fleet and have yet to be tasked in any capacity. One million are aboard Haratar station, also unassigned, and the remaining 800,000 are now working on Rannoch building new Quarian cities on the southern content. We have sufficient resources to complete whatever you require of us, with ample reserves to fully repair our home as well. Progress on Haratar is excellent and is now utilizing only 532 of the available one million available."

"Right." Shepard chuckled. "Just as long as you keep Haratar as one of your priorities, you can do whatever you want, Legion. I guess we all need to sit down and figure out how to distribute the resources we have available... including food. We should add your ships into the distribution network, provided people won't panic when a Geth ship descends onto their colony; we simply need to get the word out about what we're planning, so people are ready when it actually happens. Have fun talking to Sharon. You can fill me in once we all return to the Normandy tomorrow night."

With nothing more than a blink of lights, the Prime unit turned and departed the stage to seek out the colonel. Shepard watched his retreating back until Liara leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Do you want to follow him and spend more time with Sharon?"

Shepard smiled and turned, depositing a quick kiss on the tip of the Asari's nose. "Nope. I already talked to her and we're going to meet her for either a late lunch or early dinner tomorrow. Until then, I'm all yours, _Mo cheann geallta_."

"Excellent." Liara lifted her brow markings suggestively before continuing, "Then I propose we return quickly to the Normandy and get into something much more comfortable. I would like to simply take a walk with you, in your positively scrumptious jeans and boots, through whatever remains of the Villa." As Shepard opened her mouth to protest, blue fingers moved quickly to intercept the words before they could escape between open lips. "No, please. I desire to share in your memories of the place, before all this destruction. I want to see the beauty of the city that you once fell in love with, _Siame_. Can you do that for me?"

"You're remarkable. Do you know that?" Shepard placed her hands on Liara's waist and pulled her close. "I remember walking the gardens on Thessia with you, while you shared memories of your mother. How could I possibly deny you the same in return, Liara?"

Liara's smile bordered on a smirk as she replied, "You really can't, can you?" She laughed lightly and placed a soft kiss on Shepard's welcoming lips. "Come on. I'm hungry, so our first challenge will be to find someplace to eat."

Shepard stepped back and gave her a doubtful look, starting down to ground level at the rear of the stage as she responded. "I doubt there's any restaurants open. It's probably limited to the Normandy or the rebuilt Alliance Mess at the Villa. Your choice, Blue." Whatever Liara's response was, the commander didn't hear it. As they cleared the final step and Shepard lifted her head to look at the path before them, her feet came to an abrupt stop. The world around her momentarily froze as her eyes locked with a pair of blue eyes that did not belong to Liara... Instead, they were the baby blues of someone Shepard hadn't seen in nearly seven years... not since just after the mission that had gone so horribly wrong on Agebinium in 2181. They were the haunted blue eyes of Nikki Hills.

* * *

Nikki had heard the announcement; the Normandy and her crew were coming to Rio for a memorial ceremony and victory speech, the fifth of a six-stop tour of Earth. Her mind drifted back to the day upon which she had learned of Shepard's death... and how she had cursed herself for never gathering enough courage to go to the Alliance officer to apologize. Originally thinking her chance to do so had been utterly destroyed with Sam's demise, she had lied to her lover, Kate, on the day of the service, explaining her tears away by saying the memorial for so many Alliance members made her think of the death of her younger brother Jon.

She had lived with that lie for almost five years and had almost convinced even herself that she had moved on... until the news of Shepard's magical reappearance hit the news. She had been unable to hide her joy and relief and once Kate had forced her to explain it all, including Nikki's initial regret that she would never be able to correct her mistake, her relationship with Kate was over. No amount of apologizing or saying she had finally gotten over Shepard would sway her lover; Kate had been intensely angry and left in short order. It was the last time Nikki saw her.

Now that she stood face-to-face with the long-time object of her desire, along with her blue-skinned fiancée, Nikki was unable to find the words she needed to speak. She had watched the news and seen their betrothal ... and having seen and overheard the conversation between Sam and the Asari, she immediately recognized there was no hope. _Samantha's tone positively_ _ **oozes**_ _love... and all the years we were together, she never once spoke to me in her native tongue... Never. She truly loves this alien! Fucking Asari... How am I supposed to complete with a damned mind reader who can get inside Sam's head?_

"Nikki?" Shepard's tone of voice, in no uncertain terms, garnered her immediate attention and cemented her assumptions. In her shock, Sam sounded cold and aloof, and her surprise was reflected in her voice... and she seemed almost annoyed at Nikki's presence.

Shepard stared at the blond-haired woman before her. "What are you doing here?" Nikki was a gaunt version of the vigorous, athletic woman she had once known; it was obvious the battle for Earth had not been any more kind to her than to any of the others who had been lucky enough to survive the war.

Shepard's non-favorable appraising glance was not missed and Nikki's most common defense mechanism instantly sprung to the fore; anger. "I felt the need to attend the memorial... and though I wanted to see you, Samantha, it's obvious you don't care to see _me_ , so I guess _that_ doesn't matter." Her own voice took on a chill as she continued, "I thought to apologize for the way I treated you and to see if you'd forgiven me, but it's evidently not the case, so I won't waste your time... or my breath."

"I never said that." Shepard sighed in resignation, Liara's comforting presence in her mind keeping her from answering in kind. "You simply surprised me, Nikki; I... For some reason I didn't expect to see you here. But I did ask Sharon if she'd heard anything... If she knew whether or not you had survived the war."

"And, of course, she had no idea, because she wouldn't care. That woman hates me and I have no doubt she probably hoped I _had_ died in the war." Nikki snorted in disgust and continued, "Can't say I'm sorry to disappoint... but I also can't say I ever heard from you, querying about _my_ wellbeing either."

Incredulous, Shepard's jaw dropped. Liara grit her teeth and forced herself to remain silent, refusing to interfere, but Shepard felt the seething anger through the link and spoke out. "You have to be fucking kidding me, Nik! Last time we spoke, you made it _very_ clear you never wanted to hear from me again... So _excuse me_ for adhering to your damned last request!" She harrumphed and continued, "I'd show you the damned letter that showed up at the lodging office along with my stuff, in case you forgot what you wrote, but it was destroyed when I... when the Normandy was blown to bits above Alchera." She shook her head in disgust and vehemently spit out, "Everyone thought I was dead... and my mom sure as Hell didn't say anything about you attending at my funeral, so fuck you and your bullshit attempt at making me feel guilty, Nikki."

Shepard turned abruptly to the side and stepped away, practically dragging a surprised Liara with her. A suddenly panicked voice called out from behind them. "Samantha, wait! ... Sam!" As the commander angrily turned back, she was surprised to see tears streaming down the woman's face. "Damn you. You broke my heart with the news that Jon had been killed... but, after a time, I realized how stupid I had been. Then, when you supposedly followed him to the grave... when we _all_ thought you were dead... I realized that my anger and my embarrassment had kept me from ever apologizing and from asking for your forgiveness; I thought I was too late. I was an idiot, Sam. I know that now... and today, as always, I used that same stupid anger to hide my true feelings. I still love you, Samantha Shepard. I always will." Nikki's bereft blue eyes continued to stream tears but, however slight, also held a glimmer of hope.

Shepard stared at Nikki in stunned silence for a moment; feeling the emotions of outrage and resentment screaming at her through the link, she was surprised Liara wasn't glowing with biotics. She firmly squeezed the hand of her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ and pushed back against the roaring flow with assurance, love and calming patience. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, to quiet her own racing heart and to ensure her voice came out leveled and controlled. "I'm sorry to hear that, Nikki, because I don't feel that way about you anymore. I haven't for a long time. You do know that I'm engaged to Liara, don't you?"

Nikki's face twisted in anguish and tears continued to stream down her face as she nodded to the affirmative, no words leaving her lips.

Shepard nodded only once and stood tall, her shoulders squared as she looked the woman directly in the eyes. "Then I'm sure you must realize how terribly inappropriate that statement is, particularly given Liara's presence at my side. I told you once before I didn't do casual... and that has never changed, Nikki. I am Promised to Liara now... she is my future. I love her _very_ much, we are going to get bonded as soon as time allows, and I plan on staying with her the rest of my life. I'm sorry if it seems cruel of me to say that aloud, but you need to completely understand that you and I were done the day you sent me that awful letter. And your apology? Whether I was dead or not, you were right – you _were_ too late. You and I will _never_ be together again, so you need to pick yourself up and move on, Nik. I certainly have."

With that, Shepard turned away from Nikki Hills for the final time. Smiling reassuringly at her Asari life mate, she took Liara's hand again as they walked away toward the Normandy, not once looking back.

* * *

 **A/N:** Shepard was in N7 training when she originally met Nikki Hills in Rio. She was with Nikki for almost 4 years (2177-2181) and then met Liara two years later, early in 2183, roughly 5½ years ago. If you subtract the near-2 years of being 'dead,' Shepard was with Nikki only slightly longer than she has now been with Liara. If you have not read QuickShots, or simply want the reminder, Shepard and Nikki's romance is chronicled in QuickShots, Chapters 12-16.


	29. For Better or Worse

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _Breá Ber'ah_ \- Combined form meaning beautiful and strange lover; _Breá_ being a close lover, somewhere between _Amantia_ and _Siame_ (Thessian)

 _Grá mo chroí -_ love of my heart (Gaelic)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **For Better or Worse**

 **Rio de Janeiro, Earth, Sol**

Riana couldn't remember how she made it back to the Normandy; her mind was so filled with thoughts of Sammi and the list of things she wanted to do while in Rio that her feet practically directed themselves. She trotted to the Normandy's docking bay to find the specialist waiting impatiently at the base of the cargo ramp.

"Sounds like the presentation went really well," Sammi said. "And we have tonight and tomorrow to ourselves! What do you want to do first?"

By way of a greeting, Riana wrapped her arms around her _Breá Ber'ah_ in a tight hug as she whispered, "There will be time for what I would like to do later this evening, Sammi. Right now, I am hungry for some food; is there any place close by… besides the academy… that is serving meals? Please tell me you have found such a place amidst all this destruction."

Sammi's eyes were alight with joy… joy in being held by her favorite person in the galaxy… elation at the thought of what Riana might like to do later in the evening, and delight that she had discovered a couple of places that had sustained only moderate damage, so were able to make repairs and begin limited operations. "I found one place that used to be well-known for its Japanese cuisine, especially the variety of sushi plates they served; it's just a short walk from the Military College. Their selections are pretty limited these days, as the fishing industry was pretty much decimated, but still, they do have some fresh fish and salads, along with a nice selection of beers."

Riana found it difficult to contain the enjoyment she felt in seeing Sammi so animated… so happy. "So then, I assume you are ready to go?"

* * *

Sammi very nearly got back into the air cab that had brought her and Riana to the Mitsabol Restaurant – the exterior of the building looked as if it had just encountered a near-hit by a Reaper weapon, with debris in the streets in front and on the side. Riana held on to her hand, saying, "The outside cannot tell us what we may find within. Come on, Sammi, let's take a chance... You may be pleasantly surprised."

With an encouraging squeeze of the hand from Riana, Traynor slowly led her companion to the door, which parted and slid into its pockets as if a war had never come to this city. As they stepped inside, they were met by a young woman in what appeared to be a starched white blouse, a short black skirt and dressy-looking black pumps. If she was surprised by the appearance of an Asari, she didn't show it as she asked, "Good evening. Two for dinner?"

Traynor answered, "Yes, please. We're visiting for two days and are looking for something different for dinner… We're from the Normandy."

The hostess eyes grew wide as she said in a voice filled with awe, "The Alliance space vessel? You both…" pointing to Traynor, then Riana, "… serve on the Normandy?"

Traynor breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, we both serve on the Normandy; I am Specialist Samantha Traynor, and this is…"

Riana interrupted Sammi before she could say too much. "… Riana Iregos, special liaison from the planet Thessia. We're really very hungry, if we could…?"

"Oh my, yes! Yes, of course. It will be an honor for us to serve you dinner this evening. If you will follow me, Ms Traynor… Ms Iregos. My name is Cataleya."

After seating them at a table for two in a quiet corner of the dining area, Cataleya handed each of them a small datapad displaying a menu. "My apologies for the very limited selections we have to offer. It has taken everything my family has… had… to bring this place back to life."

"You look busier than I would have expected after seeing the outside," Traynor commented.

Cataleya looked around the room in agreement, saying, "Word is getting around… and people need to eat."

Riana had entered her choices on the datapad, prompting Sammi to quickly enter her own. Cataleya smiled as she took the datapads; giving them a cursory glance, she said, "Someone will be right back with your beverages. Thank you for choosing to dine with us."

Traynor reached across the table to grasp a blue hand, eliciting a smile from the Asari. "You seem so much happier since joining me in my quarters, Sammi. It would appear that sharing my bed is good for you."

Samantha blushed at Riana's statement and looked down at the tabletop; returning her gaze to Riana's face, she offered, "I _am_ much more relaxed than when my quarters were in the crew compartment. Having you make sure I am taking my breaks… having lunch with you every day... and sleeping in your embrace every night? I can't begin to describe the happiness you've brought me." Traynor's expression changed for a moment, only to return to her smile of devotion. The brief cloud over her sunny disposition did not go unnoticed by the perceptive Asari.

"Sammi, what is it? There is something troubling you… I can see it."

They both looked up as Cataleya brought them their chosen beverages. "Your meals will be right out," she said as she set a filled glass in front of each of them.

After thanking her, Traynor looked back at Riana. "There is really nothing bothering me, Ri. It's just that…" Her brow knit as she paused and concentrated on the glass in her hand. She delayed by sampling her beverage as the hand holding hers across the table gave a gentle squeeze of encouragement. Firming her resolve, Traynor finally began her answer in earnest. "It's just that whenever we meld, I experience such incredible happiness… such a feeling of being made whole, as if our souls were meant to be joined… and when we make love, it's pure ecstasy!"

Sammi took another sip from her glass, prompting Riana to do the same. Traynor held her glass between thumb and fingers, idly spinning it in place as she continued. "The very first time you joined with me, I was so scared, so afraid I would not be able to enjoy it. Now, even though I realize we each need to be alone with our thoughts, I dislike having you withdraw from my mind; it leaves me feeling so… lonesome, as if all the peace and happiness in my life has been stripped away. Does that sound crazy?"

Riana took another sip from her own glass as she thought about everything she'd just learned from her Human lover. She knew a meld was a deeply personal experience for the one on the receiving end, particularly for a non-Asari mind. Sammi would never be able to initiate a joining, of that she was fairly sure; the only Human she knew capable of such was Commander Shepard, who seemed to be permanently linked with Mistress Liara. She sighed as she set her glass down and replied, "What you experience is not crazy, Breá Ber'ah. It is, I believe, a natural side-effect of our minds parting company." Riana's expression was solemn as she continued, "It is the same for me, even though I have done it most of my life. I always experience a brief sense of... isolation... immediately following our separation."

Sammi's jaw dropped at this revelation. "But… you're Asari, Riana. How can you feel alone when you initiate and terminate our joining? I'm gradually getting used to the feeling of being alone afterwards, but I never stopped to think about your feelings. My God, Ri! I am so sorry!"

Riana glanced up as Cataleya returned with their dinners, setting a large platter in front of each of them as she said, "We hope you enjoy your meals." Indicating their partially drained glasses, she added, "Would either of you care for a refill?"

After asking for another glass each of the delicious beer, Riana held Sammi's hand for several moments after Cataleya disappeared to get their refills, saying, "You have nothing to be sorry for, my sweet love. We continue to learn about each other the longer we're together. I never envisioned falling in love again after Ryati, least of all with a Human, but here I am."

She released Traynor's hand so they could give full attention to the sumptuous baked fish, side of brown rice and a nice salad; Riana had ordered nearly the same dinner, but instead of focusing on her food, the Asari continued speaking softly. "You simply need to comfort yourself the same way I do... by telling yourself that I am yours... and that you know I will always be there, eagerly awaiting your return and our next joining. How each of us knowing that the other craves our... _together_ time... highlights the unique and special bond we share."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Vila Militar Landing Zone, Earth**

As they walked back to the Normandy, Shepard was atypically silent, even through the link. It had been a long while since Liara had been so completely shut out of Samantha's thoughts, yet the Asari did not press her and said nothing until they gained the privacy of the loft. The sibilant hiss of actuating pistons pushing the hatch segments together behind them seemed deafening in the inordinate quiet. Liara stopped with her back barely clear of the door, but did not release Shepard's hand... causing the commander to come to an abrupt and unexpected stop, jarring her out of her self-imposed solitude. As she swung around to face her Promised, Samantha's head jerked up and she looked at her lover; a blush of red crept up Shepard's neck and, indicating a hint of shame, her eyes were shielded as she spoke. "I thought you wanted to change and go find someplace for dinner?"

"I do." Liara stepped closer and practically whispered, "But not until you open yourself back up to me, _Siame;_ you need to explain what is bothering you so much that you shut me out."

Shepard sighed and closed the gap completely, tipping her head forward until their foreheads touched gently together as she took both of Liara's hands in her own. "I'm sorry. I just..." She momentarily closed her eyes and huffed, intertwining their fingers as she continued, "I can't believe that Nikki said those things. I am so sorry you had to hear that, Liara. It was incredibly rude of her... and, in my shock, I think I was unnecessarily cruel to the poor woman. I don't like who I became in that moment back there."

"So her attempt at manipulating you to feel guilty worked after all." Liara's brow furrowed in a mix of consternation and uncertainty as she disentangled her right hand to reach up and cup the side of Shepard's face. "You did not have any part in her choices, Shepard. She's had plenty of time to send you at least a dozen messages asking for forgiveness, yet she did not, even though you are not exactly difficult to find. And not only that... She completely disregarded _your_ feelings and _our_ relationship." Liara paused, almost imperceptibly, and her voice had a slight tremor as she continued, "But, if you feel badly about what just happened, perhaps you do still harbor feelings for her that must be examined before we can truly..."

Liara did not have the opportunity to finish as Shepard wrapped her now free hand around the Asari's waist to draw them tightly together. "Don't you dare even _think_ that, _Grá mo chroí_! I am yours... Have been since before the day I declared myself to you and then, by the grace of the Gods, you actually accepted my proposal. No regrets, no second thoughts, and no chance of backing out of it now," a light smirk crossing Shepard's face as she finished her statement.

Liara felt the block drop only an instant before a stampede of emotion almost buckled her knees. The commander's grip around her waist tightened as Shepard also broke her other hand free to wrap tender, warm fingers around the back of the Asari's neck. Liara shivered in delight as those same fingers first slid unhesitatingly across the folds at the back of her neck and then up to the base of her crest, making her pebbled skin tingle as a rush of heated biotics passed through her like an incredibly bright flash of lightning.

Hot, eager lips crashed into hers and Liara felt the need to throw her arms around Shepard's shoulders to keep from drowning in the waves of loving devotion that swept repeatedly over her, eradicating each and every one of her fleeting insecurities, one by one. Her vision grew hazy, forcing her to push back and gasp for breath. _By the Goddess!_

Unrelenting, Shepard followed her attempted withdrawal until Liara was trapped against the door, with no more room for retreat. She wasn't sure exactly how or when it happened but, while they had continued their passionate kiss, Shepard's hands had left her neck and waist to undo the clasps of her armor; it was easy to ignore the clatter of the chest and back plates crashing to the deck as the commander's hands found their way beneath her underarmor to knead her breasts. She groaned as fierce desire gripped her... and Liara felt her entire body suddenly shudder with longing at the sensations that accompanied Shepard's words through the link. _{I love you,_ _Mo cheann geallta. Make no mistake; there is only room for you in my heart.}_

What little resistance that remained within Liara's mind melted away without further delay. _{By the Goddess, Samantha! Take me! I am yours...}_

* * *

Liara's eyes fluttered open slowly and she drew a deep breath that resulted in a long, lethargic yawn. A light chuckle from somewhere off to her left caught her attention and she lazily turned her head to discover its source. Samantha was still lying in bed, but was up on her right side with her head propped up, elbow on her pillow and the side of her head resting in her hand. Liara smiled softly and rolled onto her left side to face the commander. " _Siame_. How long have you been watching me doze?"

Shepard laid her head back down on the pillow and scooted closer, whispering, "Long enough to know you're positively stunning when you're sleeping... so relaxed and serene."

Liara blushed lightly. "Only because I know you are watching over me, protecting me and keeping me safe." She moved forward, only far enough to brush her lips lightly across Shepard's. "I love you. Thank you, Sam... That was beautiful."

Shepard stretched out on her back and Liara moved in to cuddle closer, laying her head on Samantha's shoulder as she threw an arm and leg possessively across her lover. Sam gently stroked Liara's thigh as she responded, "I'm glad you asked it of me. I know I had to share my memories of the good times I enjoyed while in Rio... especially those from my time with Nik. I needed to get them out of my head and stop hiding from them... for me, and especially for you." She tilted her head to gently kiss Liara on the forehead. "And to have you be so understanding about it all is a blessing from the Gods."

Liara smiled. "Well, it certainly helps us both when you aren't blocking the link. When I can truly sense how you feel about me, my faith is utterly unshakable." Her smile faded slightly as she resumed, "I'm sorry I said what I did when we first returned to the loft... to make you think, even for a moment, that I doubted your love for me."

"Enough, Li. It worked out." Another gentle kiss touched her forehead as Shepard continued. "It was a simple misunderstanding... which _I_ instigated by blocking you out. It was my own uncertainty about how I treated Nikki that caused it; it had nothing to do with what you said."

Liara pushed herself up enough to slide over on top of Shepard and peered down into questioning eyes. "And we worked _that_ out as well, so why don't we both simply move on?"

Shepard ran fingertips teasingly down Liara's sides. "Sounds like an excellent suggestion, Dr T'Soni. Any ideas on what to do for the remainder of the evening that still lies before us?"

"I've missed you, Shepard... this particular closeness." Liara's entire expression softened and her eyes misted with tenderness and desire. "I would ask for more of the same, but I am convinced we need to eat before partaking of any... _additional_ extracurricular activities. I do believe we have both come extremely close to exhausting our reserves."

Shepard grinned and slid her hands teasingly across the folds of her lover's lower back, careful to not penetrate within. Liara closed her eyes and groaned, "Not fair, Commander. You keep doing that and _you_ will be the one to explain to Karin how you drove me into biotic shock."

Concerned, the commander's eyes opened a bit wider and she withdrew her hands immediately. "Seriously? You're that depleted?"

"Not yet." Liara slowly pushed herself back to the side and rested her head on Samantha's chest, listening to the comforting thrum of the heart beating rhythmically within. "But I undoubtedly would be after another session of what we did just before our short nap... which was not _nearly_ long enough to recover for a second round."

Liara's face held a promising smirk as Shepard rolled her gently onto her back and covered the Asari with her body, kissing her sweetly on welcoming blue lips before whispering softly, "In that case, we need to figure out what we're doing for dinner and make sure we both take our eezo supplements." She rolled away and threw the covers back, rising reluctantly from the bed. She stretched and groaned, "Gods, you're right. I'm not sleepy, but I am somewhat physically tired."

Liara laughed lightly and slid off the bed as well. "Then my suggestion is that we place a dinner order before slipping into the shower while our newly appointed chef prepares something to deliver... let's say... in twenty minutes, so we have time to get cleaned up and into some fresh clothes?"

Shepard grinned. "Make it thirty, and it's a deal."

* * *

 **Altakiril, Thal System, The Shrike Abyssal**

Sparatus answered the call placed by a very pleased General Flavius. "What have you found?"

Flavius bowed quickly as he started his report. "Excellent opportunities, Legate, and excellent results." His mandibles flared briefly in a show of excitement before he began to relay his good news. "The Turian colonial capital of Estivus Erax was largely destroyed from space, but the Reapers never actually set foot planet-side, so there is a lot of salvage. We found a number of ships protected by bunkers and the population of over 13 million was reduced to pockets of no more than a few thousand each... scattered widely and unable to provide any form of unified resistance... maybe 200,000 total. All of them are greatly weakened by hunger and thirst, having received zero resupply in the seven weeks since the war ended. They welcomed us with open arms and were more than happy to _give_ us the ships in return for promises of aid."

"And did you accept this offer?" For some reason, Sparatus appeared less than pleased, but the reasons behind his query were quickly explained as Flavius answered promptly.

"Of course not. We killed everyone we contacted except the select few ignorant children we need to spread the news of Omega ships and Blue Suns pirates being positively ruthless... exactly as you instructed, Sir."

"Excellent." The Legate's attitude shifted dramatically as he continued. "So, how many of what types of ships?" His smile widened as Flavius gave him the details. "That is most excellent news, indeed. A very successful first run. You've set a high standard for yourself, General. May the Spirits grant you such success on all our raids."

"Thank you, Sir." Flavius bowed one last time. "I've already sent word to the Operations Center to dispatch an additional frigate with five extra crews, as we garnered much more success than anticipated. They are simply awaiting your approval for departure; if they leave within the next hour, we'll be back at the station before tomorrow evening."

"Understood, General. I'll authorize the orders immediately. Good work."

The screen went black and Flavius turned to his men. "You heard him. Terminate the rest of the survivors here. We left enough alive at the first three locations to spread the necessary rumors once someone else arrives here. Just make certain they have enough supplies to live that long." As the soldiers turned to carry out his orders, he shouted out, "And remember... no names! We can't give them any information that can be traced back to us or our whole ruse is derailed!"

As they moved out to complete their grisly tasks, Flavius focused his thoughts on their next target... the capital of the Volus colony of Yila on Boro. Before the war, the city had been protected by the Turian military under a treaty agreement, but few ships were left there once Victus had made the call for the final battle on Earth, as both the Turian and Volus fleets had responded. It would be a bold move, but with the fleet the Legate now had at his beck and call, Flavius felt it would be easy enough to block the communications within the Satent system of the Pylos Nebula long enough to overwhelm the now small defending fleet and board and capture its ships, with the colony below not even realizing what was happening in orbit until far too late.

The core of the plan relied on internal system communications _not_ being blocked, so the Turian ships could warn the colony to prepare their defenses in preparation for the pending Omega-led raid. Flavius chuckled. _Of course, we have no intention of conducting such a raid, but they need to be convinced we are an Omega attack force... and to then brag about how their colonial defenses chased off the pending raid. They will all play directly into our hands._

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Vila Militar Landing Zone, Earth**

The next morning came unusually late; Shepard, who normally woke between 0500 and 0600 hours, rolled over slowly and felt around her nightstand blindly until she located her omnitool. She brought it to her face and forced her eyes to open and focus, finally seeing the time; 0812 hours. "Wow," she whispered to herself. Quietly placing the large but unassuming bracelet back on the nightstand, she slipped out of bed to hit the head before returning to crawl back in and snuggle up to Liara's side.

The Asari stirred and mumbled, "Goddess. Your skin is cold, Sam. Do you feel alright?"

Shepard smiled and whispered that she had simply needed to use the bathroom and had gotten chilled because she hadn't bothered to put on any clothes for the short trip. "Mmmm. I see." Liara's consciousness came into sharper focus as she woke a bit more from Shepard pressing her cold body against her back... and a cold hand on her stomach. "Did you happen to check the time while you were up?"

Shepard placed a soft kiss on the Asari's shoulder. "It's just after eight, Blue."

"Seriously?" That shocked Liara the rest of the way to full wakefulness. "I don't seem to be able to recall you ever sleeping that late voluntarily, Samantha." She smiled and rolled over, snaking one arm under Shepard so she could wrap the commander in a comfortable embrace. "You honestly didn't wake before now?"

"No." Happy to be warm and snuggled under the covers with her lover, Shepard returned the favor as they lay happily entwined in one another's arms. "Guess you wore me out last night, you little vixen."

"And it was most certainly my pleasure, _Siame_." Liara laughed quietly as Shepard's face took up a light pink hue. "Shall we go out today, as planned, to tour the city and see how Legion is coming along, or do you plan on keeping me here all day and wasting our time off?"

Liara's voice had a teasing lilt to it and Shepard had to chuckle before responding, "No, we'll go out... but, just to clarify... in my mind, staying here, in bed with you, could not, in any possible way, be construed as 'wasting our time off.' Shepard hugged her tightly and snuggled into the Asari's neck.

"Ah!" A pleasing shudder ran quickly through Liara's body as Shepard's teeth nipped at the side of her neck and a tongue ran up one of the valleys between its ridges. "Shepard! Doing _that_ is certainly not going to get us out of this bed any time soon!"

"You in a hurry to see what remains of a city turned to rubble, T'Soni?" Shepard's hot breath across her ridges, combined with a warm hand sliding enticingly up her inner thigh instantly had Liara questioning her day's goals as Sam continued, "We have nowhere to be until lunch..."

"I suppose I could be convinced..." Shepard's hand reached a rather sensitive place and Liara terminated her sentence with a gasp as she felt a renewed spike of desire, accompanied by warm wetness. She growled and arched her back, pressing into Samantha's hand. _{Goddess. Now you've done it. You will need to take care of that before we can go anywhere, Commander.}_

"Well..." Shepard stroked the pulsing wet nub beneath her fingers as she answered, "It certainly wasn't my intention to leave you like this, Blue."

Looking for more, Liara pushed tightly against her lover's hand as she reached her own hand down to locate Shepard's equivalent body part. At the same time, she also pushed into her _Siame_ 's mind. _{Meld with me, Sam. I want so much more than just a physical connection.}_

Sam smiled and opened her mind as slender blue fingers began their initial probes; she welcomed all of Liara in... both body and mind... and quickly found herself pinned to the bed beneath the Asari, Liara's lips locked around her right breast as fingers tinged with blue power stimulated her slick sex. She growled and tried to control her jerking hips, to no avail. Liara knew her body too well and she was determined to bring Shepard to the brink of rapture... which she did, repeatedly, over the course of the morning.

* * *

 **Rannoch, Tikkun, Perseus Veil**

The conversations with Admirals Koris, Gerrel and Xen had all gone as expected and, after a quick communiqué between Tali and Legion, the Geth had reactivated shortly thereafter. They had only been working for the better part of a day, but had already made what could only be considered astounding progress. They had relocated only half of their entire force on the planet to the southern continent, which still equated to a work group of 400,000 units. They had divided into four large groups, which then went to separate locations to clear and prepare large patches of ground for a settlement at each destination. Each location had already been preselected by the Quarians to optimize local resources, particularly sufficient fresh water and space for expansion as their population grew.

The Geth Consensus quickly designed and optimized city plans for each locale based on its specific terrain and surrounding natural features, easily providing the city's layout, along with complete coordinates, to each of the individual Geth workers within the first solar hour of their arrival. The clearing of land began immediately, in concert with the import of the materials that would be required for the massive effort. The Quarians had begun the import and distribution of materials, but were in no way ready for such a large workforce to descend en masse at each of the four future cities.

At least 60 percent of the workforce was required simply to keep supplies and materials flowing at the rate necessary to support the construction teams' rapid progress. There was no shortage of materials; much was simply salvaged from the destruction during the war and Geth refining and manufacturing facilities still dotted the northern continent. Unlike the rest of the galaxy, the Geth had been Reaper allies right up until the Reaper on Rannoch had been destroyed and its control signal eliminated. As such, the Reapers had taken no action against them and every facility on Rannoch was still standing and fully operational. Not only that, but since they had been enlarging the Geth Consensus storage facility at Haratar, the facilities had been operating at full capacity and had rather large stockpiles to draw from.

Within the first day, the water source had been secured, the land had been cleared and the city's infrastructure began to take shape. By sundown, the water, power and communications grids had been laid out such that, except for being a near-perfect circle, aerial views of the entire city area looked like a massive checkerboard, ready for each of the boxes to be filled. Tali looked at the progress for City One in amazement as she arrived via shuttle to speak with the Geth. Once they landed and the exterior hatch opened, Tali stepped out onto a prefab landing pad and was met immediately by a large Prime unit. "Creator Zorah. Welcome. I am known as Prime Conditor and it is my honor to serve. How may I help you?"

"This is absolutely amazing! I knew you would be fast, but the pace... I never dreamed! When do you anticipate the city being inhabitable?" Tali did not look at the Prime, but simply stared at the flurry of activity surrounding her, even as the light faded.

"We require neither rest nor nutrient breaks so will continue through the evenings. By morning light, we will have both the power and water flow control facilities ready for operation. The basic power and water piping grids will be laid out throughout the city which, when complete, will cover 100 square kilometers and support a population of roughly 100,000. Tomorrow, we will construct communications facilities, a community meeting hall and governmental facilities, as well as starting on the Quarian residential units."

Tali shook her head. "How do you know what to build? What are you using as a model?"

"You forget." Conditor turned his large head to stare directly at her. "We possess the corporate Geth memory from before the Morning War. We are simply constructing Quarian buildings as they were... before."

Tali blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you, Prime Conditor. You and the Geth have most certainly provided us with an incredible gift."

"But I have not yet answered your question. Once we complete the first block of housing units, you may begin moving people into the city. We recommend prioritizing those who will work directly for the city, so they may take over infrastructure maintenance and repair." He paused only slightly before continuing, "The majority of the Geth can then move on to other tasks. The basic city will be complete and ready for full occupation within nine days; there are too many variables so, while we will not construct the business district, we can leave a relatively small team behind to assist in the construction of individual businesses."

"I'm sure that would be much appreciated, Prime Conditor; though, once our basic needs are met, you should prioritize your time toward greater needs. Construction of the businesses themselves will provide the jobs our people will need to get our new city working. The rest will come naturally."

"Thank you, Creator Zorah. We will proceed as you direct and shift our available assets to higher priority requirements." The lights on the Prime dimmed for a moment; he continued once they returned to full brightness. "However, I have been instructed to inform you that Creator Zorah is to receive priority service. Should you require assistance, of any kind, you must merely ask and a unit will respond as quickly as possible."

Tali frowned. "Who directed that... and why?"

"You were an original member of Shepard Commander's team. Despite Quarian historical imperative, you worked with Geth unit Legion to help free us from Reaper control... twice; first on Heretic Station and again on Rannoch. You defended our bid for sentient status against the other Admirals, even after Heretic Geth took the life of your father, which resulted in charges of treason against your person. You have proven yourself to be a true ally. The Consensus is simply repaying that... trust... in kind."

"Please pass my thanks to the Consensus. I will not abuse the trust you have placed in me. I promise." Tali took a final look around and realized it had gotten rather dark while she was speaking with Prime Conditor. "It's time for me to be going. Please, let me know if you encounter any difficulties while on Rannoch and I will do what I can to resolve the issue quickly."

"Understood." The Prime extended his arm and Tali shook his hand. As she turned away, the Prime's parting words caused a shiver to run down her spine. "Travel well, Creator Zorah. We are watching. You will be protected."

After she reboarded her shuttle and had gotten underway, Tali asked a question, seemingly of herself, as no other persons were traveling with her on the shuttle, and she was piloting the vessel. "Are you my monitor, as well as my environmental controller?"

At first, she didn't think she was going to get an answer, but Medica eventually responded. "I am, Creator Zorah. The Consensus humbly apologizes for not informing you of this from the very beginning. We have committed a violation of trust and I am prepared to disable the function and upload immediately to the Geth server should you no longer desire my presence within your suit control system."

"Why did you not tell me?" At this point, Tali was more curious than angry.

"We feared you would decline the offer of medical assistance... A function we consider essential to the future of the Quarian people. We deemed our potential discovery worth the risk for your protection."

Tali sensed... more... behind Medica's statement and felt an undeniable urge to continue her query. "And what, exactly, are you protecting me against?"

"Not what. Who." Medica paused as the Consensus contemplated exactly how much to reveal. "We have already hidden information from you, which caused you to be displeased. We will do so no more. We are concerned; you have politically challenged and bested experienced leaders within your Conclave and we have intercepted communications indicating they are conspiring against you. As we experienced with the Heretics, such internal divisions can result in unexpected... and often hazardous... conditions. We do not wish to see you injured in such a conflict and desired to ensure your safety."

"Who?" Tali's voice ticked up an octave with concern, feeling she already knew the answer. If she was correct, they were dangerous enemies, indeed. "Who are you talking about?"

"Gerrel Admiral and Xen Admiral are extremely annoyed that you have our trust and our assistance. They refuse to accept their own actions as sufficient cause... and believe you responsible for our being unwilling to aid them."

Tali's heart dropped to her stomach and she suddenly wished Medica had a physical body. She wanted to have a being in front of her to talk to... a friend at her side instead of just a simulated voice. When she thought about that for a moment, she realized the one she truly wanted was Kal Reegar. Tears slipped down her cheeks within her mask and she sniffed, never having felt quite so alone as she did at the current moment. "Oh, Kal. I miss you and your advice. Keelah! What, by the ancestors, am I supposed to do now?"


	30. Back on Track

Notes:

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

CNO - Chief of Naval Operations

 _Grá mo chroí -_ love of my heart (Gaelic)

ICT - Interplanetary Combatives Training, sometimes called _N-School_ or _the villa_

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SNV - Salarian Union Naval Vessel

* * *

 **Back on Track**

 **Normandy SR-2, Vila Militar Landing Zone, Earth**

Ashley and Falk returned to the docks after a quiet dinner at the nearby Alliance ICT installation… that is, what was left of it. The Marines had done a great job in getting the Admin and Food Services areas back up and running, but the rest of the place was still a shambles. Boarding the Normandy, they walked leisurely to the Life Support Compartment on Deck 3, which had been cleaned up and converted into what now passed for guest quarters aboard the Normandy.

When they arrived at the compartment hatch, Ashley paused and smiled. "I had a really nice time today, Andreas. It's a damned shame the city was so thoroughly destroyed by the Reapers, but it was fun to walk on the beach and splash about in the water, and I really enjoyed our dinner tonight." _Lame! Lame! Lame, Williams! Just kiss him good night so he can go to bed!_

Falk cocked an eyebrow at her as he asked, "Want to come in for a nightcap? I brought some top quality hooch with me… be a shame for me to sample it all by myself."

Ashley looked straight into a pair of steel-gray eyes. "You're right. That certainly _would_ be a shame." Waving at the still closed hatch, she said, "After you, Sir…"

A fairly large bed had been moved into the far corner, under what had formerly been a large viewport allowing one to see the top of the ship's eezo containment core in the engineering section below. A small desk with terminal had been added, along with an upholstered couch, set with its backrest against the lighted shelves where Krios had stored his weapons during the Collector conflict. A square table had been placed next to each arm on the couch, along with a low 'coffee' table in front of the cushions; a large wardrobe for clothes and personal gear faced the foot of the bed.

Since the compartment had been assigned as quarters to the Lieutenant Colonel for the duration of the trip, he had been provided a temporary privacy passcode to unlock the hatch, which he used now. As the segments retracted into their pockets, Andreas waved Ashley inside. When the hatch reclosed behind them, he relocked it against outside intrusion, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Ashley.

"In all my time on this ship, I can count on one hand the number of people that have come in here late at night," she remarked. "I seriously doubt we'll be disturbed."

"I guess old habits die hard, Ash. Come on in… Have a seat on the couch while I retrieve the bottle and a couple of glasses."

Ashley had not been in this compartment since before Thane Krios had been on board. She pulled her jacket off and draped it over the back of the desk chair before taking a seat on the moderately sized, yet comfortable, couch. As she settled in, she realized it was generously sized for two people, or possibly three, if all three were close friends. She leaned back and crossed her legs as she placed her left arm along the top of the backrest. Tipping her head back, she closed her eyes for a few moments, enjoying this bit of downtime.

After poking around in the wardrobe, Andreas took a few steps over to where she was sitting. _Damn! What a goddess. Can't get over how beautiful she is…_ Instead of sitting, he decided to sample her lips again while her head was tipped back. Gingerly leaning over, his hoped for surprise was spoiled when she reacted to his breathing by slowly opening her eyes. "See something you want, Andreas, or are you just testing how alert this Marine happens to be?"

"Damn, Ash. I was hoping to steal a kiss, but now?"

Ashley reached up with both hands to grab his shoulders and pull his face towards hers, forcing him to place a hand on the arm of the couch. Bringing her head up slightly, she captured his lips with hers, using the tip of her tongue to tease him into opening his mouth against hers. The taste of honey that were her lips lasted but moments before she broke the contact. "There. You didn't have to steal a kiss from me… I'll be happy to give you a kiss Andreas, anytime you want one." Smiling up at him, she released his shoulders as she said, "Now let's see what's in that bottle."

Falk was sure he had never met this woman's match, in or out of the service. "Your request is mine to obey, Ma'am!" He set the glasses he'd been holding with the long-necked bottle on the table next to the couch, where he opened the bottle and poured two fingers worth in each glass; setting the nearly full bottle down beside the glasses, he picked them both up, handed one to her, then sat beside her with his own. Turning slightly to face her, he held up his glass and grinned. "Here's to us, Ashley Williams." After touching the rim of his glass to hers, he put the glass to his lips and tossed the contents back. "Damn," he gasped as his eyes watered from the burn. "That's some really good stuff! Go on, Ash… drink up!"

Ashley had no desire to get drunk tonight, but didn't feel that a couple of drinks would set her back too far. Tossing the contents down, she coughed as the alcohol burned its way to her stomach. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she managed to rasp out, "Whew! That. Is. Good! But… I honestly believe it's meant to be sipping whisky." Holding her glass up, she asked, "Another?"

Andreas handed his glass to Ashley, who set it next to her own; she poured them each another measure and handed his replenished glass back. He sipped just a bit and declared, "Ahhh… much better a bit at a time."

Ashley sipped from her own glass, agreeing that drinking it at a slower pace was more agreeable. She looked at him for a moment before saying, "I took a peek at the schedule the Alliance has laid out for us over the next couple of weeks... and I don't think you're going to like it."

Falk took another sip from his glass before responding. "What makes you think that?"

Placing her hand on his thigh, she replied, "Shepard has to make one more appearance here on Earth, in Vancouver BC, before her promotion to Captain, which is scheduled for a week from tomorrow, the fifth of August." She looked at him past hooded eyes and asked, "You're gonna be there, right?"

Andreas was suddenly aware of a very warm palm and fingers on his thigh… it had been gently placed on top of his leg, such that he had hardly noticed. The fingers were now on the inside of his thigh, a bit further north than they had been mere minutes before. "I… well, that is… um, I'll need to see what Command has me assigned to do, but I should be able to attend."

Ashley polished off the liquid in her glass, set it on the table beside her and brought her now free hand around to caress his face. Leaning closer, she eased her left hand a bit further up his leg as she said, "I'd consider it a personal favor, Andreas. The Normandy will be shipping out ten days later, and we won't be back for some time."

Falk felt as if the compartment was warmer than when they'd entered… Of course, he knew _that_ couldn't be right… could it? "Shipping out? I hadn't heard… Where are they sending you?" He was now acutely aware of her left breast pressing lightly into his upper arm, and the hand between his legs was gently massaging his inner thigh from the middle to nearly the top of his leg… She seemed to instinctively know how far up to go without touching his crotch.

Ash leaned in a bit further, keenly aware of the effect her closeness was having him. "The Council has mandated a… 'Victory Tour'… by their first Human Spectre, in command of the frigate that led the fleet back to kick the Reapers off of Earth," she whispered in a husky voice. "It's a big deal… and I have no idea when we'll get back to Earth, Andreas." Ashley used her right hand to pull Falk's face around as she closed the distance between them to place a soft kiss on a willing mouth. She deftly grabbed the empty glass he was holding and set it on the coffee table

Bringing his newly freed left hand around, he placed it in the recessed area above her hipbone before sliding it around to grasp the back of her leg at her butt; she responded by moving her legs to straddle his, with her knees pressing into the backrest on either side of him. After another lengthy kiss, she breathed, "I want you, Andreas… I need you to make love to me, now, as if we'll never have the opportunity again."

Her mouth was literally devouring him as eager fingers began releasing the fasteners on his shirt; once she had the access she desired, she slowly explored his bare chest until she found one of his nipples, which she teased erect by 'straddling' the tip with two fingers together, sliding back and forth.

Falk was similarly busy, although he had a bit of difficulty in unfastening her blouse with her breasts pressed up against him; he finally managed the task, pulling the garment down partway in order to entrap her arms.

She bit an earlobe very delicately before whispering, "Let's move to your bed, Mr Falk. You can finish undressing me on the way." With that, she slid her legs back until she could stand on the deck. She grabbed both of Falk's hands and pulled him up and away from the couch. Being mindful of the table right behind her calves, she side-stepped until she was in no danger of falling over the low table. Looking down at her open blouse, she said, "I do believe you have only completed half the task, dear. Would you mind…?"

Andreas was only too happy to oblige; he came up to her and finished removing her blouse. Gazing in rapt admiration at the sight of the swelling of white skin spilling up out of her bra, he said, "It's always been a mystery to me… How in the hell do you get that thing on?"

She smiled as she playfully cupped her breasts with her hands. "Simple, really. I'll take it off in reverse order, so pay attention." She quickly slid each shoulder strap off and pulled her arm through the loop. "Some of these have their hooks in the front… guess they're made that way to make it easier on the men." She grasped the top edges of the each cup between thumb and finger and pulled down, popping her breasts totally out of the garment. "My God, Andreas! I would love to have a picture of the expression on your face just now," she snarked. "What the Hell? They're only breasts!" She grinned to see the brief look of embarrassment on his face as she rotated the bra below her breasts until the rear hooks were in the front; releasing the two hooks allowed the ends to swing free.

Tossing the bra to him, she placed her fists on her hips with her shoulders back. "Your turn to fondle them."

Andreas came up to her with both hands at chest level, palms facing her. He gently kneaded both of them as she purred, "Never understood the male fascination with 'em." After a few moments, she moved to embrace him while his hands continued to massage her tits.

"As nice as that feels," she whispered in his ear, "there are other parts of me that are worth a look, Andreas. And I need to finish getting your clothes off if we are to have any real fun tonight." Having said that, Ash went to work on his shirt, pulling the tails out of his pants, than slowly sliding it off his arms. Placing a quick kiss in the hollow between his collar bones, she deftly undid his belt buckle and top button before slowly easing the zipper to the bottom of its travel. Placing the palm of her hand against the swollen member within his shorts, she whispered in a snarky voice, "Feels like you're happy to have me here with you tonight."

Releasing him, she moved to the bed, where she dragged the covers down; turning and unfastening her trousers in one motion, she pulled them down to her knees as she sat on the bed. Reaching down, she pulled her feet out of her boots and pants, leaving on a pair of socks and her panties. She looked meaningfully at him as she patted the mattress next to her.

Andreas moved to stand with his back to the wardrobe, where he undid the clasps and pulled off his shoes before sliding his pants and shorts to his ankles. Stepping out of the remainder of his clothes, he took the three steps to the bed as Ashley swung her legs up. Lying on her side with one arm supporting her, she looked him up and down and back up.

Falk grinned as he parroted her words back at her. "I would love to have a picture of the expression on _your_ face just now. I'd almost think you'd never seen a naked man."

Ashley grinned right back. "Most of the naked men I've seen, and there haven't been many, mind you, weren't put together so well, and I'm not too sure, but I think they were not as well endowed, either." She rolled onto her back and raised both arms towards him.

Andreas crawled onto the bed from the foot, moving up to partially lay on her. She hugged him tightly and pressed her lips to his mouth before drawing back. "I love you, Andreas Falk. I wish we could do this every night of our lives."

"I'm yours, Ashley Williams." Drawing back to sit on his lower legs, he hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and gently pulled them down as she raised her hips to accommodate his action. He looked at her feet as he pulled her underwear past her ankles and asked, "Socks? Personally, I think they make your legs look that much sexier."

Ashley giggled like a schoolgirl. "Never been told _that_ before." Reaching for him, she pulled him down on top of her and began kissing him in earnest.

* * *

 **Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver, Earth**

At the end of their downtime in Rio, Hackett announced the reinstatement of Shepard as commander of the Normandy and requested she bring the ship to Vancouver to complete retrofit upgrades and minor repairs as they prepared for her last speech on Earth, her promotion to Captain, and the final departure preparations for the so-called Victory Tour that had been ordered by the Council. Shepard had expected the homecoming to the Vancouver Headquarters to be solely a happy affair, but she had been incorrect in a number of her assumptions.

She had always thought Hackett, as the Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, Fifth Fleet, would stay in the position until he retired from public life... or was killed in the Reaper War. Neither event had happened... yet, upon her arrival, Shepard was informed that Admiral Hackett was soon to become a civilian. Her promotion to Captain was to be his last official act as the Chief. However, the news wasn't all bad; with the destruction of Arcturus Station and the loss of the entire upper level of the Systems Alliance command structure, _Mr_ Steven Hackett was going to continue to serve... but as the Military Secretary to the Interim Prime Minister, stationed at the temporary headquarters at Vancouver.

Admiral Ines Lindholm would replace Hackett with her transfer from First Fleet to fill the position as the CNO and Commander, Fifth Fleet, while Admiral Nitesh Singh from Third Fleet would take over the First Fleet. The combined remains of the Second, Third and Fourth Fleets would be led by Admiral Kastanie Drescher as Commander of a reconstituted Second Fleet. Shepard stared at Hackett in amazement. "You, as the Secretary, Sir? I never thought I'd see you in a civilian position... and what about Third and Fourth Fleets? Any plans to rebuild them?"

Hackett drew in a deep breath and let it out as a sad sigh. "There are no Third and Fourth Fleets anymore, Shepard, and we don't have sufficient resources right now to rebuild them. The Second was mostly destroyed at Arcturus and, well, the Fourth was completely obliterated when the Reapers popped out of the Charon Relay and made a beeline for Earth." He shook his head in disgust. "Combining all the remnants barely gives us enough to really call the collection a 'Fleet.' And all our people are committed; we don't have the manpower available to crew them, even if we had ships available."

"And that's why you agreed to be the CNO... So you could focus the Alliance on recruitment." Understanding lit in Shepard's eyes. "And with the status of Earth, that shouldn't be too difficult. There are a lot of folks out there without jobs; I imagine steady income and food on the table is pretty attractive right about now... especially with the war being over. People most likely anticipate a period of peace, with no requirement to actually fight."

"Exactly." A hopeful smile flashed across Hackett's face. "They'd be rebuilding anyway, and if the military is going to help, they may as well be the part of the efforts that gets them paid and fed while they do it." Hackett paused and clapped her on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go talk with Prime Minister Hoffmann and figure out exactly what he's expecting in your speech."

"Hoffman? Who the heck is that?" Shepard's brow wrinkled in puzzlement at the name; it was one she had heard but not often enough to place, yet the man had somehow ended up the Prime Minister of the Alliance.

"I know." Hackett actually chuckled at the expression on her face. "Arthur Hoffman was one of our Cultural Attachés on the Citadel... and his qualifications, like so many others at the moment, consist mostly of being a member of the Diplomatic Services who managed to survive both the Reaper War and the Citadel Coup attempt. Dominic Osoba was the only other, but he's our Ambassador to the Citadel Council and is already ensconced on the Destiny Ascension."

"I'll be damned." Shepard shook her head and laughed with the Admiral. "You never know what the winds of fate will blow your way, do you?"

"No, you don't... but I think you'll like him. He's a hoverbike enthusiast and, assuming it survived along with him, he owns a Lloyd Flyer GTT 2.3."

"Sweet. Sounds like my kind of guy." Shepard turned and lifted her hand to indicate the hallway. "Let's not keep the Prime Minister waiting, Sir. That speech is only three days away; if he wants any major changes to our format, we'll need time to work it."

"We're probably safe, Shepard. He's pretty overwhelmed by it all and is barely keeping his head above water." Hackett turned and started to walk in the indicated direction. "Anything we can do to make his job easier will be a welcome respite to the normal office calls he gets, which are usually demands for assistance that we simply don't have the resources to provide." Hackett gave her a quick sideways glance as he finished, "I imagine if you can make an earnest offer of a sizeable Geth workforce, he'll let you do and say whatever you want on that stage."

* * *

 **(New) Nos Astra, Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

In the eight weeks since killing the Illusive Man in order to save Commander Shepard, Maya Brooks had been on the run; she'd managed to stay several steps ahead of the Cerberus sanctioned operative or operatives assigned to track her down, and while she did not know the identity of her pursuer, she did know she was being pursued. To her mind, there was no question that an enormous bounty had been placed on her head, large enough to make her a target for any mercenary looking for an easy score. That Maya would make killing her by stealth no easy task had probably not been explained to anyone looking to enrich themselves at her expense.

Maya had started using the alias Rasa Channing right after leaving the Boltzmann System. She still possessed a small fortune – credits she had 'liberated' from the Illusive Man's private stash on board _Eva's Vortex_ – only because she had been cautious about not spending it too lavishly. Unfortunately, she would need to spend a bit more than she liked in order to acquire an apartment meeting her criteria for laying low; fully furnished, with hardened entrance hatches, good outside visibility of the various paths of approach, defendable positions inside, and a back exit leading to at least two distinct paths away from the immediate vicinity.

It had taken several lengthy days of searching to find a location that suited her; it was within shouting distance of the warehouse district, so if she _did_ have to make a run for it, the warehouses sat in the middle of a vast warren of alleys and narrow paths, with plenty of excellent perches from which to apply her skills as a sniper. It was also close enough to the secondary spaceport to enable her to get to her small ship in order to leave Illium in a hurry.

Maya had to thumb-print the rental agreement; what the agency did not know was the print on the datapad was created by a thin piece of plastic glued over her thumb. The print she gave them was that of one of the crewmen of _Eva's Vortex_ , long since dead and consumed by the star at the center of the Boltzmann system in the Serpent Nebula. She was still taking a chance by using a dead woman's print, but bureaucratic ineptitude usually went a long way when it came to matching a DNA sample to a fingerprint. She felt fortunate they hadn't requested a retinal scan – she had a set of refracting contact lenses, but hadn't brought them with her.

As soon as night fell the first evening she had possession of the place, she set about installing audio-video surveillance around the building, using the cloak of darkness to shield her actions from those curious enough to investigate the movement of a shimmering shadow – her outward appearance while wearing an active cloaking generator. After a tense four hours of clambering about the exterior installing micro-cameras, she went inside to shower, eat and get some sleep. She rose at noon, ate a small meal, then spent the afternoon programming the receiver for the vidcams; this would feed all the inputs into an auto-routing video monitor, allowing her to watch all the feeds simultaneously and enlarge any one of them that showed something of interest.

When night fell once again, she was out of the apartment, wearing but not using her cloaking shield generator. She wanted to get a feel for the layout of all the routes open to her, places where she could lie in wait, perches from which to employ her sniper rifle and the pathways she could take for a hasty retreat. She spent the entire evening mapping it all in her head, to the point she didn't need to ponder which way was the safest route to travel, she could instinctively run in the correct direction.

By the time the sun was peaking over the horizon, she was safely back inside for the day. After sleeping until just past noon, she rose, showered and ate, then spent the rest of the day using her extranet terminal to look for any and all mentions of Cerberus members, past and current. Maya wanted to have as much forewarning as possible when the inevitable discovery of her location happened; she wasn't about to wait for someone from her former life to bring the fight to her.

* * *

 **Pax System, Horse Head Nebula**

Angelique Warren initiated the mass drivers in the small ship she had chosen to use in her ongoing hunt for Maya Brooks. Once she had picked up Agent Tim Stafford from the storage depot on Noveria, she left the planet behind with all possible speed, making the jump to FTL for the short trip to the Mass Relay, from which she would jump to the Hawking Eta Cluster.

She looked up as Stafford entered the cockpit and plopped down in the co-pilot's seat. "Are you planning to refuel in Widow?"

"I don't see any way we can avoid it, Tim. I'm afraid to enter Chandrasekhar without knowing the status of the fuel depot there… most recent reports listed it as destroyed." Warren paused to check her gauges before continuing. "Even though the relay was repaired six weeks ago, I don't want to arrive in system without sufficient fuel to reach the Omega Nebula."

"You still believe Brooks went to Illium? Why not Omega… it'd certainly be more to her liking."

Warren chuckled. "Word in the traverse is Aria T'Loak has that station locked down so tight not even light can escape… She's certainly not allowing any but her own ships to dock." Pausing to think about Maya, she added, "I don't think she could hide there for long anyway… Blue Suns are all over that rock. She killed a shitload of Suns while stealing Oriana Lawson out from under 'em on Solcrum, so I'm sure some sharp-eyed Turian would recognize her and try to kill her."

Stafford thought about this as he idly watched the blue shifted emissions wafting in and around the front of their ship. "I suppose Illium _would_ be a better place for her to go to ground… where'd be the best place to start looking?"

"We should check in at Nos Astra first, see if we can find any newly arrived immigrants. I can't imagine her staying on her ship, although I expect she'll have it berthed nearby."

* * *

 **Chandrasekhar System, Hawking Eta**

Angelique Warren had downloaded the transit logs for vessels passing through the relay on their way to the Omega Nebula – as opposed to those traveling to Balor, for instance; in a short time she found the _MSV Rome_ had arrived in system the 11th of July. It had almost immediately departed for Balor in the Caleston Rift; if the current status of the fuel depot here in Chandrasekhar was any indication, the _Rome_ needed fuel when it arrived, thus had taken the relatively short jump to Balor in order to refuel for the longer jump to Omega.

Warren looked in vain for records of any smaller ships departing for Omega within 20 hours of the _Rome's_ arrival; there were none listed, leading Angelique to hope that Maya – or Rasa, if that _was_ the alias by which she now referred to herself – had stayed aboard the freighter for the detour through the Caleston Rift.

After discussing her findings with Stafford, they both concluded it would be more efficient for them to proceed directly to Omega; the relay there would have a record of the _Rome's_ arrival in system, and perhaps a record of a small vessel departing for Tasale. Warren prepared her report for Jana, but wouldn't contact her until after she and Stafford had inspected the relay's records.

* * *

 **Sahrabarik System, Omega Nebula**

Angelique had downloaded the Mass Relay's arrival and departure logs for the five days after the _MSV Rome's_ departure from Chandrasekhar to Balor. It was hoped that the freighter was able to quickly take on a load of fuel and continue on for Omega.

Parked near the tip of the shattered Omega 4 Relay, Warren felt her small ship would escape any unfriendly notice. She was about equidistant from the system relay and Omega Station; without the bright reddish glow of the eezo core, now lost to the depths of space, the remainder of the relay was dark, providing perfect camouflage for the dark hull of her ship.

As she pored over the arrival logs, Tim Stafford looked through the departure logs for the same time period. The sheer number of ships arriving and departing the system made for tedious work. After an hour of looking at the list of ships departing the system, Tim finally found it – the _Rome_ had departed for Osun in the Hourglass Nebula. "Angel! Look at this," Tim said excitedly. "The _Rome_ didn't go to Tasale… Despite Aria's lockdown of Omega Station, she's apparently allowing some freight-haulers in and out. The _Rome_ offloaded cargo eighteen hours before its departure through the relay."

After Warren looked at the departure date and time, she narrowed her own search considerably; she finally found the arrival date and time. "Hmmmm… They didn't waste any time; went straight to the station and paid only a short visit to the cargo docks before leaving. Looks like she was in system for less than thirty hours."

"Is there any way for us to determine her status when she left?" Angel continued to scan the arrival data, even though she knew the departure data was all they needed.

"Shit, Angel! Look!" Tim held a straight edge under a line of text on the datapad; Angelique's spirits soared when she saw what Tim had discovered – a small, unnamed ship had departed through the relay thirteen hours prior to the _Rome's_ departure for Osun, and its destination had been the relay in the Tasale system. Tim looked up at her. "This may be what we've been looking for, Angel. This ship was either here all along and just left for Tasale, or it was off-loaded from the _Rome_ , outside of the station's barrier _before_ the freighter docked at Omega."

"Tim, that's the best damned lead we've seen since we left Pax. Nothing else comes close, and I sincerely doubt she went to Osun aboard the _Rome_ … wouldn't make sense. The system has no major attractions… certainly nothing like she'd find on Illium." Warren moved to the pilot's seat as she said over her shoulder, "Load that ship's specs into our database, Tim. We'll check for something similar when we go through the relay in the Tasale System."

Angelique quickly prepped a report on what she and Tim had discovered and where they were going next, then dropped it into the message queue at the Omega Relay as she waited for it to realign with the relay in the Crescent Nebula. _Maya, or Rasa, I'm getting close. I'm going to find you soon. Then we can both stop running._ Warren looked up as the relay alignment alarm trilled its notification; saying, "We're making the jump…" to warn Tim, she increased her throttle settings to maximum and steered for the entry point beside the massive containment rings. With a blue-tinged flash, the small Cerberus ship vanished into the distance of space.

* * *

 _ **SNV Gurji**_ **, Thal System, The Shrike Abyssal**

The small Spectre ship had been dispatched by the Council on a priority mission with little information available and no details... and, once they arrived in the system, Jondum Bau and Kasumi Goto understood exactly why it had been so urgent. It was not a well-known fact that the Turian garden world of Altakiril had been protected by Salarian anti-space defense weaponry... which had been decimated by the Reapers once they had deemed it a significant enough threat to be simply wiped out from space; the horde never set foot on the planet.

Because of that, the Council's obscure intelligence collection and observation post within the Terminus Systems and on the edge of the galaxy had survived when the Reaper bombardment had focused on the planet's defensive systems and, hence, the largest of the population centers, leaving a few small farming communities and scattered weapons bunkers relatively untouched. What shocked Jon and Kas when they arrived was discovering that what the Reapers had left untouched, a force of Blue Suns had come in and destroyed, stealing all the military vessels and killing mostly everyone in the communities that supported and fed the few soldiers running the numerous small facilities there. The officer at the post had immediately reported the event to the Council... and now, via Bau and Kasumi, to the Shadow Broker.

"They did _what_?" It was purely a rhetorical question as Liara and Shepard stared at them across the vid screen in shock.

Kas answered quietly, "Yes. I know. It's an atrocity of epic proportions. I find it hard to believe even the Blue Suns would resort to such... barbaric... tactics, even if it _did_ net them a significant number of ships."

"More to it than that, I'm sure." Spectre Bau frowned. "It's a strategic strike, obviously very well coordinated and organized... not the standard modus operandi for your average rogue mercenary cell." Bau looked directly at his counterpart aboard the Normandy. "I fear this is part of a larger move, Commander, the unlikely culprit being Aria T'Loak. Seeing as she supposedly has control of the Blue Suns... but, Darner Vosque is a slippery one and disrespectful of Aria. I can easily see him making a power bid to rip control of the Suns away from Omega." He shook his head. "I know it was necessary, exactly like curing the Genophage, but the repercussions of your decimating the gang balance on Omega are still being felt."

"Yes, I know." Shepard scowled as her old hatred of the Blue Suns sprang to the forefront of her mind. "This is a mess we certainly need to clean up. A surge of Blue Suns power in the Terminus would make post-war recovery extremely difficult for the colonies, both there and in the Attican Traverse. We have to stop it now, before they have a chance to get any more established than they already are."

"Yes, but we can't go in blind... and we are severely lacking in information." Liara was nodding in agreement. "Spectre Bau... Do you think there is any way you could get onto Omega? Make contact with Nyreen Kandros and find out what Aria is doing... if she has anything at all to do with this?"

Bau's demeanor immediately brightened. "Excellent idea, Dr T'Soni, and an interesting challenge." He looked over to Kasumi. "I do believe that between the two of us, a successful infiltration would be possible. Even likely."

"Good." Liara was pleased, but not in the mood to smile. "Do it and let us know what you find. But, please, be careful; if you're caught, immediately confess everything to Aria and tell her you were sneaking in because you didn't know who you could trust."

"Including Aria," Kas laughed softly. An unexpected disconcerting glance from Liara prompted her to continue, "But we certainly won't tell _her_ that."

Liara blinked slowly, realizing from Kasumi's quick add-on that her own personal dislike of Aria was tainting her view of the situation. She sighed softly before continuing, "Thank you, Kasumi. I need you to be discreet and, more importantly, I need your _objective_ opinion... which I am very likely unable to provide regarding anything involving Aria T'Loak."

"Don't worry, Kas." Shepard smirked and wrapped a supportive arm around Liara's waist. "There's no doubt we trust you to handle this with the utmost professionalism, or we wouldn't have asked it of you. One of Liara's best traits is her ability to know when she needs help... very much unlike the other half of this partnership."

"That's not true..." Liara's head turned quickly in Shepard's direction and she saw the smirk; she allowed her objection to trail into nothing as she poked the commander softly in the side. She allowed herself a small smile and replied, "I must admit you've gotten much better at not trying to commit suicide on every mission." Satisfied with Shepard's somewhat surprised expression at the statement, Liara returned her attention to the duo on the screen. "Good luck. And please... let us know what you find, as soon as it is safe for you to do so."

As their images faded, Kas turned a smile on Bau. "Well. Shall we, Spectre Bau?"

Jon flashed a grin in her direction and started to move toward the cockpit, simply assuming Agent Goto would follow. "Absolutely, my dearest Kasumi. I will enjoy running an actual mission with someone of your incredible talents. I fully anticipate success!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Prime Minister Arthur Hoffmann - This character is borrowed from the Cerberus Daily News (CDN) Wiki and a brief description of his background can be found there for those so inclined. Briefly, he's 42 years young and has been in the Diplomatic Services since the age of 27. He had been stationed all over Earth and 2186 was the start of his first assignment off-world... as a Cultural Attaché on the Citadel, just before the beginning of the Reaper War. The Reaper War portion of his portfolio is not complete at the time of this chapter, so whatever I create here will most likely NOT be CDN canon, unless Hoffman's creator/author happens to be one of my fans and uses some or all (to which you are very welcome to do if you are reading this.)


	31. Sink or Swim

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code

STG - Special Tasks Group

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Sink or Swim**

 _ **Destiny Ascension**_ **, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

Desis Vyessan had been splitting her work days, researching the problems and attempting to find solutions for the indescribably large number of children orphaned during the Reaper assault on her home planet and the outlying colonies, as well as providing instruction and orientation to her cousin Tavia Verinus, the recently arrived daughter of the aunt that had taken Desis in as an orphaned child. In addition, she was still working for Councilor Quentius, although more and more of those duties were being performed by Tavia as she learned the ins and outs of working for the Galactic Council's 'face' of the Turian Hierarchy.

The reports coming in daily, sometimes three and four times a day, were most disheartening; she had told Garrus she would be joining him on Palaven in order to be closer to what she had learned was a seemingly insurmountable problem – that of the thousands upon thousands of orphaned children – many in dire situations, barely surviving on worlds that had been savagely assaulted by the Reapers. Desis had spent many nights in her quarters, wiping away tears while setting up whatever small amount of aid she could for those that could not fend for themselves.

She had just finished having a quiet meal with Tavia when her comm unit trilled to announce an incoming vid-call. "You go answer that, Dee… I'll clean up here," Tavia said as she began to clear the table. Desis rose from her chair and took the half-dozen steps to her desk, where she touched the 'Accept' control on the haptic interface. She was surprised when the caller's face resolved into an image of the Turian she loved with every fiber of her being. "Garrus… This is a surprise; I didn't expect to hear from you for another week or more. Do I even _want_ to know why you're calling me so soon after you left the Destiny Ascension for Palaven?"

Even with the echoing acoustics created by the tremendous distance between them, Garrus' flanging chuckle brought a sense of peace to her soul. "Ah, Dee… It is wonderful to see your face once again. Unfortunately, I'm contacting you on official business. How many more days do you anticipate you will need in order for Tavia to properly represent the Hierarchy for Councilor Quentius?"

Having heard her name, Tavia came into the room from the kitchen to gaze at the viewer from over Dee's shoulder; Desis glanced around at her cousin before returning her gaze to Garrus. "I hadn't really given it any thought, Garrus. There's so much to do; the councilor's office can't afford it, yet they really do need both of us here full time... but I believe we are nearly to the point where I can turn it all over to Tavia. Why do you ask?"

"I'm sure you're aware that Turian colonial planetary defenses are virtually non-existent?" After a brief nod of agreement from Dee, he continued, "There's been a raid on the planet Altakiril, in the Shrike Abyssal… The colonial capitol of Estivus Erax was already mostly destroyed from orbit by the Reapers; the Primarch's office just received word of mercs attacking people in the city. Dee, they murdered most everyone they came in contact with, except of a fair number of harmless children... whom the distress response team managed to locate quickly. It had only been a couple of days, but they were already hungry and thirsty."

Desis was stunned. "Mercenaries? We've not been told of this, Garrus. Every report that comes in for the councilor goes through my hands… or Tavia's. What could possibly be so valuable on a planet after its brutal annihilation by the Reapers? The people in that colony are barely clinging to life as is… now some group of bastards is taking _that_ from them as well?!" Desis was nearly beside herself with anger at this unwelcome news. "Their possessions weren't enough? Damned Batarian pirates had to take their lives as well?"

A long, flanging sigh preceded Garrus' reply. "They were _Turians_ , Dee… Turian Blue Suns… in ships bearing the Omega emblem. The residents of Altakiril were simply in the way; without the normal defensive fleet in orbit around the planet, the Blue Suns showed up to take the warships that had been hidden in shielded bunkers... most likely to replace some of the ships they lost during the course of the war." He paused and shook his head in disgust. "And murder is too mild a term for what took place there… Those people were executed, Dee… shot at point-blank range. Those that tried to turn and run were shot in the back, with a finishing shot to the head. It was cold-blooded, methodical… and way beyond anything ever before attributed to the Blue Suns... or Omega and Aria T'Loak."

"Spirits!" Desis was trying to wrap her head around this new development. "Send the report, Garrus, and mark it urgent. I'll personally see that Quentius receives it the instant I have a copy, along with a request that I be assigned to the field office on Palaven, at least temporarily. Tavia is smart… she's learned how to get things done in a diplomatic office. I'm confident she can handle the work by herself."

"Thank you, Desis. I'll find a place for you to stay, and I'll also contact Commander Shepard… have her ask the Alliance to start watching the Terminus Systems. Hopefully, it's a one-time occurrence; I'd hate to see this atrocity repeated on other colonies!"

"I agree, Garrus," Desis responded. "I'll contact you when I know my schedule for certain. Please take care of yourself and… I love you."

Garrus nodded solemnly and his response was imbued with sub-harmonics. "I love you, as well, Desis. We'll talk soon."

Desis reluctantly severed the connection as Tavia placed her hands on Dee's shoulders. "I can see why you fell in love with him, Cousin. He's quite handsome, even with those facial scars."

Desis stood quickly and turned to face Tavia. "He loves me, Tavia. Don't be getting any…" She stopped when she saw Tavia's mandibles flared in an expression of amusement. Looking down and shaking her head, she sighed. "Damn. You're just trying to get a rise out of me."

"Successfully, Dee. Don't worry… I have no desire to see what you're capable of doing while in a jealous rage." With a bit of a smirking tone, she added, "That would only be fun for me if I wasn't the object of that rage." Turning serious again, she asked, "How can Turians kill people of their own race, Dee? What drives them to commit such heinous acts?"

"Generally, it's all about credits… who has them, who wants them. There's also blood feuds… revenge. But the killings described by Garrus? Sounds like a disgusting play for power within the Terminus Systems to me... but whether it's Aria T'Loak or the Blue Suns thinking to usurp her is yet to be seen. She may not be the most honorable sort, but she was Shepard's ally... and she had that station locked up tight, so something is going on… probably a lot more than we can guess. Whatever the reason, there are now even _more_ children without parents, and on a planet that is notoriously cold. I have to get some aid to them, fast."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"The Humans have an expression that is appropriate, I think," Desis said in a quiet voice. "I hope you are ready to take over for me, Tavia, because when I leave, you're either going to sink… or swim."

Desis turned and walked away, but Tavia remained to stare at the blank screen before her for several more moments. _Swim?_ _Turians don't swim well... I'd better find myself a good lifeboat!_

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

After their meeting with Prime Minister Arthur Hoffmann, Shepard and Liara made their way back to the Normandy to find an urgent message from Garrus. They walked immediately to the Broker Office and returned the call; Garrus had obviously been waiting, as he answered before the first chime. "Shepard, Liara. Thank you for calling back so quickly."

"Pure chance, Garrus; we just walked in and received the message. What's going on?" Shepard could hear the stress in her friend's voice and immediately knew something was amiss.

As the Turian began to explain what had happened, Liara held up a hand to stop him. "Garrus. Are you anywhere near a private secure terminal?" He nodded silently, the confusion and surprise at Liara's quick interruption evident on his face. "Excellent. Get to it and call us back."

Smart enough to realize there was more going on than he knew, he did not question the request... which had actually sounded more like an order. "Understood, T'Soni. Give me a few minutes to relocate and I'll get back to you." He quickly terminated the call, walked at a hurried pace to his personal quarters, set a privacy barrier and placed the call. As the image of their faces once more solidified before him, Garrus resumed their conversation as if it hadn't been interrupted. "Based on your tone, Liara, you're in Shadow Broker mode... So, you tell me – what's going on?"

Shepard simply looked to Liara to explain. The Shadow Broker took a deep breath and dived into the explanation about how the notification came first through the Salarian Intelligence network and then to her via Spectre Bau. Garrus huffed, "I should have known I wasn't the first to get this information. So both you and Quentius knew before the Primarch did... Why didn't Dee see any record of it via the comm traffic?"

"Because it was relayed over a live QEC communication from Salarian Intelligence to a closed council meeting, with no follow-on electronic message communications whatsoever. Other than the source station on Altakiril, only the Council and the Spectre Corps were initially aware of the situation... and, of course, the Shadow Broker network." Liara's shoulders rolled up in a barely noticeable shrug. "And before you ask... Yes, we are moving on the information, Garrus; Spectre Bau and Agent Goto are already on their way to Omega, where they'll attempt to infiltrate the station and reinitiate contact with Nyreen Kandros. Assuming they are successful, we'll have a much better picture of what's going on within the next couple of days." Liara frowned as she continued, "The vid feeds are giving us little to nothing and Aria had already purged my agents on Omega before the Cerberus take-over... With the ongoing war, we obviously had higher priorities, so we had neither time nor the agents to spare to try to get someone new onto the station – Omega was the least of our worries. Nyreen is our only inside source and she has been silent... I am hoping that, with the lockdown, it's simply because she has no way to get a communiqué out without being detected... and not the alternative."

"So, what? Jon and Kas are going to attempt to sneak in and make direct contact?" Garrus' mandibles flexed with concern. "Sounds risky, especially if Kandros is dead... or, worse yet, has switched sides and is now supporting Aria."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "But I honestly don't think that's the case. However, if T'Loak truly _is_ behind this and our team gets caught, Aria's modus operandi would be to simply kill them... and we'll never hear from nor see them again." The thought was rather disturbing, so she took a deep breath to maintain her composure before continuing on a more positive note, "But if she _isn't_ , well, then hopefully Bau and Kas will help her find out who is. They've been instructed to explain the whole plan if they are caught, on the hope that Aria is not responsible and will understand our caution. T'Loak doesn't have to like it... She simply has to agree that our precautions were realistic, given the circumstances, and not hold it against us."

"Are you honestly expecting Aria to be reasonable about finding two spies in her midst? Three, if we're counting Kandros?"

Shepard had to chuckle at the disbelief in Garrus' tone. "Actually? Yes, I am. She's very shrewd when it comes to business and generally doesn't hold grudges; she'll either act immediately or not at all. She'll respect what we did once she acknowledges that she would have done the same damned thing if the positions were reversed." Shepard's demeanor shifted quickly back to serious as she continued, "So unless something goes terribly wrong, she'll never know about the Kandros connection... but she will understand that Bau and Kas snuck in on _our_ orders." She gave Liara a quick glance and a reassuring smile before looking back at Garrus.

"It's still a rather large risk to take." Garrus grinned. "Victory at all costs, Shepard? I'm beginning to think I've been a bad influence on you... You sound more like a Turian every day."

"Not at _all_ costs, Garrus, but some missions are worth every bit of the risk they may entail... and this certainly counts as one. Someone out there is wreaking havoc across defenseless colonies and laying the blame at the feet of Aria T'Loak. She'd better pray to whatever gods she believes in that we don't discover it truly is her behind it all." Shepard's angry growl changed to determination as she continued, "And if it's not Aria, we need to find who in Hell it is and _stop_ them, sooner rather than later."

Garrus nodded in confirmation. "Agreed, Shepard. And, though our resources are a bit scarce at the moment, I'm sure the Hierarchy would be happy to contribute a couple of ships to the armada you form to crush the bastards, whoever they are. They killed a lot of innocent Turians on Altakiril... They won't get away with it if we have any say in the matter."

As the image of Garrus' face faded from the monitor, Liara leaned into Shepard's side. "I hope we are correct, Sam. I'm not used to using agents that I have a personal connection with... other than you. I couldn't bear the consequences if Jon or Kas get injured or killed on this mission."

"You've never _used_ me, Liara. I've always pressed you for something I could do to help." Her arm automatically encircling the Asari in a comforting embrace, Shepard gave her a gentle squeeze. "They'll be fine, Li. They are exceptionally good at what they do; the best. If it's not safe, they'll find a way around the danger... and if it's _really_ bad, they won't go in at all."

"Do you honestly believe it's not Aria?" Liara turned turbulent blue eyes to those of the commander, looking for the normal calm she found in Shepard's confident gaze.

Liara was not disappointed as Shepard met her seeking stare without hesitation, the self-assured greens unwavering as the commander responded, "Yes, I do. Losing Omega to Cerberus changed her, Liara. I believe she honestly cares about those under her charge, no matter what she shows to the rest of the galaxy." Shepard's eyes turned angry as she continued, "And she's no fan of the merc groups, either... particularly Darner Vosque; she prefers to keep their power balanced and under her thumb. It's not her style to let one group get so strong... or to use them for something like this." She let out a quick breath. "Makes me worry about who it could possibly be and what the Hell they're trying to do."

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Aethyta stood at Mozia's side and gazed out over the grounds in absolute amazement. "Well, I'll be damned. What an incredibly amazing transformation!"

"Isn't it, though?" Mozia was grinning ear-to-ear at her _amantia_ 's reaction. "The Geth make surprisingly good gardeners!"

Their assigned Prime, Életerő, turned his head and responded, "It should be of no surprise. Many of our original units on Rannoch were agricultural units, utilized to grow and tend the majority of the food supplies for the Quarians. It was a primary directive and those programs still existed within our servers; it was easy enough to adapt for Thessian crop production."

"Of course." Mozia turned and dipped her head in acknowledgement. "My apologies, Életerő. It's simply the speed with which you are able to work. The plants here were all but destroyed, yet it seems you have brought the entire estate back to life so quickly, well beyond our own capabilities… we will be forever grateful at the miracle of life you have given us."

Knowing the Geth mission at the estate was complete, Mozia had requested Aethyta's presence for a final inspection of the grounds to see if they had missed anything. Aethyta found nothing out of place and looked at the SILC construct as she added, "I've lived nearly a thousand years and thought I'd seen it all." Her hand drifted out as she gestured to the grounds surrounding them. "But this? We can't possibly thank you enough..."

"It is with great sadness that I am forced to admit the time has come to bid you farewell." A heavy sigh slipped from Mozia as she took a step closer to the Prime. "It has been a wonderful experience, having you here. However, we are now well on the road to recovery and others need your assistance, much more so than us. Seeing as you are prepared to move on, I will introduce you to Matriarch Alicia of House T'Vegos of Anerzesa."

The triad of visual sensors dimmed momentarily before the Prime spoke. "Anerzesa. Famed for its natural beauty, much of which was destroyed by the construction of husk processing facilities on a massive scale." Életerő paused as the Consensus correlated additional information. "This location and its people have no association with T'Soni-Shepard holdings. Do you not wish to employ us elsewhere? Have we dissatisfied you in some manner, that you no longer desire our services?"

Mozia struggled to contain a smile, at which she was not completely successful; she thought, in a way, dealing with the Geth was like teaching children. "No, Életerő; your services have been above reproach and we would love for you to remain in our employ, but the people of Anerzesa are in much greater need of your assistance than either House T'Soni or any of our direct allies. If there is one lesson I would hope you take away from here, it is that not all organics operate strictly for their own benefit... While it is unfortunate that in times of great need, many seek to profit from others' dire circumstances, some simply choose to do what we consider _right_. Their needs to ensure their survival are greater than our need to expand our influence or holdings, so we opt to help them, while not expecting any recompense in return."

The sensors dimmed again. "Generosity and compassion. We believe Shepard Commander would approve of such objectives; we will proceed as directed. Anerzesa was a Thessian cultural icon and it will be our honor to make it so once more." Sensors returning to full bright, he nodded once in acceptance of the mission. "The Reaper facilities will be made to disappear and the area will be restored, in commemoration to all those whose lives were forfeit during the war."

Her voice was quiet when Mozia responded, "Thank you." She opened her omnitool and authorized a download before looking at the Prime. "These are the schematics for the Shroud. I do believe the skies above Anerzesa would benefit from the construction of one of these facilities somewhere on the continent."

The Prime made a sort of repetitive squeaky noise that Mozia would have sworn was akin to laughter. "Creator Zorah ensured we possess the subject schematics and we have already optimized the locations for the planet Thessia. Based on the prevailing climatic conditions, we will need to construct two units here, cleaning and enabling maintenance of a pristine atmosphere within three Thessian years. One such location is Anerzesa, because of the extent of the damage inflicted by the Reapers. The other is the land-locked industrial megatropolis of Ulee; the number of mining and manufacturing industries makes it the largest atmospheric contamination zone on the planet Thessia."

Aethyta let out a loud guffaw, clapping Mozia roughly on the back. "You should have known they'd already have that information. If not Tali, then Liara would have passed it on to them."

"I suppose you are correct." Mozia smiled softly and refocused on the Prime. "Thank you, again, Életerő. It seems all that is left for me to do is to wish you safe travels to your new worksite and inform Matriarch Alicia of your pending arrival. Know you will always be welcome to return here; should you ever need anything at all, we will find a way to provide it."

"You have _my_ thanks, Matriarch, as well as the thanks of the consensus. Though I do not believe such a necessity will ever arise, it would... please me... to visit again at some future point in time. Our stay with you provided a significant quantity of information about the Asari and your customs. It has been surprisingly... educational." The Prime bobbed his head and held his hands out, palm up.

Mozia laughed easily and laid her hands atop the mechanical ones presented to her. "For all of us, Életerő. For all of us. Travel well, my friend... and I look forward to such a future point in time, to have you again as our guest, whenever it may be."

Aethyta stood with her arm around Mozia's waist as the Prime moved away and climbed aboard their ship with the rest of the SILC units; the vessel quickly lifted off and vanished in the distance as it headed off toward Anerzesa.

"Come on, Moz. You'd better get a move on or they'll be landing there before you even make the call to inform Alicia of their imminent arrival."

Mozia nodded and started moving toward the main house. "Is it odd that I'm going to miss them? The machines, scurrying about... cleaning, rebuilding, replanting... It gave the place life, Thyta, even if they are synthetics."

Aethyta smiled. "No, it's not odd. They may be machines, but they certainly have their own personalities. It's actually kind of fun working with them." Her smile faded a bit as she continued, "They are very straightforward and haven't learned the art of deception yet; I hope they never do." She let out a huff. "I can see why Shepard trusted Legion right from the beginning. It's refreshing to know you can honestly take someone at their word and not have to be concerned about them lying to you."

"Do not assume too much, Thyta." They had reached the house and headed toward the newly refurbished communications room. "Liara told me that they had no idea Legion had kept pieces of the Reaper code. He held that information back until they were committed to their action on Rannoch."

"Liara told me the same damned thing." Aethyta stopped and pulled Mozia around to face her as she finished, "But at least Legion didn't _lie_ about it; he could have said nothing and Shepard would have never known. They are machines and take everything much more literally than we do. If we don't ask the question, they don't provide the information. They don't chat and gossip like we do... There's a difference in intent; normally, when _we_ keep something back, it's because we want to keep it a secret, not because we simply don't think the information is important enough to provide."

A curious smile crossed Mozia's face. "You truly care for the Geth, don't you? You like them, too, Aethyta Beuss... and you're going to miss them just as much as I am, if not more!"

"They're excellent soldiers and we just lost a great security force. Of course I'm going to miss them!" Aethyta's voice turned brusque and defensive. "Make your damned call, Mozia, so we can get back to work. And they're the SILC now, not Geth anymore... but they're gone and we're on our own. We can't stop working just because our synthetic friends have departed."

Mozia's smile broadened and she let out a quiet chuckle, dipping her head toward Aethyta. "Of course, Matriarch. I'll notify Alicia the... SILC... are on their way and then, we can call a house meeting to decide where we go from here. Acceptable, my captain?" She raised her brow and smirked, waiting on an answer from her gruff _amantia_.

No one knew her like Mozia did and Aethyta couldn't help the knowing smirk that crept onto her face as she replied, "Don't be an ass, Moz. Make the call so we can get on with business."

Mozia's chuckle erupted into joyous laughter as she stepped forward and activated the comm panel. Matriarch Alicia had no idea what kind of welcome upheaval was about to hit her household and the confederacy of Anerzesa... and Mozia was unsure how she was even going to begin to explain it.

* * *

 **Tasale Relay, Crescent Nebula**

The recently repaired Mass Relay for the Tasale System had been transiting ships, both arriving and departing, nearly non-stop since its re-initialization just under a month ago. As most of the traffic entering and leaving the system were coming from or going to Omega, the relay spent very little time repositioning for other systems, having only to correct for the imperceptible amount of drift it encountered on a daily basis. As the colossal containment rings spun up to operational speed once again, blue-shifted fingers of dark energy leaped outward into the distance, enveloping a small ship no bigger than an Alliance light corvette.

The dark-hulled vessel rapidly decelerated as it exited the space-time corridor created by the relay and its companion in the Omega Nebula. From a near stand-still beside the rapidly slowing rings, the unnamed ship smoothly accelerated away as it changed course to perform a slingshot trajectory around nearby Naxell as it headed for Illium.

After hacking into the relay's memory core, Angelique Warren downloaded its arrival logs for the period corresponding to the date a small ship departed through the Omega relay. Although she didn't hold out much hope for success, she had to try to find a registration number or owner's name – something that would save her and Tim the time and energy it would take to track the berthing assignment.

In just a short time, the VI trilled an alarm indicating they were approaching the ammonia-methane ice giant; Warren had asked Stafford to oversee the drive-core discharge into the massive planet's magnetic field as their ship made its closest approach around Naxell's 'back' side. As their ship was so small, Warren felt the time required to discharge the core would be minimal. While Tim began discharging their core, Angelique busied herself by having the computer scrub through the data regarding ship arrivals from Omega. It only took minutes to find one small vessel's arrival in-system within minutes of its departure through the Omega relay.

Additionally, Warren now had a ship registration number; since Illium was generally the destination planet for most vessels entering the Tasale System, the security requirements for arriving vessels were more akin to those of systems such as Parnitha or Pranas. Thinking, _Okay, let's see who you are…_ the operative ran the number through the known ship database; she wasn't really surprised to learn the ship's registry had originated with a Cerberus shell company – Haribon Military Industries – before its transfer among several other Cerberus companies.

Unfortunately, she'd still have to search the transient dock records – she planned to begin with Nos Astra – to find where it was berthed; Angel surmised that Maya would not wish to be too far from a rapid planetary escape, thus would in all likelihood be staying in a place located fairly close to her ship. If she and Tim could locate that ship, Angelique had several methods she could employ to prevent Maya from simply getting in and taking off.

Angelique started slightly from her contemplations as a hand landed gently on her shoulder, accompanied by Stafford reporting a successful core discharge. "We're on our way to Illium; should be making first orbit in three hours or so. We heading to Nos Astra first?"

Warren looked up and back at Tim as she replied, "We'll need to see what's left of the city before we head down. Reports indicate it was flattened by orbital bombardment… if true, we'll check out the smaller cities nearby." Angelique interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms ahead of her, then rolled her head around a couple of times as she shrugged her shoulders one at a time in an attempt to loosen the stiffness in her neck and shoulders. "Now that I have the registration number and ownership trace, I feel pretty confident the ship we've been shadowing is the one Maya loaded onto the _Rome_ before it departed through the Pax relay. Locating it on Illium won't be as difficult as one might assume… I don't believe it will be berthed very far from some type of short-term housing."

Getting to her feet, she squeezed past Tim in the narrow space and began moving aft. "Better grab a bite to eat while we have the chance."

* * *

 **Nos Astra, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

"Son of a bitch!" As she cruised at a low altitude, Warren looked through the forward viewport at the ruins of what had once been a thriving, albeit crowded, metropolis. After a lengthy silence, she muttered, "There's nothing left but rubble! Why the hell would Maya travel here?" before slumping back in her seat, disbelief plain on her face.

Stafford was using the navigation computer as they flew slowly along; after several minutes, he entered new coordinates and instructed the ship's VI to execute the course change. As their small ship came about on its new heading, Tim said, "We're going to Nos Varda, west of here… it's where many of Nos Astra's survivors relocated. They even renamed the city at war's end, so it's now known as 'Nos Astra', although some use the prefix 'New' ahead of the name."

"Any thoughts on where she might have gone to ground?"

"Lots of new building projects going on all over, but several of the districts south of the city are still known informally as Nos Varda… If I had to guess, I'd say Maya went to ground there. There are a fair number of new residential developments, along with old _and_ new businesses."

Angelique thought about everything Tim had just told her as their ship slowed; the VI announced they were in the pattern to touch down at the transient receiving facility; once they had paid their landing and docking fees and gone through customs – a precaution made necessary by the rampant smuggling industry that had sprung up after the war – they would be assigned a berth in the short-term parking area.

Warren whistled at the amount of creds they were being charged to simply land… never mind their docking fees. "Guess the ruling board figures that fleecing off-world visitors upon arrival is preferable to letting private businesses make all the profits. I really hope we don't have to come back here again anytime soon."

Tim agreed, adding, "I'm just happy we have enough creds aboard to pay the fees, otherwise they'd simply impound the ship and charge daily storage fees until financial arrangements could be made. It's legalized hijacking."

Angel grimaced as she uploaded the payment information from her omnitool to the spaceport's central computer. After the omnitool trilled an acknowledgement of payment from the port, Tim taxied the ship from the landing area to their assigned berth; he had asked for and received one not surrounded on all sides by other ships. Once the ship was parked to his satisfaction, Angel activated the blast shutters over all the viewports. "Don't need curious people looking in on us," she commented. "I don't mind telling you I don't like this setup one bit. Feels like a trap."

Tim laughed as he snarked, "You've been with Cerberus too damned long, Angel! Anytime you land someplace that ain't human dominated, you start getting paranoid. Come on, let's get out of here… breathe some real air, do some sight-seeing. You got the berth number for Maya's ship?"

* * *

 **Derelict Ship, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

"Ready for deployment." Kasumi stood ready to engage her cloak; her multi-layer shield was already engaged, both to mask her life signs and to protect her from what was about to come. She did not look at Jon, instead focusing completely on the task at hand.

If their suits had not been connected via a private, secure comm link, Kasumi would not have heard the countdown as Bau breathed his words quietly. "Target approaching. Stand ready. Door will breach in 3... 2... 1." The spectre fell silent and they both activated their cloaks as the hatch of their commandeered ship blew inward.

The boarding party swarmed in quickly; a mix of Batarians and Salarians passed them by, not bothering to look up, even though they would not have seen anything if they had. Once they cleared the initial hallway, the hostile search and salvage team split into two... one group going forward along the starboard side, the second moving along the port perimeter of the cargo hold, both intent on reaching the bridge of the ship. As soon as they moved out of sight, Kas and Jon feathered their mass generators and floated down from the ceiling; pushing themselves forward, they moved silently and undetected onto the Omega-flagged vessel.

They worked their way quickly toward the vessel's small hangar deck, finding that it contained two A-61 Mantis Gunships and two Atlas heavy mechs. They quickly located an inconspicuous corner, reengaged their mass generators at full and floated once more to the ceiling. Engaging a series of miniature mag locks to keep them clamped in place, they settled in for the wait.

* * *

The Omega boarding team was very efficient and easily located the dead crew members. Kas and Jon had not been the ones to kill them... The Salarians had located the ship a few weeks prior, adrift at the Pax Relay in the Horse Head Nebula. They had surmised the Cerberus crew had killed one another, the unindoctrinated majority rebelling against those under Reaper control once they figured out what was happening. The indoctrinated minority had apparently grown desperate and, rather than fail the Reapers, had opted to sabotage the life support system; all aboard had died fighting for their last breaths of air and promptly froze, preserving the scene perfectly in gruesome detail. The STG had collected what data they could from the vessel without disturbing the bodies and had yet to decide how to dispose of the vessel and those aboard.

It seemed an inappropriate disregard of the standards for the proper treatment of the deceased, but the tragedy provided an opportunity that could not be ignored. Jumping the ship through the relay to simply float aimlessly posed a navigation hazard. It was a significant risk – Aria could have simply opted to blast the ship out of existence, but the vessel was in perfect condition and would be a salvage target that was impossible to pass up, especially given the ship losses Omega had suffered since the war's end. At the end of the day, the ruse worked, and proved to be the golden ticket needed to get Spectre Bau and Agent Goto onto the Omega vessel... and subsequently onto the station itself.

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

Nyreen Kandros returned to her quarters after a long, bothersome day; the sudden appearance of a damned Cerberus ghost ship through the relay had set everyone on edge. On the outside, the whole event appeared to be harmless, but it didn't sit right with the Chief of Security. _Spirits, but I know something isn't right. For all of them to be frozen solid, those Humans had to have been dead a lot longer than a simple trip through the relay... but someone had to be alive to initiate the jump._

She secured the exterior door and pulled her equipment belt off, dropping it onto her dining room table as she moved into the kitchen to make herself a quick dinner. Once she got the food started, she sat down at the counter bar where she could keep an eye on her meal as it warmed and opened her omnitool, scouring the event report to search for even the slightest inconsistency or indication things were not as they seemed. Almost faster than could be seen, she spun off the stool, lighting with biotics and dropping into a defensive crouch at the extremely unexpected sound of someone clearing their throat directly behind her.

A hooded, athletic figure, obviously a Human female, stood calmly before her. The cowl hid most of her face, but Nyreen could see a light, unassuming smile playing on her lips, with what appeared to be an Athame stripe running from the center of her bottom lip down onto the dimple in her chin. She was armed, but the weapon remained holstered as she held her hands out where Kandros could see them in a purposefully nonthreatening posture. The woman's voice, lightly accented, was soothing… almost playful as she spoke. "Nyreen Kandros, I presume. Kasumi Goto at your service." She bowed slightly as she added, "Spectre Shepard sends her regards."


	32. Seeds of Chaos

Notes:

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

 _Maanru_ \- a type of shoaling fish; also refers to civilian skycars (Source: CDN)

 _Cheann geallta_ \- Promised one (Gaelic)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code

* * *

 **Seeds of Chaos**

 _ **Neema**_ **, Quarian Fleet, Rannoch Orbit**

Tali sat calmly at her table as Admiral Shala'Raan stared at her in horror. "They will divide the Fleet if they persist with such dissension! What are they thinking?"

Tali shrugged. "They have always been against acceptance of the SILC as sentient beings. They want slaves, not synthetic intelligent beings with standing equal to our own in the eyes of the Council; they are intent on removing any opposition to their goals. What I fail to understand is why this should surprise you?"

Raan clenched her fists together and placed them against her faceshield as if stifling a shout. Very suddenly, her hands went flat and she smacked them down on the tabletop as she stood. "It surprises me because it is unacceptable behavior for admirals of the Fleet! We simply cannot allow it to continue." She paced the small living room of Tali's quarters as she continued, "You must ask your friends to provide the most condemning of the intercepted communications, ones that demonstrate those actions in direct opposition to Conclave decisions."

"You would have two admirals of the Fleet tried at the same time for conspiracy to commit treason?" Shock reverberated through her voice as Tali stood and stared at her aunt. "By the ancestors! That would most _certainly_ tear the fleet apart! It could pit the entire Heavy Fleet against the rest of the Flotilla... especially should Gerrel not voluntarily stand down!"

Raan instantly stopped and spun toward Tali. "He would do no such thing!" She paused a moment before whispering, "Keelah... But what if I am wrong? You're right, Tali. It is too much of a risk. We have to find some other way to deal with this threat... but I will most certainly not stand by while he plots against you." Her voice returned to a normal volume and she looked directly at the younger Quarian. "Is Shepard aware of this development?"

Tali walked over and gently took Raan's hands within her own. "No, Auntie. This is a matter for the Migrant Fleet. I brought this directly to you."

"Good... But I do believe, very strongly, the first thing we must do is get you off this ship. I do not think it prudent for you to be staying aboard the _Neema_." Raan squeezed Tali's hands. "Tomorrow, pack a bag and depart as normal to return to the planet to inspect the day's activities... only you do not return. Send me a formal request to ship your personal belongings to your new home, recently completed on the southern continent. You must claim your ambassador status and declare yourself Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch, to better situate you to coordinate the remaining reconstruction of the homeworld with the Geth."

"The _SILC_ , Auntie Raan. They can no longer be deemed 'Servants of the People' and thus we must recognize their new name." Tali smiled at her aunt. "And thank you. I assume you'll speak with Admiral Koris and let him know what is happening, should Gerrel or Xen demand a vote to revoke my ambassador status and recall me to the _Neema_?"

"Yes. I will call on him directly following my visit here with you. I will also relay the readiness of the cities; he will be amazed to discover the first round of the civilians should be ready to move in just over a week." A huge smile shone through Raan's concern as she continued, "Zaal will be positively ecstatic to learn the construction is going so quickly!"

Tali nodded in agreement. "Yes. At least there is good news mixed in amongst the flames of rebellion. Perhaps Admiral Koris will have some influence over them and be able to douse the blaze before it flares into an inferno."

"I will pray to the ancestors that it will be so." Raan's words were solemn. "We all know how deadly a fire can be aboard ship."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

"Spirits!" Kandros relaxed only slightly, her attention wavering repeatedly between her weapon sitting on the table with her equipment belt and the half-hidden eyes of the Human intruder nonchalantly facing her. "How did you get in here?"

Kasumi laughed, the sound musical and free. "That's a bit of a story and I'm not sure I have enough time to tell it, the way you're eyeing your pistol." She dropped her hands to her sides and shrugged. "Please, put your belt back on if it makes you feel more comfortable, but I can assure you, we are here at the behest of Commander Shepard and Dr T'Soni and honestly intend you no harm… Quite the opposite, actually."

Nyreen glanced at her equipment belt one last time as her biotics faded and she returned to a normal standing position. "The fact that I had no idea you were even here and you could have killed me without hardly trying is enough for me to trust you... at least for now." In an open display of trust, Nyreen turned her back to Kasumi and walked into her kitchen. "I was just getting ready to eat, though you probably know that. A number of my mates are Krogan, Asari... and Human, so I have things I can feed you if you're hungry and trust that I will not poison you."

"Excellent news. I could use an energy bar at the very least, but wouldn't want to impose." The new voice had her spinning around again in astonishment.

"Spectre Bau! Spirits! Just how many people have you managed to smuggle in here?" Kandros glanced back and forth between the two infiltrators before looking around the rest of her living room in bewilderment, waiting for more agents to suddenly appear around her.

"Oh, only the two of us," Jon laughed lightly in answer. "A larger group would have substantially increased the risks of detection. Unacceptable."

With his laugh, Nyreen relaxed considerably and grabbed a few energy bars for her... guests. Tossing the bars on the counter, she sat back down and began to eat as they talked. "Well, that's good to know. Bad enough you and your cohort managed to sneak past our station security; I'd hate to think you could bring a whole damned platoon in under our very noses!"

Bau glanced knowingly at Kasumi before beginning his explanation to the former Cabal member. "Rest assured, the two standing before you possess inordinate infiltration skills and therefore hold an unfair advantage. Shepard and T'Soni couldn't risk sending any but the very best under their command for this mission." He paused for effect before continuing, "They are extremely concerned, as are the Council and the Spectre Corps, about the sudden increase in Blue Suns piracy activity in the Terminus Systems."

"As are we," Nyreen growled. "They somehow managed to recruit our crews, stealing the ships right along with the people... Shutting them down has been my primary focus but I've had little success other than right here on Omega. A number of our ships disappeared before we finally caught the bastard who was organizing the defections and, based on other news coming in from various sources, I'm estimating they've assembled a total force of a dozen armed scouts, five freighters and five frigates."

"I fear your estimates are much too low." Bau glanced at Kasumi who shook her head in disgust and picked up the tale.

"You obviously have yet to hear about Altakiril." Following a puzzled expression on Kandros' face, Kasumi continued with a brief explanation of what had happened to the remote colony. "I'm not sure if you know the planet's specs... heavy atmo, light grav... and they used to have a decent defense force in orbit. You may be aware that, sadly, their carrier, all her fighters and her basic crew complement sacrificed themselves... and were destroyed during the Reaper War... attempting to buy the colonials enough time to get to their underground shelters."

"Indeed." Bau cleared his throat and interjected, "What you may _not_ know is that all the smaller craft... the cruisers, frigates, transports and such that could safely land in the planet's light gravity... were also bunkered beneath the planet's surface, safe from the Reapers' orbital bombardment."

After exchanging another look with Bau, Kasumi finished, "... Until a few days ago. As far as we can tell, the Blue Suns' raid captured enough vessels to create the equivalent of a full task force... somewhere in the neighborhood of two cruisers, twenty frigates, and a small fleet of various support craft... and now, with the additional freighters and armed scout ships, they have a complete package."

Nyreen had stopped eating to stare at them. "May the Spirits guide and protect us. With the element of surprise afforded by FTL, combined with Omega's depleted fleet..." She stood and picked her belt up off the table. "We'll need to keep the defensive systems primed and ready. At least General Petrovsky ensured we'd have cannons that will be up to the task..."

Bau's eyes opened a bit wider as he responded, "Which Aria's small fleet seemed able to overcome... with some difficulty, but overcame, nonetheless."

"Thanks for the reminder," Nyreen growled back. "I need to inform Aria... but how in the galaxy am I to explain your presence here?"

"If you find it truly necessary to inform her, that's the easy part." Kasumi grinned. "We tell her the truth. Shepard is still her ally and knows she's in trouble, even if Aria doesn't want to admit it. But we had to sneak in because we didn't know who we could trust... and then chose to isolate her security chief, whom Shepard had the opportunity to work with and _does_ trust... and who is much easier to get to than attempting to penetrate into the back rooms of Afterlife to find Aria, in person."

Bau flashed a smile. "And you and I have also met in the past, so I agreed you were our best option to have our reasons heard out before we ended up dead."

"Still a risky proposition." Nyreen shook her head ever so slightly at the whole idea.

"Nowhere near as risky as jumping a rudderless vessel into Omega space and hoping Aria didn't simply have it blown out of the Nebula by those cannons you just spoke of." Kasumi answered solemnly. "It's all about calculated risk... and the dangers presented by this unknown force made it well worth taking."

"I can't begin to imagine escorting you both to Afterlife... Hang on." Kandros almost grinned as she activated her comm but, when she spoke, her tone reflected great urgency. "Bray. Nyreen here... I have an emergency in my quarters... I need you and the boss here as soon as possible... like yesterday."

"Are you shitting me, Kandros?" Had Nyreen's voice not sounded so serious, Bray would have laughed.

"Do I sound like I'm joking?"

"I can be there in three... but Aria? No promises."

The comm terminated without ceremony and Nyreen glanced at them and shrugged. "And now? We wait and see who shows up."

It was less than three minutes later when both Bray and Aria crashed the door, weapons drawn and Aria aglow with biotics. "What the fuck?" Aria stopped in her tracks and glared at the threesome standing calmly before her.

"Sorry for the bit of deception, Aria, but I couldn't fathom dragging a Spectre across Omega to Afterlife or trying to explain this to you over open comm channels. Neither seemed like a very good option, given what's been going on."

"Depends on why they're here... but obviously it's for the better or, I'd hope, I would've shown up here to see two dead bodies and the... _emergency_... would be you trying to figure out how to explain a Council Spectre lying dead in your quarters. Either way, Nyreen, I expect an explanation... so make it quick."

They once again went through the entire discussion before Aria simply growled, "Shut the fuck up and let me think." She shook her head and opened her omnitool, activating its secure communications cipher and selecting a recipient. As the call was answered on the other end, Aria smirked, "What the Hell, Shepard? Can't you simply call like everyone else?"

Shepard actually laughed and smiled. "Good to see you too, Aria. Normally, I would have, but it seems you had Omega locked down so tight, I couldn't get a call through without the proper authorization codes."

"Bullshit! Your girlfriend most likely has whatever you would have needed to get in touch with me." Aria turned sullen and serious. "So, who the Hell is this Omega imposter and why the fuck are they stealing my ships?"

"No idea... and it's not only your ships." Shepard's smile vanished. "We were seriously hoping you had some idea. I was thinking maybe Darner Vosque?"

"That prick? Not a chance. Last I knew, he had remained behind on the Citadel... " Aria paused and growled, "...and I _assumed_ he was smoked by the Reapers, as he didn't go out on any of the warships... not that I'm aware of, anyway." She practically glowed in anger as she continued, "If that conceited bastard somehow survived, there is no justice in this galaxy... And, if he thinks he's taking Omega from me simply because I refused to sleep with him, he's got a huge surprise waiting for him when he shows up. I'll rip his pisser off and shove it up his ass!"

Shepard couldn't help herself and burst out laughing, attempting to apologize at the same time. "Shit, Aria. I know I shouldn't be so amused by that with the current situation, but that was just _way_ too much of a visual..." Shepard took a deep breath and managed to control her amusement. "Certainly no offense to you intended... Honestly, Vosque was most definitely a pretentious jerk..." She smirked and continued, "I remember the first time I came to visit you and you had that guy scan me... Do you remember your response to my statement that day?"

"I'd almost pay to see that," she said quietly. Aria suddenly laughed, her anger evaporating like a cloud of mist under a hot afternoon sun. "Fuck it, Shepard. We're more alike than I care to admit... and that's probably one of the reasons your girlfriend hates me."

It was Shepard's turn to laugh. "No, Aria. She hates you because you always hit on me... and realizes you do it just to get under her skin but, when it comes to you, she just can't seem to get a grip on her jealousy... _That's_ what gets to her; the lack of control. She trusts me completely, so she could care less that you're hitting on her Promised."

"Alright; I'd promise to at least _attempt_ to behave, but it would be a lie... because it's simply way too much fun to tease that reticent young maiden. Besides which, _you'd_ know it was a lie as well, so I won't waste my breath." Aria's grin faded as she returned to the business at hand. "So, seeing as you sent your envoys to visit, I assume we're working together again, whether Lady T'Soni likes it or not."

"If you're willing to go another round, then yes. Absolutely." Shepard's jaw noticeably tightened in her anger. "Whoever is doing this is putting everything we worked for at risk. I didn't spend two months recovering in the hospital after defeating the damned Reapers just to have some shit-for-brains pirate take advantage of the survivors and tear the galaxy to Hell."

"Agreed; it's bad for business, all the way 'round. So... Seeing as you're the one to come knocking, I assume you and your fawning sidekick have a plan?"

Shepard sighed. "Not really. We were hoping you had additional information so we could put all the pieces together and come up with something more substantial than theory and conjecture."

Aria's eyes narrowed in concern. "T'Soni's Brokerage can't find anything?"

"Not enough." Shepard shook her head. "I'll be honest, Aria; with the relays just coming back online and a number of her agents dead, the galaxy's information collection network is in a shambles. Combined with Alliance Intelligence and the STG, we're lucky to have what we do. It's a mess... which, I imagine, is exactly what this pirate is banking on."

A wicked grin emerged on Aria's face. "Then they don't know much about you and me, Shepard. They don't realize that people like us? We _thrive_ in chaos. They have no concept of the shit-storm they are about to bring down upon their own heads."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Once Aria terminated the call and her image faded from the omnitool, Shepard dropped her arm to look into the blue eyes that had been watching her. "She does it solely to taunt me?"

Shepard chuckled softly and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her _cheann geallta_. "All the things to take away from that conversation and _that's_ the first question that comes to your mind?"

Liara smirked, "You are much more important to me than protecting the Queen's empire in the Terminus, Shepard." She planted a feathery kiss on the commander's lips and continued, "Besides, we've discussed the other issues to no end. What else is there to possibly say until Kas and Bau dig up additional information? Other than confirming it truly isn't Aria, which we already assumed, we didn't learn anything from that conversation."

"Other than Aria has a grudging respect for you and your network?" A doubting look from Liara had Shepard continuing, "She was surprised when we had no additional information. I'm not sure she quite believed it... but she didn't press the point." Shepard exhaled heavily. "I'm afraid I may have just condemned Kas and Bau to some rather intense questioning, until Aria is confident she knows everything we do. None of us like being in the dark; I'd be doing the exact same thing in her position."

"Except you'd be a lot nicer about the whole questioning process." Liara scowled at the thought of Kasumi and Jondum being at Aria's mercy.

"Hey." Shepard cupped Liara's chin and lifted it gently until their eyes met. "Aria isn't going to do anything to them that would jeopardize their cooperation or our alliance. I guarantee it."

"I know. I just..." Liara huffed and her shoulders sagged in defeat. "Goddess. You're right. I simply need to let it go. I _know_ Aria is no threat to Kasumi or Jon... or our relationship, but I don't like how she manipulates people... or how she resorts to violence so quickly, when those machinations don't provide the results she's looking for fast enough to suit her."

"I know she's Asari and is supposed to be graced with the ultimate in patience, but she's not exactly running a council meeting, Liara. She's trying to provide a safe and profitable environment on Omega Station, home to many of the most despicable and untrustworthy cutthroats in the known galaxy. You know damned well ' _nice_ ' wouldn't cut it there. The only thing that would get cut would be Aria's throat." Shepard drew her lover into a comforting hug. "That said, I don't expect you to like it; you're too good a person. And, just to clarify, I don't either, but I do think we need to respect her for what she's been able to accomplish with the place. You've been around longer than I have... You have to realize it's much better under her rule than it ever was under the Krogan Warlords who used to run the station."

Liara took a deep breath of comforting leather and musk before pushing back. Her eyes and her voice were soft, the way she felt about the woman in her arms plainly evident as she answered. "I love you, Shepard. You always talk about how I keep you grounded... It's obvious you do the same for me, particularly when my 'non-military' emotions try to push us off track. Thank you."

A smile played on Shepard's lips as she cupped Liara's face gently in her hands; indulging in a long sensuous kiss, her body hummed with happiness from the unbridled affection that flowed between them through the link. Her eyes opened slowly as the kiss ended and she whispered softly. "As much as I would love to continue this activity, I have some work to do before bed tonight... I need to finish up the final touches on my speech for the morning. Help me?"

Liara smiled, rather seductively for all her supposed innocence, and answered promptly, "If it will help you finish more quickly and get us into bed faster? Absolutely, my love!"

* * *

 **Armali, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Arla rose shakily to her feet, happy to be out of bed for the first time in nearly a week. Shiala lent her arm for stability as they walked slowly from the med tent to the dining hall in the newly constructed townhome. "Goddess! I know you told me the SILC were miracle workers, but this is astounding! How did it get built so quickly?"

Shiala smiled. "Captain Shepard and Lady T'Soni have made very good friends in the Geth... or the SILC as they are now called. They only requested a medical team and security but, once Prime Kopepo understood the extent of the damage here, he called in a full construction team for the townhome alone. They had it rebuilt in four days and are now in the process of fabricating temporary furnishings. The kitchen and dining hall have been completed and they are finishing up the commando dormitory area. That is why I was so busy yesterday and did not have time to visit with you. I was helping to shuttle the staff and all our supplies back here from the estate."

Arla smiled and looked around in amazement at the new structure that would be their future home. "It seems Aratiana already has things well in hand. How long are the Ge... the SILC going to remain with us? Are they going to become part of our house?"

"I have no idea. For the short term, at least, I suppose it depends on if they will continue to work on the common areas; it seems exorbitant when so many others are in need."

"Has anyone asked them about it?" Arla slid thankfully into a chair as Shiala stepped away.

"You rest. I'll get our plates and we can finish this conversation as we eat dinner." Shiala returned quickly with dishes full of salad greens and _maanru_ , sitting next to Arla and taking a big bite of the fish. "Goddess, this is wonderful. I'm glad the fisheries are back up and working... I'm fairly certain the city would be much worse off if not for this."

Arla nodded as she swallowed her first bite. "I agree that having fresh fish under such conditions is a luxury. So, now, I ask again. Has anyone asked the SILC about what they are doing next?"

Shiala shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I have no standing any longer, though I imagine I could inquire. Nayla would hear me out."

"What do you mean, no standing?" Arla chuckled. "Only in _your_ mind, Shiala. We hold nothing against you because of Saren and Sovereign. You are still Shiala Treya, confidant of our true Lady Benezia and selected trainer of our beloved Lady Liara. We respect you for your loyalty... and being the only one of the entire squad to return to us speaks to your strength."

"Strength? Luck, more like it." Shiala scoffed. "It was only because I was chosen as a sacrifice to the Thorian that I was able to break free of the Reaper influence... and only then because Mistress Liara and the Normandy's commander came to my aid. My own _strength_ had nothing to do with it."

"Goddess, but you can be stubborn." Arla rolled her eyes. "Though I imagine it was that very same strength of will that saved you, so I will not begrudge it."

Shiala stared at the commando for a long moment before letting out a small chuckle. "You are incorrigible, Arla. What am I to do with you?" Arla's eyes shone with an intensity Shiala had rarely seen and she continued, commenting quietly, "The natural color of your eyes is beautiful, Arla; I love your silver... Why do you disguise them with amethyst contacts?"

Arla's eyes immediately dropped to the table as a shy grin crossed her face. Her gaze came back up slowly, finally catching Shiala's eyes once again. "My mother always told me the silver was... lifeless, like ice, and I found the amethyst... intimidating. A shade of red fire to oppose the ice and more representative of my commando personality."

Shiala leaned in close, laying a hand atop Arla's thigh, under the table and out of sight of the other commandos wandering the room. "I agree you are a fiery one, but I've also seen your serene side... for which your silver is a perfect fit. Sophistication and measured grace. That is what I see in your eyes, Arla." She watched the Asari next to her swallow and start to draw shallow, increasingly rapid breaths as her warm hand, fingers extending along the inner side, slid excruciatingly slowly up the commando's thigh. "And I like what I see looking back at me." Her voice dropped to the point where Arla was more lip reading than hearing Shiala's next words. "Or am I misinterpreting what I see in your eyes, Arla? Would you not push away my hand if what I believe is not so?"

"Goddess." The word came out as a whisper. "Yes... but I never dreamed it could be. You were a team captain for Lady Benezia's personal guard and I was... I was nothing more than a 2nd Team member – no specialty, no anything. You were well above my station. Why would you even look at me?"

"Much has happened since those days, Arla, and neither one of us is who she used to be." Shiala's voice picked up a husky tone as she continued, "I would very much like to get better acquainted with the you I have come to know over the past few weeks, while constantly working at your side. Is it possible you would grant me my desire?"

Arla dropped a hand below the table and wrapped her fingers around Shiala's hand, halting its very slow and agonizing climb up her thigh. "You have long been an object of _my_ desire, Shiala Treya, so I could not bear it if you are simply looking for short-term comfort. Please do not take this badly, but I have adored you from afar for much too long and it would absolutely break my heart if we do this and then you cast me away."

"I would hope that is only your anxiety speaking... and not truly what you think of me, Arla." Shiala's eyes took on a shadow. "I could never do such a thing, even to my greatest enemy. That would be..." She shook her head before continuing, "... _cruel_ is the only word I can think of to describe such a thing." She met Arla's eyes. "And cruelty is something I hope you have never... and never will... attribute to my character."

"It is not, Shiala." Arla smiled as she pulled the hand in hers the rest of the way up her thigh to feel the heat building between her legs. "And if you are, in fact, ready to do this, I would eagerly welcome your attentions."

Shiala's green eyes brightened, clearing the shadow of doubt and hurt that had crept in. "I am most definitely ready... else I would not have broached the subject. Come. Let us clear our dishes and I can show you our new dormitories."

* * *

 _ **Destiny Ascension**_ **, Widow System,** **Serpent Nebula**

The full, expanded Galactic Council was assembled around the table for their first meeting. As the elected speaker, Tevos stood and dipped her head to those seated – the number much greater than it had ever been in the past. They had purposely opted for a round table to establish at least the appearance of equity amongst its members and to facilitate group participation in discussions. "Welcome, all, to the first meeting of the newly formed Galactic Council; I do believe introductions are in order."

The Asari councilor smiled as she glanced around the table. "We all know who I am, as well as Councilors Quentius, Valern and Osoba. I also believe we know those elevated from Citadel Ambassadorial status to their new positions as full councilors. She indicated each in turn with a graceful wave of her hand as she introduced them. "Volus Councilor Din Korlack... and Elcor Councilor Calyn. New to all of us are Urdnot Jara... Eri'Addan vas Rannoch... and Prime Huulik..." Tevos smiled as she continued, "... it being rather obvious whom each represents. I realize our last representative may be rather disquieting to many of you... and requires a very specialized translator, hence the presence of Matron Dalyna Trapso, who was introduced to me by Commander Shepard and provided the necessary bridge required to deliver our invitation to the Rachni, which was obviously accepted."

Tevos fell silent as Dalyna stood and bowed to the group, tipping her hand to indicate the impossible-to-ignore Rachni standing behind her in the corner of the room. A long tentacle extended and wrapped itself gently around the offered blue hand as Dalyna spoke. "Before the Reaper War, I was forced to crash-land on a Rachni planet after my ship was attacked and disabled by pirates. The Rachni saved my life and repaired my ship... and I learned much from them during my extended recovery. Many of you now know their story, thanks to Commander Shepard, of how they were victims of the Reapers, as were we all."

Dalyna raised the arm with the tentacle wrapped about it. "The Rachni do not have traditional voices and the easiest way for them to communicate with us is by touch. After I was healed, I voluntarily offered myself to them as an ambassador to the galaxy, to help them tell their story, and it was my honor when they accepted. They speak to one another in song and color, at wavelengths beyond our normal perception; this one is a male technician drone known as ' _Sharp one with the color of rainbows._ ' I simply refer to him as Sharp."

Dalyna's eyes seemed to glaze and a slightly deeper voice sounded from her vocal cords. "We emerge. Happy we are to have assisted in defeating the Old Ones. We look forward to our new future. Please. Let us begin."

Valern quietly stood and almost bowed to the Rachni. "We welcome you and your brethren as one of the Council races. Your contributions to the completion of the Crucible were immeasurable and we formally thank you for your timely assistance."

The Krogan female, Jara, growled quietly at the Rachni, but Sharp shuffled his feet excitedly as Dalyna relayed his response. "Pleasure... to be part of new galactic order... is ours."

As Valern sat back down, Quentius rose and nodded to his fellow Council members. "I am happy to report the construction of the new Center for Galactic Cooperation is now well ahead of schedule. We completed the final plan review on time, but with the addition of a significant number of both Rachni and Ge... excuse me... _SILC_ technicians, we now anticipate the completion in only three months time... by the end of October."

Eri'Addan stood next, a broad smile easily seen behind his clear faceshield. "Seeing as we're moving many of our civilians onto the surface of Rannoch, we have a number of technicians coming available. They will be utilized for the final atmospheric testing and adjustments for the CGC. We fully anticipate that task to be finished and the structure habitation-ready no later than the end of November. We are targeting phased move-ins starting on December first." He paused for a moment and glanced at Tevos before he continued. "I apologize, but I also have an unscheduled announcement that was not on the agenda. The Quarians will be shifting the majority of our agriculture production planetside, to the southern continent... which means the need for a substantial number of our liveships will diminish greatly. As they are decommissioned, we would like to offer them up to the Council... for disasters, for task force support to inhospitable planets... or any other purpose the Council, as a whole, deems and votes as acceptable."

Tevos glanced around the table, noting several astonished nods of approval. "That is a very generous offer, Eri... and I foresee immediate short-term uses, for planets whose food sources have been destroyed and are slow in recovery... until we manage to rebuild the freighters required to return our supply system to full functionality. You believe the liveships adaptable to other, non-dextro based, agricultural uses?"

Prime Huulik spoke from his seat. "Tevos Councilor. The liveships are easily adapted to various vegetation requirements. The SILC are capable of providing whatever workforce would be required to aid in the conversions, as well as assisting those less fortunate worlds in agricultural recovery. We currently have numerous units on Thessia, Rannoch and Earth, and would be pleased to assist wherever galactic recovery requires."

Tevos stared at the Prime for a moment before smiling and shaking her head in disbelief. Looking around the large table, she queried, "Are there any objections to taking this proposal to a vote?"

Calyn cleared his throat to gain her attention. "Concerned. Our population nears collapse. Rescue efforts were insufficient and our race is doomed if help does not arrive quickly."

"I know, Calyn. I'm sorry." Tevos hung her head. "So why would you object to this proposal?"

"Ashamed. We cannot afford to lose any more to hunger or environmental factors, but are not fast enough to repair damage done by Reapers in time to save ourselves." Calyn swayed back and forth in his anxiety. "Urgently. I am not objecting. I would second the motion and request immediate assistance from the SILC for Dekuuna and our colonies."

The table erupted in heated debate, questioning why the Elcor should receive any type of aid before the rest and how to establish the priority for assistance. Tevos was unable to refocus the group's attention to continue the meeting so, after a few moments, Huulik stood and rose to his full height, the Prime towering above the table. "Enough!" As the table fell silent except for Jara, who growled and rose to challenge him, Huulik ignored them all and continued, "Vote as you will for the Quarian proposal, but it has no affect on our offer of aid." He turned to Calyn. "The SILC Consensus has heard your plea and agrees we have sufficient resources to provide assistance. We will discuss details at the conclusion of the Council meeting."

"Overjoyed." Calyn almost collapsed in relief. "My people will rejoice at your appearance in the Phontes system. Hopeful. The Elders will prepare the tribal groups for your arrival."

The table had fallen silent at Huulik's announcement, so Valern raised his voice and garnered their attention. "You are councilors! You are here to represent your respective races and such uncontrolled outbursts are unacceptable. If you cannot conduct yourselves in a professional manner, you will be removed from the Council chambers!" He glared at the Krogan in particular. "Repeat offenses and blatant disregard for our rules of order will result in you being sanctioned until a replacement Council representative is appointed by your government." His gaze traveled around the table. "This was all explained and accepted by your governments... and each of _you_... prior to your appointments. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

Most nodded in agreement; even Jara settled back into her chair, in grudgingly silent acceptance. "Councilor Valern. Thank you for the reminder." Tevos stood slowly as her gaze roamed the table, making eye contact with each and every representative in the room. "I understand how difficult things are back home on every single one of our homeworlds. None here were spared the wrath of the Reapers... which is why all of you are sitting together, here, right now. We all made the same mistake of not believing Commander Shepard when she first warned us of the Reapers following the destruction of Sovereign... nor did we pay her any heed after she destroyed the Collector Station at the galaxy's core. Her warnings were ignored as the ravings of a mad woman... the hallucinations of a mind suffering battle fatigue."

Tevos herself had believed, ever since Shepard had requested the meld and _shown_ the Councilor what she had seen, what Benezia had told her. But Tevos had failed the Commander; she had been utterly and completely unable to sway the matriarchy, and could do _nothing_ without their approval. The room fell deathly silent as Tevos looked down at the table, her own regret and embarrassment showing on her face as she continued in a near whisper, "Because of our disbelief, we waited." Glassy, tearful eyes came back up and renewed contact with the group. "We waited until the Reapers were on our doorsteps... Even then, we _still_ refused to work together. Instead, we asked favors. We _bargained_ , with our lives... our very _survival_... for things _we_ wanted before we would agree to provide assistance. Yet, somehow, Shepard managed to unite us in time..." She raised her hands and opened her arms wide to include everyone in the room. "This expanded council is her recommendation... her legacy; her desire is to see us working together to rebuild the galaxy... and to _continue_ working together after it is done, so something like the Reapers can never again catch us so off-guard... so unprepared! We owe it to her, the savior of us all, to at least _try_. Do you not agree?"


	33. Smoke and Mirrors

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love

 _Anam_ _Cara_ \- Soul Friend/Mate (Gaelic)

 _Codladh sámh_ \- Sleep well (Gaelic)

 _Dhéanamh liom cad a bheidh agat_ \- Do with me what you will (Gaelic)

 _Leannán_ \- Lover (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code

 _Tugaim mo chroí duit go deo_ \- I give my heart to you forever (Gaelic)

* * *

 **Smoke and Mirrors**

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Shepard woke slowly, stretching indolently as she let out a yawn. A smile came to her face as her green eyes came into focus; a still very naked Liara was snuggled against her shoulder, her right arm draped possessively across Shepard's midriff. The commander rolled her head to the side and pressed her lips softly to Liara's forehead, taking in a deep breath of eezo and Thessian rose before closing her eyes to simply let the Asari's scent surround and comfort her soul.

Eventually cracking her eyes open once again, she brought her left hand across her body and delicately feathered her fingertips across supple blue skin, loving the softness of both the body and spirit of the being still asleep beside her. Another tender kiss to a pebbled forehead was rewarded with a soft hum as eyelids fluttered open, revealing blue eyes filled with adoration. Liara's head tipped back and she leaned forward, bringing her lips to Shepard's in a loving caress.

"Good morning, _Siame_ ," whispered Liara as she offered a sleepy smile. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to devour you with my eyes and know, yet again, that I am the luckiest person in the known galaxy..." Shepard stole another short kiss before finishing, "...simply for having the pleasure of waking up next to you, _A Grá_."

"Flattery _will_ get you everything, Commander... especially after a night like last night." Liara felt her heart skip at the memory and her face flushed a deeper blue as she felt reawakened desire course through her body. _Oh, Goddess_.

"Liara?" Shepard's eyes opened a bit wider at the sensations that poured through the link which, in turn, caused her own heart rate to step up a bit in expectation as her body reacted readily to the mental suggestion that steamrolled across. "Gods be damned, Blue... Apparently both our bodies feel the need to make up for lost time." A grin spread across her face as she rolled up onto her side and pulled Liara into a tight embrace, her thigh positioned just so... resulting in a moan of longing from her Promised.

Capturing expectant blue lips with her own, their kiss was filled with passion as hands wandered freely, caressing and stimulating various erogenous zones. Each completely focused on pleasing their partner, neither had any idea how much time had passed when a pair of blue fingers finally found their ultimate target, causing Shepard's head to drop backward as she gasped, "Gods, yes!"

Liara took advantage of the bared neck and latched onto Shepard's pulse point, feeling the blood thrum through the artery beneath her tongue. She didn't remain there long; after the quick bite and a couple of sucks... just enough to leave only the smallest of marks... she moved quickly to wrap her tongue around an erect nipple, holding it gently between her teeth as she rolled its tip beneath her tongue.

Feeling her abdominal muscles contract with need, Shepard dipped her head to kiss the top of Liara's crests and growled, " _Dhéanamh liom cad a bheidh agat._ " Her fingers affectionately dipped beneath the protective top crests to stroke the three sensitive fringe tips at the back of Liara's head before teasingly tracing down the folds of the Asari's neck, causing a flattering shiver to run through her lover.

Liara's warm breath passed over the stiff nipple as she whispered, "Goddess, Sam! If you are trying to distract me from your statement, it is too late. I have every intention to take you up on the offer." She quickly slid further down the bed, trailing kisses down the commander's torso as she gripped Shepard's hips, slipping an eager tongue into dripping folds.

Shepard's hips pumped and her fingers flexed in reaction, almost painful against the Asari's tender fringe; she felt Liara's discomfort through the link and concentrated on loosened her grip, moving her hands to the less sensitive outer crests. _{Sorry, Leannán! I'm apparently very sensitive this morning...}_

 _{Then I won't tease.}_ Liara's body glowed blue as her eyes shifted to obsidian and she expanded the link to a full meld. Shepard's head pushed back into the bed as her body arched in ecstasy, the combination of tongue, fingers, biotics and the imagery and emotions that slithered through her soul setting fire to every receptor as Liara easily drove Sam's mind as well as her body into a state of rapture, her first release coming fast... and hard.

Her sweat-slicked body quivered blissfully as a blue wave of desire swept over her, engulfing and nearly drowning Shepard's mind in Liara's answering pleasure. The Human's muscles spasmed in response and she felt a second release flow outward to a ready mouth, a wet tongue quickly stroking her eager sex to even greater heights. Biotics swept through the commander one last time and her body trembled with exhaustion, tears of joy trickling down the sides of her face as Liara finally relented and crawled up beside her to snuggle securely against her heaving chest as she gasped to recover her wind.

When Shepard's heart slowed enough that she could finally breathe, she rolled over atop her lover and kissed her before vehemently whispering, "Holy _fuck_ , Liara! That was magnificent."

They laughed together quietly as Liara hummed in response, "It was, wasn't it?" Liara's eyes were aglow with the love she felt for the woman lying on top of her and Shepard sensed her Asari was not yet sated.

"But we're not finished yet, are we?" Shepard's face held that positively wonderful lopsided grin of hers and Liara's heart soared with happiness.

"Aren't you tired, Sam?"

The grin never wavered as Shepard slid down Liara's body, suddenly trembling with anticipation from simply knowing Samantha's intent. "Yes, but not so much that I can't please you one last time." Shepard fell silent as her mouth fell on dripping folds, her tongue tingling with its first taste of her _Anam_ _Cara_.

Liara's breath caught in her throat as Shepard lit with biotics and gently filled her, fingers slipping in easily and stroking her ridged front wall, still full and eager for release. The Asari assertively arched into Shepard's weight, encouraging Sam to also access the tender folds in her lower back; Liara soon found herself blissfully trapped between the two glorious sensations. Sam moved smoothly through eager folds... her mouth sucking a swollen, stiff blue pearl while fingers stroked deep; her right hand expertly stimulating interior ridges while her left triggered erotic nodes within the flaring folds on Liara's back.

Unable to withstand the three-pronged attack, Liara simply... exploded. Her voice cried out to the Goddess as her body shuddered repeatedly with gratifying spasms, Samantha persisting until it became apparent Liara had nothing left to give; the Asari collapsed limply on the bed in exhaustion as the meld between them faded away. Shepard crawled up and sprawled beside her, a satisfied grin plastered on her face. She reached over and pulled Liara over to assume her normal position, the Asari mustering enough strength to nestle into Samantha's arms and raise her head to place it on the woman's chest.

"We have another hour before we need to be up... _Codladh sámh_ , Liara." Shepard hugged the Asari tight to her side. "I've got you."

 _{I count on it, Samantha.}_ Liara sighed happily as her tired words trickled through the link; they both closed their eyes, comfortable in the knowledge the other would be there when they awoke.

* * *

 **New Nos Astra, Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

Maya had spent a number of hours, off and on, searching through the Extranet, looking for names – people with any connections, however tenuous, to Cerberus. She had also spent some time looking for communications, although finding anyone in this manner would be quite difficult, since everything was heavily encrypted. The only advantage she possessed was a key, created by the communications wizards employed by Cerberus immediately prior to the start of the Reaper's galactic invasion.

The Illusive Man had entrusted her with that key, telling her at the time it might prove useful if she ever found herself in a tight spot and needed to communicate with another encrypted site; he had never spoken of it afterwards. Maya suspected he may have simply been testing her… attempting to learn just how far her loyalty went. Unfortunately for Harper, she eventually _did_ demonstrate her loyalty… in a way he least expected. The key was handy now, as it enabled her to view secure communications between Cerberus agents.

While she was searching, she was also finalizing plans for disappearing completely as Maya, or Rasa, or any of the other names by which she had been known during her time with Cerberus. She had come to the realization that the Illusive Man's death eight weeks ago had presented her with a golden opportunity – one which she intended to fully exploit.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror after a bath, she realized she could change nothing about her skin color or the shape of her body. What she _could_ do was cut her hair, which she had always worn long, and purchase some color-changing eye lenses. She needed a short haircut, with its natural curls a uniform length all over her head; she would also have a light grey color spotted in to give the impression of more maturity. Padding around in her bare feet, she looked to her clothing and decided _that_ would need to be changed as well – her normal theme of a quasi-military woman with armor plates needed to be replaced. But with what? She thought about her image as she dressed.

She had a germ of an idea, but needed to get back off-world to begin its implementation. _One step at a time,_ she thought. When she was ready to leave the apartment, she checked her vid-feeds one last time before setting the monitor to remotely message her omnitool, clipped her M-11 Suppressor to the hardpoint on her hip, grabbed an empty backpack and left for her ship.

* * *

Inside her ship, Maya removed every last thing that could identify her as the person that had docked it here. She grabbed all the remaining credits still aboard – she'd need to open a galactic account in which to deposit them, but not with her current identity – there were clothes, armor, a few more guns, and the remainder of the food aboard. She picked up an empty transfer bag and filled it with everything except the creds, which she placed in the backpack she'd brought along.

After taking one last look around for anything she'd missed, she moved to the cockpit and activated the ship's VI. Entering three commands, she instructed the VI to erase all logs of the ship's travels, all records of extranet activity, and finally, to purge its own memory. This would effectively 'reset' the VI to a state of never having been used as an assistant pilot and navigator – it would be as if the ship and VI were brand new, just manufactured. Once that was done, simply to make sure they couldn't even recall the series of commands she had just entered, she hacked the ship's mainframe and initiated the factory reset function... typically only authorized for use by shipyard dealers when they sold used vessels to new owners, in order to protect the identity and travels of the previous owner. _Which is exactly what I need to do!_

Once everything was shut down, Maya grabbed her bag and backpack, left the ship that had taken her halfway around the galaxy and headed back to her apartment.

* * *

Having dropped her bags in the apartment, she'd taken an air-taxi to the shopping district, where she sought out a woman's hair salon. After a fairly short time within, she emerged with a new look: short, curly hair of 6 to 8 cm long all over her head, with a few streaks of light grey at both temples. Maya next went to a nearby clothing store, where she purchased two outfits consisting of pants, blouses and light jackets, along with underwear of a more utilitarian nature – panties that completely covered her butt and bras that were designed to support her breasts without accentuating them, all in the darker colors she favored. Also among her purchases were two pairs of short boots designed for someone on their feet all day, and a number of pairs of socks.

After another trip to her apartment, where she washed and dried her purchases to eliminate some of the 'new' look while she had a late lunch, she left once more, attired in a new outfit. She had looked at herself in a mirror before leaving, thinking _Goodbye Maya Brooks, hello Zoë Lawrence…_ this being the name of the dead crewman from _Eva's Vortex_ , whose thumbprint she had already used as an ident for this apartment.

She had thought of one more thing she needed to do before her new look would be complete, and it had to be done before she could implement the rest of her plan. She needed a facial tattoo, a design, possibly in a medium grey or even an ivory color to break up her features enough to fool most of the facial scanners in use at the entry ports of the more… _civilized_ … galactic races.

Fortunately, she wouldn't need to have a photo ID for several weeks; plans to avoid her pursuers did not actually involve leaving Illium immediately, just leaving the apartment she'd rented as 'Rasa Channing.' She would have time enough for application of a permanent design and the time needed for her face to heal. After locating a tattoo shop with a human proprietor, she selected what he referred to as a tribal design and made an appointment for three days out.

Upon leaving the tattoo shop, she rented a long-distance aircar for a trip to Nos Aedelos. In addition to Hahne-Kedar's extensive R&D and manufacturing facilities, the heavy industrial center was home to something very few people were aware existed – a currently unmanned Cerberus-owned safe house and storage facility. Once there, Maya Brooks would cease to exist, almost as if she'd never been born.

* * *

 _ **Neema**_ **, Quarian Fleet, Rannoch Orbit**

The Admiral of Special Projects stormed aboard the _Neema_ , demanding to see the ship's captain, Admiral Han'Gerrel. The poor marine at the door of the captain's office swallowed and stood fast. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but the captain is currently engaged in a confidential vid conference with Captain Ahlis'Laspar aboard the _Nalotir_. I'm afraid he asked to be not be disturbed unless it was an emergency."

Xen crossed her arms and leaned back on a cocked hip. "You _do_ know who I am, correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I do." The marine remained standing before the door, effectively blocking her access as he continued, "Daro'Xen, captain of the _Moreh_ and member of the Admiralty Board... but that is not enough to countermand _my_ captain's orders aboard _his_ ship, Ma'am."

Xen stalked silently about the corridor for another fifteen minutes before the marine keyed his comms simply to reply, "Yes, Sir." He turned to the haptic interface as the lock on the door transitioned from orange to green before turning back to the impatient admiral and stepping aside. "The captain will see you now, Admiral."

The door slid open and Xen glared at the marine as she passed into the captain's office. Before the door slid closed, the marine heard Xen begin to rant, "Ancestors, Han! That disrespectful marine..." only to be cut off by Gerrel.

"Enough, Daro! Ken is one of my best. Don't rage at him simply because he followed my orders." What marine Ken'Fennas vas Neema did _not_ see was the hand signal from Gerrel to Xen to wait and be quiet. When the door closed completely, blocking all sound, Gerrel continued, "I'm sorry. Had I anticipated your arrival, I would have made an exception, but I couldn't afford for anyone to overhear my discussion with Ahlis."

Xen bit back her anger at the interesting news, querying, "Is he with us?"

Gerrel smiled. "Ken or Ahlis?"

"Don't toy with me, Han. I have brought news that has me in a sour mood," growled Xen.

"How is that any different from your day-to-day disposition?" Gerrel shook his head at his fellow admiral, the expression on her face letting him know she was unforgiving about his last comment. He paused and sighed, "Don't worry; both are with us. So what is this news that has you so annoyed?"

Crossing her arms angrily, Xen spouted, "Tali'Zorah vas _Rannoch_ has left your ship and enacted her ambassador status to assist the Geth in building the habitations on the homeworld! I know you wouldn't actually do something so stupid as to grant her _permission..._ "

"What?" Shocked, Gerrel's focus snapped to his omnitool as he searched for her name on the ship's roster. "I had no idea... And, unfortunately, as an admiral of the fleet, she doesn't _need_ my permission, Daro... and you know that." His eyes came back up and he glared at the admiral across his desk. "And I certainly don't appreciate you implying I'm stupid simply because I'm a warrior who prefers to fight in the open instead of hidden behind the technology of Special Projects."

Her eyes held daggers as Xen's expression clouded even more. "Don't be an idiot. I said no such thing and, if you had let me finish, I was about to ask if you had any idea who _did_ help her."

Gerrel snorted, "Like we don't know?" He scowled and his voice was bitter as he continued, "We know that both her _Auntie_ and Raan's sycophant, Zaal'Koris, probably encouraged her to make the move. Our worst decision to date was to give that fledgling of Rael admiral status! We should have anticipated that she would side with Raan."

"We couldn't have known that... and all of that happened only because Rael managed to get himself killed! If he had instituted better security measures which, if you remember, I told him he needed, this entire conversation would never have occurred. _He_ would have been our Geth expert instead of his ideological progeny."

Somewhat surprised that Xen didn't blame him for suggesting Tali become Rael's replacement, the Admiral of the Heavy Fleet relaxed a bit. "Aye, but it's too late to go back now, so what are we going to do about it? I'm sure you didn't come over here empty handed. You always have some semblance of a plan."

For the first time since she had heard the news of Tali's move to Rannoch, Xen smiled. Even as her ally in their bid to correct what they saw as the Quarian's errant path, chills ran up Gerrel's spine as Xen spoke. "Oh, I most certainly do, Han... but we're going to need to be patient… _very_ patient. Once we're ready to make our move, we'll need both of our Fleets covering our backs."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

Kasumi and Bau had been rather sternly warned by Aria that they were not to be identified on the station, else she would be forced to take some form of visible action against them... which she went to great lengths to explain it was something she had absolutely no desire to do. Just before she departed to return to Afterlife with Bray, she had described her position quite eloquently. "I owe Shepard for helping me get Omega back... and I absolutely hate owing anything… to anyone. This favor of allowing you free access to my station will repay my debt to her, so don't you _dare_ make me fuck it up."

Given how long the operation took simply to get onto the station, both Bau and Kasumi decided it best to get some rest before either of them started out. Aria had also informed Nyreen that she now had guests for the duration of their stay on Omega, being unable to provide quarters without drawing unnecessary attention to their presence. Given the much lower Salarian requirement for sleep, they opted for Jon to take his quick 2-hour nap first, so he could be out collecting data while Kasumi slept for at least six hours.

He vanished into Nyreen's single guest room and the Turian took it as an opportunity to speak with Kasumi. "I assume you've been fully briefed on the situation here?"

The flanging of Nyreen's voice told Kas that there was more to Kandros' question than what was apparent on the surface. "Well, yes, but we had minimal prep time, so it only outlined the most pertinent facts while most likely missing a lot of the details; I'd be happy to hear any of the fine points you think are missing. I'll stop you if it's something of which I am aware."

Kandros knew Kasumi was on a fishing expedition but didn't care, so plunged directly into the topic that had her most worried. "You know Shepard recruited me as her agent here on Omega to keep Aria in check?" A silent nod from Kasumi encouraged her to continue. "You also know that our ships and their crews started disappearing very shortly after the war against the Reapers was won. Does Shepard realize why I've been silent this whole time?"

Kasumi shrugged, "We assumed it was because _nothing_ was coming out of Omega. Aria had this place locked down tight as a drum and it would have been very risky for you to attempt contact. If your communication was intercepted, Aria most likely would have tagged you as the traitor."

"Excellent." Nyreen breathed a sigh of relief. "So she sent you to me simply to touch base, not to discover if my loyalties had changed?" Kandros watched what she could see of Kasumi's face very carefully to see if there was any change in her expression but saw nothing as the master thief responded without hesitation.

"She knew there was a potential... but also trusted us to be able to tell the difference by the way you acted when we showed up." Kasumi suddenly smiled as she continued, "And, once over the shock or our arrival, you were happy to see us. There was no unusual concern in your eyes to indicate we would discover something you needed to hide." Kasumi suddenly tipped her head to the side as she watched Kandros' response to her words and added, "But, there is some underlying concern about _something_ , though I do not believe it has anything to do with our arrival."

Nyreen flared her mandibles and huffed. Having spent time on the Normandy with Garrus, Kasumi immediately recognized the expression; embarrassment... and Turians were rarely embarrassed. Garrus had acted that way around Tali and Kasumi had an inspired thought. "You've fallen for someone... Bray?" The look of near disgust told the thief she was off the mark and she suddenly realized why Nyreen was so hesitant to speak of it. "Oh my God. Aria!"

"Spirits!" Kandros nearly spit the words out. "Do you need to say it as if it is so shocking?" Not expecting an answer to what was obviously a rhetorical question, she sighed and continued, "Did Shepard tell you how I came to be on Omega?" A surprised shake of Goto's cowled head had Nyreen explaining about her departure from the Cabal and her continuous downward spiral... until she ultimately landed on what she had called the 'station of no hope'... or Omega. "I had honestly hit rock bottom. I had not an inkling of self-esteem remaining, no prospects, no hope... I couldn't even see myself as a merc."

"And then came Aria." Kasumi offered with an understanding nod.

"Yes. Then came Aria." Kandros' voice turned cold and she suddenly seemed to be recounting the story more to herself than to Kasumi. "Back then, she was a royal bitch. It was kill or be killed; no room for kindness. Yet, she saw something in me; recognized my biotic talents and took me in when no one else would. She put me on her station security team with her trusted, Bray, personally overseeing my training here. He was a taskmaster, but at least he didn't have Aria's mean streak."

A mysterious smile played on Kandros' face, so even though she wanted too, Kasumi did not interrupt with questions, feeling there was more to the story. She was proven correct as Nyreen continued, "Then Petrovsky and his Cerberus dogs arrived... and everything here changed. Aria and Bray disappeared; we all thought them dead, eliminated under the general's orders... or killed by Petrovsky himself." She huffed and let out a quiet chuckle. "I sure was surprised to see Aria and Commander Shepard climb down that ladder into the private tunnels. Wasn't quite sure what to make of it... but it turned out well, so I didn't question why the commander had decided to help her. I figured it out over time and was glad for it."

Kandros came out of her shell and she reinitiated eye contact with Kasumi. "Aria was changed by what happened... to her very core... and it changed the personality of all of Omega right along with her. The old Aria? There was no middle ground... but she learned from Shepard that it's ok to be kind to those you _know_ you can trust; they won't turn around and stab you in the back. The 'new' Omega is no longer a ragtag group of misfits looking for a home... They are the people of Omega, for whom Aria personally risked her life to save and give back their freedom. That feeling of being valued by the Queen bred a new kind of loyalty and everything changed... except for the damned Turians, who always put duty to the Hierarchy above all else."

Kasumi had smiled at the revelation about the change in Aria, but Kandros' last statement grabbed her attention and she simply had to ask, "Wait. _Only_ Turians?"

Nyreen stopped speaking for a moment, her mandibles flaring in surprise. "Yes. Did you not know that all the ships that defected from Omega's fleet were Turian captained and crewed?" Kandros smacked the back of her hand against her forehead plate with her sudden glimpse into what was happening. "Spirits! And now, you tell me about supposed Turian pirates taking all those ships from Altakiril?" Nyreen shook her head vehemently as she added, "No way they were _pirates_ flying the Omega flag as cover; they are much too organized. There's someone behind all this... someone on a mission to grab power... and it has all the marks of a Turian military operation; led, perhaps, by a general who somehow lost face during the war... who's trying to regain his honor! But attacking us makes no sense... What could he possibly gain by taking down Omega?"

"Nothing that I can see." Kasumi nodded in agreement. "Omega isn't the ultimate goal... It's simply a means to an end." She glanced at her chrono and realized that between Kandros' story and all the surrounding discussion they had talked for nearly two hours... and Bau would be getting up very soon. Looking back at Nyreen, Kas was all business. "I need to get something to eat and we need to tell Jon everything we've talked about. It certainly gives us direction for our hunt... Limiting our search to disgruntled Turians narrows the parameters of our mission immensely. We just might make sense of this yet." She stood and closed the distance to the former Cabal agent, sticking out her hand. "Thank you. You've been extremely helpful."

As Nyreen took her hand and shook it, Kasumi's face erupted in a smile and she laughed lightly. "And, by the way, let me get back to the original question I saw in your eyes, now that I have a good idea what it was. If Aria truly has changed? I'd say go for it. No one can explain where they find love. That's what makes it so wonderful... It's total and complete unpredictability."

Nyreen was about to respond when they heard the guest room door open and Jondum Bau emerged, refreshed and ready to go. Nyreen and Kas quickly filled him in on the mission details and Kandros was relieved when Kasumi left out any hint of her growing personal connection to Aria. After Bau vanished through the door, Kas looked to Nyreen one more time to reassure her. "You can relax; your secret is yours to tell, not mine. Unless it threatens the integrity of the mission or Jon's or my safety, I'll not say a word to anyone."

Kandros drew a deep breath and let it all out in relief. "Thank you. No one knows but you and I... not even Aria." She laughed at herself. "Well. Aria probably knows, but we haven't talked about it. It's simply happening to us and neither has taken any steps to stop it."

"And that is how it should be." Kasumi smiled softly. "Good night, Agent Kandros. I very much doubt I will be here when you rise in the morning, so have a good day... and I'll see you around, possibly when you least expect it."

* * *

 **Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver, Earth**

Shepard stood and smiled as Hackett opened the door and stepped out of his office into the waiting area. "Admiral Hackett. Good to see you again, Sir."

"Same here, Shepard. Come on in." Hackett waited for her to pass by and closed the door again, following close behind. "Have a seat on the couch. I'm done with that damned desk for the day." As Shepard sat, he flopped down in the closest easy chair and looked at the commander. "Never let anyone promote you to admiral, Shepard. It's nothing but paperwork and headaches; you would positively hate it."

"Oh, come on, Sir. It can't be that hard." Shepard smirked, " _You_ seem to be doing just fine."

Hackett's eyes came up to meet hers and, seeing the expression on her face, he let out a little chuckle. "That I am, Shepard... but I came up in a different service. Things were simpler then. Now? Galactic Councils, Collectors, Reapers... It's a different business now-a-days."

"No Collectors or Reapers anymore, Admiral." Shepard's smirk turned to a grin. "Glad I could help you out in that simplification... You only have to worry about the Council now."

"Huh. Don't I wish." Hackett sighed, but a light smile had climbed onto the man's face. "So. Speaking of the Council, they're wondering if the Normandy will be ready to depart on the Victory Tour as scheduled on the 15th of July."

"We fought the war as is, Sir. If we needed to, we could leave as soon as we can recall the crew... say by 1500 hrs this afternoon. But I'm sure that's not what they mean." Shepard shrugged. "I could ask Greg Adams how the final upgrades and repairs are going, but I'm confident that if we were behind schedule, he'd tell me. That said, we have our departure from here planned for the 13th; gives us more than 24 hours on the Destiny Ascension to get the full briefing Counselors Tevos and Osoba have promised us prior to departure."

"Good." Hackett nodded. "I'll pass that on to them. Tevos expressed her regrets at not making it here for today's ceremony, but confirmed that she will be here for your promotion, along with Osoba and, surprisingly, Councilor Valern. Quentius is staying put to handle Council matters, but promises to accompany you to your first tour stop on Palaven, along with Primarch Victus and Garrus Vakarian."

Shepard's eyes brightened at the thought of spending some time with Garrus, no matter how short. She truly missed her Turian friend; the Normandy wasn't the same without him. "Sounds good, Sir. I assume we're also ready for the ceremony this evening?"

"Yes... But that's why I wanted to talk to you this morning. We're going to do this one in a different order. Going to have you speak first, with the memorial ceremony afterward, and ending with the bells."

"I'm not complaining... The other ceremonies have gone pretty late... not even starting until the hour of victory... 1942 hours... I like the idea of starting earlier and finishing while it's still light." Shepard had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. "But why now, Sir? Why change the very last one?"

"You never make it easy, do you, Shepard?" Hackett sighed. "You can't just take it on faith that it's for a good reason?"

"The Council members are staying away and you've shifted the program to full daylight hours." Shepard frowned. "That tells me you received some threat indicator... and if there's a danger to me or my crew, I want to know about it _before_ I find us in the line of fire, Sir."

"Shit." Hackett shook his head. "We've got nothing that we can confirm... just a lot of unusual encrypted traffic. We don't even know who it is or if it's in regard to the ceremony, but the timing is too coincidental."

Shepard stood, much to Hackett's surprise, but the admiral rose with her. "I'd like to get back to the ship, Sir. Get Liara on this to see if she can turn anything up. I'll admit, we've been a bit distracted lately... pirates in the Terminus that may not be pirates... and a few other things going on." Shepard hoped the heat she felt on her neck hadn't climbed to a visible point above her collar... one of those 'few other things' having been her and Liara taking advantage of their downtime to renew their link... and their relationship in general... but she certainly wasn't ready to tell Hackett that.

"Understood, Shepard. It's probably a good idea. I should have thought of that." Hackett nodded and started to move toward the door. "The new start time is 1745 hours, so I'll meet you on site at 1730 hours." They were at the door, but Hackett made no move to open it. Instead, he laid a fatherly hand on Shepard's shoulder. "If Liara finds _anything_ , especially if it's some type of threat, you let me know immediately. You're more important to me than any speech you could possibly give, Shepard."

"Understood, Sir, but we'll be at the ceremony. We might be in full battle gear, but we'll be there." Shepard smiled and nodded in appreciation. "I'll give you a heads up the second we find something. You have my word."

Hackett dropped his hand and opened the door. "Thank you, Shepard. Anderson would have been proud. Hell. He _was_ proud of you."

Shepard's eyes glazed with unshed tears, but she kept her composure. "Thank you, Sir. See you at 1730 hours." She turned and walked away; not hearing the door close, she knew Hackett's eyes were on her back until she left the office and turned the corner, heading directly back to the Normandy.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Shepard was working at the upgrade terminal when Riana called out. "Mistress! I have found something!"

Liara moved quickly from her station to the terminal in the corner near the door to Riana's room. "What have you found? Show me."

"It isn't much, but I don't like what it insinuates." Riana tapped a couple of keys and a decrypted message appeared on the screen. It was very short, but Shepard had to agree with Riana's assessment. _Target located. Final program ends with a bang at 1942 hours... with the bells._

Her brow wrinkled in consternation, Liara practically growled, "What in the blue blazes does that mean? It sounds like an assassination plot!" Her eyes shot to Shepard and her voice cracked with concern as she stared at the commander. "But who or what, exactly, is the target?"


	34. Danger in the Shadows

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love

 _Codladh sámh_ \- Sleep well (Gaelic)

 _Lughnasadh_ \- a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season.

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

SAC - Systems Alliance Command

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Danger in the Shadows**

 **Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver, Earth**

The memorial ceremony was held on the Alliance Headquarters parade grounds, directly in front of the rather imposing building. Thanks mainly to the assistance of the SILC, the headquarters had been largely rebuilt less than two months after the conclusion of the Reaper war. The building still needed a lot of trim work and a good paint job but the main structure stood tall, seemingly in defiance against the ruin the Reapers had attempted to impose upon the entire galaxy.

Having given her standard speech about the need for unity and rebuilding – which had, as expected, been received with a great deal of enthusiasm by the largely military crowd… very similar to the reception in Rio de Janeiro – Shepard stopped in the center of the stage. Arrayed behind her in a rather large arc were those who had stood by her side during the course of the war. Immediately off her right shoulder stood Liara, with Riana beside her, followed by Sarah Campbell, Grunt and Edi. Ashley Williams and Legion were to the commander's left, followed by Major Kirrahe and Jack. Remaining in relative position, Shepard and the entire arc of persons behind her backed quietly toward the rear of the stage as Hackett came forward, replacing them at its front leading edge.

He turned and held out his hand, indicating the collection of soldiers behind him. "It gives me great honor to share the stage with a group such as this." He turned back to the crowd. "We all count ourselves fortunate to have survived this horrid war... one pitted against a foe like none we had ever seen. We prevailed... thanks to the bravery of soldiers like those that served aboard the Normandy. And while _we_ survived to celebrate our heroes, we must also be sure to never forget those who ended up making the ultimate sacrifice for our victory."

He then proceeded to read the names of every Alliance unit that had fought in the war, and the numbers of Alliance soldiers lost from each; none escaped without loss. Once the reading was complete, the admiral asked for a moment of silence and bowed his head; it was a solid minute before he looked up again to scan the sea of resolute faces before him. "I swear to you, we will never forget their fortitude... their strength of will... nor the bravery of their acts that saw us through to victory. We owe each and every one of them our very existence." Hackett took a deep breath and glanced back at Shepard. She and Liara had briefed him on the intercepted communiqué... and everyone currently standing on that platform, along with several Alliance soldiers placed in strategic positions surrounding the crowd, knew the moment of truth was upon them. Even Hackett stood upon the stage with a protective vest hidden beneath his service jacket, something he had never honestly felt the need to do before.

He turned back to the crowd and continued boldly, "On the 7th of June, at 1942 hours, Universal Galactic Time, we declared our victory over the Reapers. Today, let the bells of Vancouver pay tribute to those we lost." When the first bell rang, it seemed as if it was connected to a detonator; a monstrous explosion from the building behind them rained debris down upon everyone as the western wing of the headquarters instantly disappeared in a nearly impenetrable cloud of dust and smoke.

The crowd exploded with noise... Soldiers, along with the braver civilians in the crowd, shouted angrily and ran to assist, while the remainder either froze in shock or screamed in fear and ran in the opposite direction. The Normandy crew reacted as well, spinning to the rear to face the explosion as they moved to collapse their arc around Shepard and the admiral. On reflex, Shepard glanced first toward Liara, who was now in front of her rather than behind. As the Asari observed, in abject horror, the event unfolding before them, Shepard watched a personal nightmare of her own unfold as she recognized a pinpoint red light from a laser designator, refracting and shimmeringthrough the suspended dust as it danced across the crests on the back of Liara's unprotected head.

Without thought, having no possible _normal_ way to get there fast enough to beat a sniper's bullet, Shepard simply reacted and... _charged_. Liara felt the spike of panic rip through the link and had barely started to turn toward the commander when Shepard smashed into her. Normally, Shepard's vanguard charge would be led by the butt of her nearly indestructible Krogan Graal but, obviously having no desire to hurt her Promised, Shepard charged with open arms, the Graal securely tucked away in its holster across her lower back. Thankful Liara was in full armor as she collided harder than anticipated, Shepard wrapped her arms around her target instead of stunning her with a butt-thrust followed by a quick shotgun blast. The force of the collision carried both of them past the rear of the stage to crash onto the ground beyond.

Shepard immediately released the Asari and sat up to check her condition. "Gods, Liara! I didn't mean to hit you so hard! Are you alright?"

Liara was having trouble focusing and her neck hurt. "Shepard? What happened? My eyes won't cooperate..." Her speech was slightly slurred and as she tried to sit up, a firm hand on her shoulder kept her from rising. She winced at the pressure and growled at the pain. "Goddess. I think you broke my shoulder!"

"Fuck. Liara... I'm sorry!" Shepard took a deep breath and explained what she had seen before adding regretfully, "I didn't mean to hurt you..." She choked on her words but managed to force out, "But, by the Gods, I refuse to see you dead from an assassin's bullet!"

Not only were Liara's eyes refusing to focus, but her world had also started to go gray. Her voice was thready and she reached out shakily to clasp Shepard's hand. "Sam... I need you..." She seemed to be having trouble catching her breath, but pushed herself to use her fading air to speak. "I need you to help me sit up... something... is most definitely wrong."

"Li?" Shepard quickly switched sides and slid a hand under Liara's uninjured shoulder to help her sit up. "What's wrong? Tell me..."

Before she could finish her question, all the color drained from Liara's face; her head lolled back as she lost consciousness and fell limp in Shepard's grasp. "Liara!" The commander moved quickly to get her arm completely under her lover to keep her from tumbling sideways back to the ground and that's when she felt it; as her hand passed behind the shoulder Liara thought to be broken, Shepard felt a sticky wetness. Her heart thudding in her chest, she gently... yet rapidly... stretched the Asari out flat and rolled her up on her left side to discover a large amount of blood forming a rapidly spreading blue stain on her armor, fed by the small hole in her right shoulder, obviously caused by an armor-piercing round.

"Cortez!" Shepard yelled frantically into her comm unit, "Emergency med evac transport to the Normandy! Now!" By this time the crew, along with Admiral Hackett, had gathered around her. Ashley dropped to her knees at Liara's side and jabbed a tube of medigel against the hole, squeezing as much of its contents into the hole as she could as Edi also got on comms.

"Dr Chakwas. Medical emergency, priority one. Please report to the stage area immediately."

Karin, who was somewhere in the crowd and had heard Shepard's urgent call for transport, responded before Edi finished her sentence. "Already on my way!"

As they rapidly loaded Liara onto a litter and into the shuttle, Shepard grabbed Ashley's shoulder, the commander's eyes filled with a deathly rage. "Spectre Williams... You don't come back to the Normandy until you get the bastard responsible for this."

Ashley looked at the furious captain of the Normandy and grabbed the opposite shoulder of the woman before her. "I promise you, Shepard... I will find who did this." With both officers releasing their grips, Shepard turned away and jumped onto the shuttle; Cortez kicked the Kodiak into the air and, before the hatch slid closed, Shepard heard Ashley shout, "You heard the commander. Who's with me?"

* * *

 **Nos Aedelos, Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

Brooks had parked her rented aircar a half-klick from the unassuming building that was her destination. As it was now dark outside, there were very few people out and about, which was as she'd expected; still, she didn't want Illium law enforcement to see an aircar parked outside a building no one ever visited. Cautiously approaching a side entrance with her cloaking generator engaged, she paused in front of the locked door just long enough to hack the lock. Once inside with the door closed behind her, she looked around quickly before entering the main office on the second floor.

The terminal she needed was on standby; once activated, she quickly entered Zoë Lawrence's ID number, bringing up the interface needed to input new information or change previously entered info. After changing all of Zoë's physical characteristics to match her own, she applied each of her hands to the scanner for fingerprint recognition, then had her retina's scanned and submitted a DNA sample. An alarm sounded, indicating the computer had detected another individual with the exact same physical traits, which it displayed side-by-side with the new info concerning Zoë. After being asked to confirm or delete the duplication, Maya – now Zoë – deleted the duplicate woman named Maya Brooks from the system. Calling up the other aliases which she'd previously used, she deleted these as well. As far as the Cerberus data base was now concerned, Zoë Lawrence was the only woman employed by Cerberus to have all the physical attributes of a now non-existent Maya Brooks.

Once Zoë had eliminated all references to having ever served as a crewman on _Eva's Vortex_ , she first created a job for Zoë as an analyst before quickly adding that her analytical job at Cerberus HQ had been terminated on 31 May, 2187. After carefully inspecting all the data for her new identity, she used a special hack to upload this modified persona to the systems relied on by the Galactic Council and, by extension, worlds and colonies under Council influence. As far as most galactic data bases were concerned, Zoë Lawrence, an employee of the now defunct organization known as Cerberus, had taken a well-deserved vacation after being released by the company.

Zoë retasked the computer, instructing it to divulge the location of the nearest FTL capable VI equipped vessel. After several seconds, the location of two ships in a bunker a kilometer away appeared on the screen; she downloaded the coordinates to her omnitool before uploading a virus with very specific parameters to eliminate all traces of her intrusion.

Feeling she was running out of time, she hurriedly left the Cerberus building for the streets and trotted back to her rented aircar; after a short ride, she got out next to the bunker where she hoped to find at least one of the two ships inside ready to fly without too much prep. After a quick inspection revealed that either of them would be suitable for her purposes, she reboarded her aircar and flew back to her apartment in New Nos Astra, arriving shortly after sunrise.

* * *

 **New Nos Astra, Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

Parking the aircar as close as possible to the path from her back exit, she quickly entered her apartment to begin stripping it of everything she'd installed. With the Illusive Man dead, the leaderless organization was basically adrift – the only person the majority of the operatives might listen to was… or had been… Jack's executive assistant, a former military officer named Jana. Zoë didn't even know Jana's location – as Jack's executive assistant, she'd been stationed on Cronos Station; Zoë felt it was a safe bet Jana had departed the station shortly after Jack left aboard _Eva's Vortex_. She had _not_ been on _Eva's Vortex_ , of that she was certain.

After setting her video monitor to quietly alert her to anyone entering the field of view of any of the many cameras she'd installed, she enabled the program she'd entered that would relay video to her omnitool once she left the apartment. She took her loaded bags out through the secondary exit, trotted to the aircar to load them in then trotted back. After two trips, she had everything transferred to the aircar except her weapons. She quickly stripped out of her new clothes, took a brief but relaxing shower, then dressed in her infiltration suit of dull black leather under black chest and back plates. She'd rely on a kinetic shield generator combined with a cloaking device for the majority of her protection; the chest and back plates would help insure a bullet striking a vital area wouldn't incapacitate or kill her.

Zoë had been covertly searching for any records of communications, either initiated by or responded to by Jana. Before she could get all her equipment disconnected, her terminal trilled to indicate a freshly intercepted message, which had been sent within the past fifteen hours from the comm buoy at the Omega relay. There was no video – simply text, which meant the sender had probably dropped it into the outgoing message queue without waiting for a reply; more tellingly, it was encrypted with Cerberus protocols. Zoë quickly applied her decryption key to the downloaded message and waited. Thinking back on her actions since eliminating Jack Harper, she tried to isolate any action she'd taken that would place her life at risk from a Cerberus backed hit squad.

She perked up when the terminal beeped to indicate the message was ready to be displayed. Her heart sank as she read the contents scrolling up the screen. An operative, Angelique Warren, had sent the short message to Jana, in which she reported the _MSV Rome_ had departed Omega for Osun thirteen hours after a small ship, registration unknown, had departed for Tasale. She had ended the message by saying she herself was enroute to Tasale, with a promise to report back upon arriving on Illium.

Zoë leaned back heavily in her chair, closed her eyes and took a deep breath which she slowly blew out past pursed lips. _Thank God I have cameras watching all the approaches to this place. Damn it! I better get myself ready to run._

Rising from her chair, she opened the front closet and pulled out her sniper rifle. She had fitted a laser emitter to the side of the electronically enhanced optical scope she preferred to use for wet work – most of the time she'd taken to install it had been for sighting it in. She didn't want to kill her pursuer – or pursuers, if Warren had a companion – and she had no reason to believe the agent was traveling alone. She'd employ the laser as a warning, centering her scope in the middle of the person's chest before energizing the laser, using it as a visual warning before she took a kill shot. With a bit of good fortune, she wouldn't be forced to end their lives, but she certainly wouldn't hesitate to drop the hammer if she was pushed.

When she was ready, she fixed herself a light lunch and sat down to eat as she calmly called up the camera monitoring her ship, figuring that Warren would go there first to confirm _Maya_ was actually on Illium. She finished her snack and sat back down to wait, something she excelled at doing while absolutely hating every minute of it. Zoë could actually leave now, but she wanted to know… _needed_ to see… exactly who was pursuing her so relentlessly, if for no other reason than the need to be able to identify Warren if their paths crossed at some time in the future.

As Illium's sun descended in the southwest sky, a shadowy figure entered the camera's field of view. After poking about for a few minutes, the shadow disengaged its cloaking generator to be revealed as a woman, which Zoë took to be Warren; she was fit in appearance, although a bit shorter than Zoë had envisioned, with medium length black hair. Warren, if that _was_ the identity of the mystery woman, was soon joined by a man, of average height and build. As they faced each other to confer, Zoë zoomed the video in on the woman's face, hoping the picture quality was high enough for her to read the operative's lips.

Concentrating on the woman's face, she could just make out, _'…excellent, Tim. I have her ship rigged with a disabling tracker… just need to get to her apartment so we can talk to her.'_ So, Warren, for she no longer had doubts about the woman's identity, had been instructed to bring _Tim_ with her. Concentrating again, she just caught, _'… Jana will be pleased. We bring Maya in and we can get on with other things.'_ Zoë wasn't sure, but it looked as if these agents only wanted to speak with her… persuade her to return with them to wherever Cerberus was currently headquartered. Didn't really matter… Zoë had no intention of allowing them to get that close.

She stood and hooked her arms through the backpack straps, docked her M-358 heavy pistol on its hip mount, then slung her M-13 Raptor over her shoulder as she waited for visual evidence that Warren… and Tim, were approaching her front door; she didn't have long to wait. The pair must have jogged through the alleys near the warehouses in order to arrive here so quickly.

Blanking and locking out the large video monitor, she quietly left through the rear exit and quickly walked to the tall metal gate, which was normally locked closed at the rear wall behind the building. After opening and going through the open gate, she reclosed it, re-engaged the lock and hacked it with an encrypted code of her own devising. Any attempt to utilize a Cerberus designed hack to unlock the gate would result in the mechanism being welded into inoperable slag, and the resulting flash would most likely temporarily blind anyone standing close by.

Running down the alley towards the closest warehouse, she paused to take a look at the video being transmitted to her omnitool; Warren and her companion were approaching her front door. Figuring her available time was short, Maya pondered for a moment. _Do I cut and run... and head for my ship? Or make a stand here and kill one of 'em as a warning to the other one? God damn it! I'm tired of running. Fucking Cerberus!_

Reciting the old mantra about discretion being the better part of valor, she elected to continue on to her rented aircar; once safely inside, she energized the core and quietly left.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Shepard had been furious when they came aboard the Normandy... so much so that Karin had threatened to sedate her. "I know you're incredibly angry right now, Samantha, but this is _not_ a fatal injury. Liara _will_ recover, but she's going to need you to be calm and in control. She'll need your strength." They had removed Liara's armor while enroute, down to her underarmor padding, in preparation for emergency surgery, so when they arrived in the Med Bay, the techs moved Liara directly onto a bed and initiated a full scan of her upper torso, neck and head.

Karin took advantage of that time to speak to Shepard as the scan completed. "I won't lie to you. It is non-fatal, but it is also quite serious." Karin frowned as the scan continued. "The round slowed as it penetrated her armor and started to tumble, fracturing her scapula into several pieces... one of which appears to have sliced the axillary artery feeding blood to her right arm and causing severe internal bleeding. We don't have time to wait for her personal blood reserves in storage to be prepared, so will have to use synth with an eezo infusion again. We'll be able to do a transfusion later if required to get her eezo levels back up, with the stored reserves plus whatever of her own eezo-enriched blood we are able to reclaim from her body cavity, once it's filtered and purified."

The machine continued its work and Karin continued to translate what she saw. "She also has a severe neck strain and possibly a slight concussion, but those can wait." As the scan finished, Karin turned away from the screen and pushed Shepard quickly out the door. "And now, Samantha, you have to let us work. Ashley's timely application of medigel very likely saved Liara's life but, now, I need to do a more permanent fix. I'll let you know as soon as we're done." The commander could only stand in stunned silence as the door slid closed between them.

Shepard felt sick as she paced the deck outside the Med Bay, knowing in her mind that Liara was going to be fine, but her heart still felt like it was tearing itself apart within her chest. She had received no updates from Ashley regarding the status of their hunt for the assassin and everyone aboard had heard what happened to Dr T'Soni and were simply passing by in reverent silence. As a result, there were no distractions for the distraught commander; it was also late at night... and with the ship docked and shore cables providing what power the Normandy required, it seemed as oppressively silent as an old, abandoned tomb.

The sound of a retracting hatch pulled Shepard out of her reverie and her head snapped up in hope. She stared at the Med Bay in momentary confusion, as its door was still fully closed and secured... until a voice very much like her own sounded from behind her. "Sam. Do you have any news?" It suddenly dawned on her that the movement she heard had been the elevator doors.

"Mom!" Shepard spun around in gratefulness and enveloped the woman in a tight embrace as the emotions racing through her finally won out and tears streamed down her face. "Thank you for coming... I assume Admiral Hackett told you what happened?"

"Yes," Hannah replied, as she hugged her daughter tightly. "I came as quickly as I could." She paused and pushed away, looking her child in the face. "Have you notified Aethyta?"

Shepard rolled her eyes as she wiped away her tears. "Gods, no. Liara is going to recover just fine, and I prefer to wait until she's out of surgery, so I can give Aethyta the full prognosis." She swallowed and let out a shuddering breath before she continued, "No sense in all of us worrying over it. They worried enough over me while I was recovering in Huerta Memorial... I'd like to spare Aethyta all I can."

Hannah smiled softly. "I always hated conversations that started out... 'First off, so-and-so is going to be fine. Now, I'll tell you what happened.'"

"Yeah, me too." Samantha laughed nervously and replied, finding a bit of welcome humor in her mother's comment. "Maybe I should simply wait... and let Liara call her once she's awake."

"Don't you dare keep that from her father, you coward!" Hannah raised her eyebrows at Sam, a smirk playing on the corner of her lips.

"Nice, Admiral... But what I hear is a pot calling the kettle black." Shepard relaxed a bit as she slipped into their familiar banter. "I refuse to be your scapegoat, because I certainly don't hear _you_ offering to make the call."

"Gods, you actually do have a point, there." Hannah's growing smirk dropped away. "You have enough to worry about with Liara. Would you like me to contact the estate for you... to let them know what's happened?"

Shepard frowned. "I was joking, Mom..."

"I know you were, honey... but I also know those calls can be extremely difficult. Tell me what you know and I'll pass it on to Aethyta and Mozia."

Shepard actually felt better about the whole situation once she reiterated Karin's words about the likely positive outcome after having watched the medical scans and describing Liara's injuries. Hannah abruptly nodded. "I've got this. I'll go place the call. Then, I'm going to the kitchen and getting you some dinner. I would lay odds that you didn't even _consider_ getting something to eat for yourself while Liara was in surgery, did you?"

Shepard shook her head. "No, Ma'am, but I don't think I can eat anything. I feel... nauseous."

"That's only because you're terribly worried, Sam." Hannah gave her a quick reassuring hug. "But that does not change the fact that you need to get some food into your system. I'll be back as soon as I can. I swear it. I don't want to leave you here alone any longer than necessary."

* * *

Hannah had returned with dinner and a couple of crewmen carrying mag-lock equipped chairs, which they secured to the deck near the door to the Med Bay for the two women to have a place to sit while they ate. Once they finished their meals, Hannah took the dishes back to the kitchen area and returned quickly to sit at her daughter's side. "Better?"

"A bit." Shepard smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Mom. For dinner... and simply for being here."

"Of course, honey. It's what moms do." Hannah reached over and laid her hand gently on Samantha's forearm as they settled in to wait. "By the way, happy _Lughnasadh_ , Sam."

Shepard attempted to force a smile to her face, but failed miserably. "Hell of a harvest, this year. There's a lot of starving people out there... and their dissention is making things all that much harder." She huffed and continued, "And all my efforts to save them? All I'm reaping from my sacrifice is someone trying to kill my bride-to-be! Sorry, Mom, but fuck _Lughnasadh_ this year."

"Samantha Shepard! You take that back!" Hannah stared at her daughter and reached over to shake her by the shoulder. "You have sown the seeds for this galaxy to live! Liara is going to be fine and we'll all survive this to move on, just like any other battle we've faced in our lifetimes." She gave Sam one last, gentle shove and let go. "I'll hear no more of that doom and gloom, you hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Shepard hung her head as tears began to creep yet again down her cheeks. "It's just... I don't know. Why in Hell did they have to target Liara? I mean, just how much are we supposed to survive before we can truly begin to live again?"

"Oh, Sam." Hannah twisted in her chair so she could reach over and hug her daughter. "I know, sweetie. But I promise, it'll get better."

It was another twenty minutes, nearly four hours total, before the door of the Med Bay slid open and Karin emerged. Hannah's grip on Shepard's forearm tightened for only a brief moment as they stood, relaxing when a very tired Karin looked at them and smiled.

"She'll be fine. One of those damned bullet fragments caused a rather long longitudinal slice in the axillary artery that resulted in severe internal bleeding... which is what led to Liara's loss of consciousness so quickly. Ashley's quick application of medigel stopped the blood loss and saved Liara's arm, at the least, if not her very life." Karin turned to her lifelong friend and gave Hannah a quick hug. "It is _very_ good to see you. Under the circumstances, I was a bit worried about Samantha being out here alone."

"Admiral Hackett called me almost immediately and gave me a week of emergency leave without my even asking for it." Hannah's face held a reserved smile as she continued, "He said I didn't have to take the _whole_ week, but that the Fleet would make do if I chose to do so." She glanced at her daughter as she continued, "No sense flying back and forth, since I planned to come out on the 4th anyway, for your promotions... Also, it seems a certain agreement with the SILC has made post-war recovery a whole lot easier to coordinate. I may soon be out of a job."

Shepard's focus was floating between Karin and the door to the Med Bay, but she commented, "Don't be so sure, Admiral. There's a host of people ready and eager to stir the pot. We'll talk later about that, but right now..." Her focus locked solidly on Karin. "I'd like to see Liara."

"Of course, Sam. She's still sleeping, but I've placed a chair by the bed. I'm afraid the scapula in her shoulder isn't completely knitted yet, so there won't be any cuddling in the bed with her any time soon. She must remain totally immobilized for another couple of hours, until the procedure completes." Karin took a deep breath before continuing, "Come on. I'll take you in and get you settled; then, your mother and I are headed over to the port crew lounge for a drink." Karin glanced at Hannah for confirmation. She received a nod in response and pressed onward. "You're welcome to join us for a bit if you can tear yourself away. She won't be awake for at least another 6 hours. I'm keeping her sedated until the morning shift is up and about, so she'll remain still and let that shoulder heal a bit."

"What about the neck strain and the concussion?" Shepard spoke from the doorway, while looking at the bed in the rear that held her _cheann geallta_.

"The strain was mostly taken care of with a quick muscle treatment while I reset her scapula so the stitcher could do its work; the concussion turned out to be even more mild than I anticipated, so she will recover from both rather quickly. You must have protected her head from impacting the ground as you both tumbled from the stage."

"If I did, it was purely by reflex." Shepard shrugged, "I don't recall doing anything of the sort."

"It doesn't matter if you _remember_ doing so... just that you did." Karin smiled softly and gave her a gentle push. "Now... Go see her, Sam."

Shepard nodded and made her way quietly to the provided chair, sitting down and running the backs of her fingers gingerly down her fiancée's cheek. Even sedated, Shepard knew Liara could sense her presence; the Asari drew a long, relaxed breath as her head tipped and leaned into the commander's touch. "I'm here for you, _A Grá_. Hackett and I honestly thought I was the target. It never should have been you; I am so sorry I was too slow to keep this from happening." A shadow fell across her face as she continued, "But I swear to the Gods, Ashley is on their trail and they will not survive to attempt killing another mark ever again."

Her eyes and voice softened once again as she continued to stroke Liara's cheek. "Karin has told me you'll be fine; we just have a little bit more bone stitching to do and you'll be back with us in the morning... and I plan on having answers for you by then. I love you, Liara T'Soni." Shepard blinked tears from her eyes as she continued with forced humor, "You'll have to work a lot harder than this if you're trying to get out of bonding with me." She stood and placed a tender, devoted kiss on Liara's forehead. "I've got to leave you alone for a bit so you can rest, Blue, but I promise... I'll be back before you wake. Right now, I need to go talk to SAC Intelligence to see what the Hell they've found out about the bombing."

* * *

 **Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver, Earth**

As Spectre Shepard entered the headquarters building, she was met and provided a personal escort to the Intelligence offices. Admiral Hackett was standing at the main briefing table as she was admitted to the situation room and he promptly called her over. "Shepard. I've been expecting you." His eyes sought hers before he continued, "I assume your mother arrived in a timely fashion... and, how is Dr T'Soni?"

Once Shepard caught him up on the evening's events aboard the Normandy, she pointed at the table, which held a mock-up of the building and the adjacent parade grounds. "You've got my part of the story, Sir. What's going on here?"

"First off... That's excellent news on Liara. I'm happy to hear it and I'm glad I could give your mother some extra time to spend with you and Karin." Hackett sighed and waved his hand at the hologram. "As for this mess, the bomb targeted and destroyed the entire detention center within the Systems Alliance Command Wing, killing a number of soldiers and prisoners, most notably, a certain Alliance Major by the name of Josiah Pickett..."

Shepard flinched at the name. "That bastard was being held here? Did you ever get any useful information from him?"

"No." Hackett frowned. "He managed to stay totally silent since his arrest; he never uttered a peep. It was as if we'd ripped out his tongue and vocal chords. He sat and stared at the wall in his cell, only moving when they brought food to him. He'd eat, slide the tray out, and return to the same position. At night, he'd simply lie on his bunk and stare at the ceiling. I'm sure he slept once the lights went out, but it was hard to tell. He never moved unless directed; it was like he knew he was a dead man and he turned into a mindless idiot the minute he was arrested. After Udina's assassination in the Citadel holding blocks, I was seriously concerned about our security as well, yet all our extra precautions didn't matter; it seems they found a way to get to him anyway."

"That's a Hell of a lot of collateral damage to take out one guy!" Stunned, Shepard stared at the Admiral, her brow wrinkled in concern. "If they're willing to do that..." She stopped talking as she felt her heart constrict in her chest.

"I know what you're thinking, Shepard. If they're willing to do _that_ to kill one man and if it's the same group that tried to kill Liara, how in the Hell are we going to prevent it from happening?" Hackett reached over and clasped Shepard's shoulder for the second time that day. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Commander. Let's see what Spectre Williams turns up and what Alliance Intelligence finds over the next 24 hours. In the mean time, you prep the Normandy to get back on the move; you're a lot harder to kill if you're a moving target. Hell, you've got three days; take your mother to Thessia to visit the family with Liara. Just be back here on the 4th and..." He paused as Shepard raised her hand.

"Too late for all that, Sir. My mom contacted Aethyta... She and Matriarch Mozia are already planning to head this way a couple of days ahead of the schedule for my promotion. They'll be here day after tomorrow." Shepard shook her head in defeat. "And if I know _anything_ about Aethyta, she'll bring a whole damned team of commandos with her and she won't be very happy... or even the slightest bit accommodating if you ask her to stand down. She'll do anything and everything she can to protect Liara."

Hackett stared at her for a moment in shocked silence and then surprised her with a quick nod. "Well, then. I guess I'd better simply get ready to receive her. No sense in standing in front of a steamroller and hoping it's going to stop. But maybe, at least, we can change its direction." His voice turned cold as ice as he finished, "All we can hope is that, in two days time, we'll have some answers as to how we almost let the Lady of House T'Soni get killed on our watch."

"Trust me, Sir. We'll likely have _that_ data in time, but it won't satisfy Aethyta; she'll want more... She'll want to know the plan for how we're going to kill the bastards who orchestrated it... and how she and her commandos can help."

"Hmmph." Hackett's jaw worked as if he were chewing a bitter pill. "I guess we have our work cut out for us then, don't we Shepard?"

"Yes, Sir. I believe we do." Shepard turned and walked toward the door, turning back before she actually departed. "I'll pass you Spectre Williams' report as soon as I have it, Admiral." Her eyes glinted like green ice. "And may the Gods have mercy on the souls of those who did this... because I certainly won't."


	35. Hunts of August

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Hunts of August**

 **Vancouver, Earth, Sol**

"You heard the commander. Who's with me?" Before Williams had even finished her question, the entire group was volunteering to accompany her, leaving Ashley with the unpleasant task of winnowing out enough people to make sure Admiral Hackett remained safe.

Standing at William's side, Riana's face was filled with righteous fury as she glared at the Spectre. "You will not deny me vengeance for the attack on my mistress. If I do not go as a member of your team, I will go on my own."

Ashley stared at Riana for the briefest of moments before giving her a nod of agreement. She then turned to the group and shouted out, "Okay people, listen up! Here's what I need… Major Kirrahe, Campbell, Jack… I need you to stay here and get the admiral to safety, 'cause God only knows if that would-be assassin is done taking pot-shots. Iregos, Edi, Grunt, Legion, you're with me. Legion... Can you extrapolate a source for that sniper round?"

"Already completed, Williams Spectre." The Prime turned towards the southeast. "The shot came from the third level of a ruined building four hundred eighty-two meters from this location."

Edi looked at Legion, then looked to Ashley as she said, "I concur with Legion's assessment. I suggest we begin moving towards that building."

Ashley looked in the direction Legion had indicated. "Okay then… Legion, you take point. Grunt, you and Edi watch our flanks. Riana... You're with me. Let's double-time it, people. We can't afford to let this one get away."

The quintet started off, all trotting to keep up with the long strides of Legion as he unerringly chose the fastest route to get them to the shooter's location.

"Do you really expect the assassin to remain at the site from which they fired that weapon?" Riana was trotting alongside Ashley, her face an impassive mask as she concentrated on where she was placing her feet in the growing dusk.

"Honestly?" Ashley grimaced as she jogged over the uneven pavement. "I would have cut and run as soon as I took the shot… wouldn't even wait around to see if my target was dead."

Riana grimaced at that, replying, "I don't understand why my mistress was targeted. Why not the commander, or Admiral Hackett? Goddess! I am sorry, Ashley. That came out sounding completely callous."

Ashley huffed as she said, "Forget about it. It could have been any one of us, Riana. That message you intercepted said a target had been located; I never expected it to be Liara. Doesn't make any sense."

Edi had been listening from her position behind and to Riana's right side. "If I may, Dr T'Soni being the target makes perfect sense for a number of reasons." The look she received from Riana would have curdled fresh milk, but she ignored it as she continued, "Liara is the foremost information broker in the galaxy. She is also the declared Promised of Commander Shepard. My conclusion is that murdering Liara could potentially serve two primary purposes; it would eliminate potential competition for others looking to make their fortunes in buying and selling sensitive information... _and_ it would hurt Shepard immeasurably, possibly to the point she would leave the Alliance and the Spectre Corp in order to return to a life of anonymity."

Legion stopped walking abruptly. As Ashley stopped beside him, he spoke in a low volume. "Williams Spectre. We are being watched, possibly being targeted." Riana had erected a biotic barrier in front of herself and Williams the instant she heard the word 'watched'. Edi said, "Shields!" just before a piece of metal traveling at a significant fraction of light speed hit Grunt in the middle of his shielded chestplate; the inertia caused the nearly 655 kilo Krogan to step back slightly. The sharp bark of a high-powered rifle rolled and echoed around the destroyed landscape as everyone went prone on the ground.

"Riana, behind Legion, now!" Ashley crouched beside the hulking Prime as Riana complied, all the while holding the biotic barrier in front of them as Ashley asked, "Grunt! You okay?"

The reply was typical of Grunt. "Tripped my shields and bounced off my chestplate. It's gonna take a lot more than a single shot to take _me_ down." This was followed by his derisive laugh, "Heh, heh, heh."

The Spectre looked at Edi and remarked, "The targets seem to be aliens. First Liara, now Grunt?" Before she could finish her thought, a bullet pinged off Legion's left leg, behind which Riana was crouching, followed by the angry echoes from the weapon's barrel. "And now an attempt on Riana?"

As if in answer to the bullet hitting his leg, Legion undocked his Pulse Cannon. In one smooth, continuous motion, he aimed and fired three shots into the middle window of the partially destroyed building 150 meters from their position. After several moments, the Prime redocked the weapon and turned partway towards Ashley.

"Williams Spectre, I should separate from the group. With the passing of planetary nightfall, the glow from my optical sensors gives the shooter an accurate visual reference of our location. If I take a different path, it may throw their tracking off."

"Negative, Legion. We stay together." Glancing around at the others, she added, "Everyone, set the mics in your suit comms to voice active. Legion… instead of audible speech, send what you want to say to our suit comms… should cut down on the chatter." Getting to her feet beside the Prime, she finished by saying, "Let's move."

As the Prime started walking towards the shell of a building, he sent, _"No activity apparent. The assailant may have been hit and disabled."_

Edi added, "… or may have decided to run in the face of a superior force."

Ashley had fallen behind Riana two steps so she could share in the barrier the Asari was holding up in front of them – it would partially shield them from incoming rounds – Edi's and Legion's personal barriers were more resilient than those of the organics with them. As they continued forward, Edi generated a decoy of herself and placed it five meters to their left. Sensing her tactic, Legion deployed a combat drone, sending it straight to the window through which he had fired his pulse cannon.

Ashley watched this with interest; during the war, she had always been on the receiving end of Geth generated drones. Watching the window intently, she was pleased to see flashes of light, indicating the drone had detected and was attacking something. The faint sound of a pistol firing could be heard for several moments, after which Legion generated and let fly another drone. _"If I can keep the assailant engaged in this manner, the likelihood of being fired upon will be reduced,"_ he sent.

Riana reacted to this by saying, "Spectre Williams? I need to drop my barrier in order to conserve my energy for whatever is to come."

"Okay Riana. Take time to down an energy bar while we're walking… last thing we want is for you to exhaust your eezo supply, sending you into biotic shock just as we get into the thick of it."

* * *

 **T'Soni House Armali, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

Aethyta and Mozia had just retired to their rooms for the evening when Captain Nayla Axoni came knocking. Aethyta answered the door and bid her entry, but she declined. "There's a call for you in the secure communications room. Liara and Shepard are fine or, at least, are going to be, but something has happened. I feel it best if I say nothing more and you speak directly with Admiral Shepard."

Aethyta's concern immediately skyrocketed. "Hannah Shepard placed the call? From Earth?" With an affirmative nod from Nayla, she glanced back over her shoulder. "Sorry Moz, but I need to take this. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Don't be absurd, Aethyta," Mozia scoffed as she walked quickly toward the door and continued, "I'm obviously coming with you."

They relocated to the communications center as fast as they could walk; Aethyta was barely able to refrain from running and only Mozia's firm grip on her hand kept her from bolting down the hallway. They were barely in the door before Aethyta began speaking. "Hannah. What's happened and where's my girl?"

Hannah skipped the pleasantries and spoke directly, knowing neither Aethyta nor Mozia would want the news softened and would sense if she was being evasive. At the end of her tale, she concluded, "So, Liara is currently in surgery and Sam is pacing madly outside the door. Spectre Williams is in pursuit of the would-be assassin, along with a full Normandy ground team, and I very much doubt the perpetrator will get very far before they are caught."

The Asari pair had remained deathly silent during the whole rendition but as soon as Hannah stopped speaking, Aethyta growled out, "How the fuck could something like that happen?"

"We don't know yet," Hannah sighed. "Admiral Hackett has Alliance Intelligence looking into it, but I went directly to the Med Bay on the Normandy after I received his call. I'm sure we'll keep you updated as the investigation proceeds."

"Keep me updated, my ass! I'm coming to Earth as soon as I can get our affairs in order here and select a team. By the blazes, nobody takes a shot at the leader of one of the great houses without _serious_ consequences! The Matriarchy will demand restitution... and justice!"

"Aethyta... I understand how frustrating this must be, with you being light-years away from Sol, but Samantha has this, so please don't aggravate the situation. She's plenty angry, so I'm asking you to please calm down... be the voice of reason when you get here." Hannah saw the matriarch stiffen at her comments, so continued hurriedly, "I'm not saying you should not be angry or to stay away... just the opposite; Sam and Liara need you here. They need their family close right now, so they can feel safe. Sam is discouraged by the backlash from her own race and feels betrayed... and violated... by the very people she worked so hard to save."

Mozia reached over and laid a soothing hand on Aethyta's forearm, taking over the discussion, at least for the moment. "Of course, Hannah. I can understand her frustration. The likes of Cerberus are hard to kill. They represent an _ideal_ more so than a physical enemy that can be run down and eliminated. They are the worst type of foe. Even when such an organization has been destroyed, those who hold similar beliefs are difficult to identify and stop."

"Unfortunately, that's true." Hannah shook her head. "I'm not even sure it's a war we could ever win, as whenever we kill one, another quickly steps into the void and picks up their cause."

"Whatever the case may be, it is still a battle worth fighting," Aethyta growled. "We can't simply sit back and let them win... We won't! So, I'll work with Moz to select a team tomorrow, pack up what we need and we'll leave here first thing in the morning the day after."

Mozia smiled and squeezed Aethyta's arm to reassure her. "We were planning on coming out on the 4th anyway, for the promotion ceremony, so we're only advancing our schedule a little over a single day's time..."

Aethyta cut her off and finished the sentence for her, "... but we'll be bringing a larger ship and a full security detail along with us, so don't be surprised when we show up in a combat corvette instead of one of the VIP transport shuttles."

Hannah smiled sympathetically and nodded. "Understood, Aethyta; I'll let Admiral Hackett know to expect you. And, despite the reasons for the advancement of your timetable, it will still be very good to see you both again. Liara is going to be fine so, in reality, it will give us an extra day to get caught up with each other."

"Looking forward to it, Hannah." Mozia gave Aethyta a glance of warning, prompting her lover to also speak.

"You can count on more than one extra day; we won't be leaving Earth until Liara does. It will provide us plenty of time to figure out what in the blue blazes is going on and plenty of time to chat... since, given the circumstances, it seems we'll have a lot to talk about." She hesitated only a moment before sighing and continuing in a more hospitable voice, "Thank you very much for letting us know, Hannah... And tell that daughter of yours to take excellent care of my girl."

"Of course. Not that she needs me to tell her that." Hannah laughed softly. "It's her sole focus at the moment and I couldn't tear her away from that task if I tried. We'll see all of you soon."

* * *

 **Vancouver, Earth, Sol**

Upon reaching the base of the damaged building without further incident, Ashley turned to Legion. "Can you lead us up to the sniper's nest?"

"I can," the Prime replied. "Edi has accessed a schematic of this structure. The elevators were disabled during the initial Reaper attack; they were never repaired. There is a centrally located staircase beyond several walls; it was intended to be an emergency escape path. Our freedom of movement will be quite limited once we are inside, so it may be advantageous for you, Iregos Vanguard and Grunt to deploy in a vee formation behind my platform and that of Edi. We will clear the staircase as we ascend."

"Okay Legion." Looking at Grunt and Riana as she undocked her assault rifle, she said, "Shields active, weapons hot. Shepard didn't say, but I would really like to take this person alive." She looked at Grunt meaningfully as she added, "No charging headlong into an unknown situation…" Looking at Riana, she added, "…everyone be careful. Look for traps. There's no reason for any of us to get injured or killed."

Ashley was surprised when Grunt nodded in agreement, banging his fists together before undocking his Graal. "You sound like Battlemaster Shepard. She taught me... fight smarter, not harder."

Riana held an M-5 Phalanx in her left hand as the team carefully followed Legion and Edi into the darkness of the main level. After turning past several interior walls, the Prime moved unerringly towards the lone staircase near the center of the structure; as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he commented silently to all, _"This staircase is being monitored from above."_

As the Prime started up the first flight, the squad all heard the unmistakable sounds of someone hurriedly running up a flight of stairs; this was followed by a volley of heavy pistol rounds pinging the kinetic barrier protecting the SILC Prime. "You synthetic alien freak!" came a taunting voice from above. "I'm waiting to meet you!"

Ashley glanced up at Legion. "Damage report."

Legion answered silently, _"No damages to this platform, Williams Spectre… I will continue up."_

The Spectre turned to Riana as Legion resumed slowly climbing up the stairs. "That was a woman's voice… What the hell?"

Edi commented, "Human males have no monopoly on xenophobia, Ashley. There must be plenty of human females that would stop at nothing to see Riana, Grunt or myself non-functional."

Ashley shook her head as she added, "Or Legion… Come on, let's head up."

Legion left the landing for the next level as Williams and Edi cleared the last step. Riana was a step behind when a small object landed on the concrete at their feet. "Goddess!" was all Riana had time to say as she crashed into Ashley and instantly erected a barrier to protect the three of them

Ash hollered into the comm, "Grunt! Grenade!"

As Edi and Ash turned their backs and crouched, Riana poured every bit of will she possessed into her barrier, turning her head as the small device exploded and sent shrapnel in all directions. Grunt came pounding up the rest of the stairs to the landing to find Edi and Williams slowly turning and standing; Riana had her back to the concrete wall, where she slid down to a squatting position as she dropped her barrier. Legion called in, asking if everyone was alright.

Ashley's ears were ringing from the intense sound as she turned to Riana. "Are you okay, Iregos… anything damaged?"

Riana slowly shook her head, saying, "I took a piece in my leg, just above my knee." She fumbled in a pocket for a tube of medigel, which Ashley took from her shaking hand; looking at the injury to the Asari's leg, she felt it wasn't too serious so applied enough medigel to cover the gash in her skin, then grabbed a blue hand and helped the Vanguard to her feet.

"Give it a couple of minutes." Looking up the stairs, she said softly, "Legion, deploy combat drones and a couple of turrets. We need to keep her busy, or we'll never get up these stairs" Without waiting for an answer, she said, "Edi, can you send a decoy up past Legion?"

"I will do my best, Ashley." A facsimile of Edi appeared and darted up the stairs, closely followed by Edi herself.

Legion had sent two turrets up to the third level, along with three combat drones. Sounds of gunfire erupted as the drones attempted to stun the sniper; she dispatched them quickly, but not before being momentarily stunned by one of them. The turrets proved to be only slightly more annoying, as they spread apart and attacked from opposing directions. It quickly became apparent the unknown woman had encountered turrets in the past, as she managed to defeat these without too much trouble, long before they managed to drag down her shields.

With their assailant distracted by the turrets, Ashley and Riana ran up the next flight of stairs, closely followed by Grunt. As they reached the last landing before the top floor, Edi rushed back down to meet them. "There is only one assailant, a human female. However, she is in a well-protected position, such that we will find it extremely difficult to reach and neutralize her without risking significant injuries to ourselves."

Legion had joined them as Edi was providing the Sitrep; his optical sensors dimmed for a few moments, then returned to full brilliance as he said, "I have requested aid from SILC forces nearby… two troopers will arrive within minutes. They will initiate an airdrop to the roof from their shuttlecraft. Their platforms are capable of withstanding significant levels of damage. However, should their platforms sustain damage to a point of imminent failure, their runtimes will rejoin the consensus prior to function stoppage, preventing loss of life; they will simply download into an available, undamaged platform."

"Sounds good to me, Legion. Just ensure they move back to the central core in time." Ashley glanced at each of them before returning her attention to the hulking Prime. "We'll follow your lead… Say the word and we'll go up to confront this person."

In response, Legion deployed three more Turrets and sent them up to harass the lone assailant; the sounds of gunfire from a heavy pistol soon erupted as the turrets began firing at their foe. As the last turret exploded, the team heard a pair of closely-spaced heavy impacts from above; the SILC troopers had arrived. As the pair of synthetic soldiers descended a set of stairs at the far corner of the third floor, Legion started up from the landing, followed by Ashley and her team.

The troopers were firing their assault rifles from the north side of the level; other than their kinetic barriers, which were rapidly weakening from the effects of the rapid-fire energy weapon being employed by the unknown human, their only cover was the reinforced concrete support pillars in the area ahead of them.

As Legion entered the moderate-sized room from the south, each of the SILC troopers went down, electrical arcing traveling over their platforms. Legion fired his pulse cannon twice, stunning the woman into temporary submission. As Ashley, Riana, Grunt and Edi joined him, she struggled to regain her feet with the help of the large crate beside her. Ashley stopped beside Legion, pointed her assault rifle at the woman, and said, "Stand down. You're finished."

"Like Hell I am! Look how many of you it took to take down one trained assassin! You, your alien friends and these… synthetics…" she said the last as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, "… are done. We're taking our world back from the likes of you." She looked from Grunt to Riana to Edi, her face twisted in hatred.

"It's only been _difficult_ because we're attempting to capture you alive." Ashley took a couple of steps closer, saying, "Just who in Hell _are_ you... and who sent you?" Even though Riana had dropped her barrier to conserve her energy, her hands glowed with ethereal blue wisps of dark energy, ready to redeploy her barrier in an instant.

"Who I am… or what organization I'm with... doesn't really matter, since all of you will be dead within the next few moments."

"Well, that's rather rude," Ashley countered, "… considering I just told you we've been trying to spare you; we were wondering why you didn't cut and run after trying to kill Dr T'Soni."

" _Trying_?! You mean I didn't splatter that fucking squid's brains all over the ground?" The disappointed tone of her voice was matched by the hatred evident in her eyes.

Raising her arm slightly, Ashley used her hand to warn Riana not to take any action at this woman's attempt to goad them all into doing something rash. "The Normandy has the best physician in the Systems Alliance; Dr T'Soni will recover from her injury in just a few days." The Spectre put every bit of conviction into her voice and wore an unflinching expression of confidence, even though she worried Liara hadn't been transported to the Normandy in time to keep her from bleeding to death. "She will certainly live long enough to see whatever group you belong to dismembered and scattered across the galaxy!"

The woman screamed a curse at the ceiling. "I've failed! After all our careful planning and hard work, I have failed in my primary mission!" She ripped open her jacket in order to show the alien-loving Human the vest loaded with high explosives strapped to her chest. "There's enough HE in this vest to take down a building… which I believe is what just happened at your alien-loving headquarters."

Ashley interrupted the screaming rant by shouting back, "Since you have failed so miserably, the least you can do is tell us who you work for, before killing us all!"

With a growl, the woman replied, "My name is Kathryn Briggs, I'm a proud member of LEAP, and…" holding her hand up to display a control device, she finished with, "… am proud to die for the cause of humanity!" With that, she pressed the glowing red button atop the hand-held device. Ashley had just enough time to take two quick steps backward as Riana generated a barrier; as she had done once already this evening, the Vanguard poured every ounce of willpower she possessed into maximizing its strength. Along with her personal shield generator and the one worn by Ashley, it provided just enough additional shielding to prevent serious injury from the explosion that ripped Kathryn Briggs' body to shreds.

The pressure wave did, however, throw the Asari and the Human five meters back to slam bodily into the unforgiving concrete wall near the doorway through which they had so recently entered. They each fell into a crumpled heap; their kinetic shields flickering and failing as they both groaned in pain in their struggles to sit upright against the wall that had so abruptly stopped their flight.

Grunt had been standing in the doorway and was pushed violently backward, bouncing off the rear wall of the landing and tumbling back down the steps, ending up on his back, six meters and a level below his original position. He sprang back to his feet, growling as he ran back up the stairs, "That hurt, you wench! I should have secured a better position within the room; remaining in the doorway was not smart. Battlemaster Shepard will be disappointed!"

Edi had wisely ducked back around the corner, away from the steps and into an adjoining room as the explosion sent Grunt tumbling past her. Legion had leaned forward the instant Briggs pressed the button; the explosion washed over him, forcing him to take several steps back as his shields sparked and failed. Sensors indicated the main portion of his platform was being hit by bits of shrapnel, mostly metallic, but a lot of soft pieces as well.

As the smoke cleared away, the Prime looked around as he said, "Williams Spectre? Iregos Vanguard?" He quickly saw the pair together on the floor; each had managed to sit up by this point and grunted out a pained response to his roll call. Legion's optical sensors dimmed for a moment before brightening again. He called for Grunt to assist Ashley and Riana as Edi approached him. "I have summoned the SILC shuttle for an evacuation to the Normandy. Can you contact the ship, request that Chakwas Doctor stand by to treat incoming injured?"

"I will do so at once." After a pause to call the Normandy, she looked to the Prime, her eyes inspecting him closely. "I believe your platform has sustained damage, and there are a number of places that appear to be covered with… bloody bits of what was once a Human. We will speak to Chief Daniels upon our return about cleaning, repair and sanitization of your chassis." Looking past him, she added, "The SILC Troopers went down… Did all of their runtimes successfully complete their upload to the consensus mainframe?"

Legion's optical sensors dimmed for a moment before he answered, "They did."

Edi smiled as she said, "We should retrieve their platforms for possible repair and reuse," before turning to see if she could assist her friends. Ashley was sitting up with her back against the wall; being surprisingly gentle, Grunt had assisted her in carefully removing her helmet after ensuring there was no fractures in her neck. Other than a blood trail from her nose, she appeared unharmed. Edi crouched in front of her to say, "That explosion looked like a YMIR Mech had just lost its head to an AP round. You are lucky to have survived."

The Spectre was a bit groggy, but managed to grind out, "Still hurt like a son-of-a-bitch... and it wasn't luck… It was Riana." Ashley turned her head as she reached for and grasped a blue hand; smiling at her compatriot, she said earnestly, "Thanks for that, by the way. How are you?"

"I smacked my head against the wall rather hard; probably have a concussion... again." Riana sighed. "I do believe I need to figure out a way to be comfortable while wearing a helmet. Specialist Traynor is going to be very displeased with me when she sees yet another scar across the back of my crests."

Ashley chuckled, then grunted in pain. "Ahh, shit. I'll be in the Med Bay right along with you... I do believe I fractured a rib or two.

Edi nodded at them both. "It will not be long. Legion has an evac shuttle coming… should only be a few minutes."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

After her conversation with Hackett, Shepard returned to the Normandy her anger returning in full measure right along with her, but much more controlled. It irritated her beyond belief that the same group behind the smear campaign against her… those who had dragged Aunt Kay's heart through the mud of London… had now killed one of their own simply to maintain their anonymity. The fact they may have also attempted to kill Liara made her blood boil. Shepard stopped at the Memorial Wall as she exited the elevator on Deck 3 and leaned against it. She remembered another time she had done so and Liara had come to her rescue when she had almost let the enormity of the war tasks that were piling up bury her in despair. She pushed herself away and scanned over the names. _By the Gods, not this time! This time, I need to be the strong one and make sure Liara stays safe. After all we've managed to survive, I'll be damned if I let some Human superiority group take our future from us. Not now, not ever._

Finding her resolve, Shepard swung to the left, turned the corner and headed straight to the Med Bay. The door opened as she approached and the on-duty tech smiled and nodded as she entered. Shepard mouthed the words, "Thank you," as she proceeded to Liara's bed, sitting back down in the chair she had vacated less than an hour ago. She reached over and gently took her lover's hand in hers, whispering, "I won't let them take you, Li. You are Lady T'Soni and you're going to be the mother of my children. I'm telling you right now that we'll see that future… _our_ future. I swear it."

She stood again and very carefully kissed her Promised on the forehead before hooking a foot around a leg of the chair and scooting it closer to where Liara's hand lay on the bed. Still lovingly caressing the disturbingly limp blue hand, Shepard sat down and leaned her head against her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ 's hip, careful to not jostle the unconscious Asari. _No matter what happens or how long I need to wait, I will be here when you wake, Li._ She closed her eyes and, in her exhaustion, fell quickly into a disturbed sleep, images of the blood seeping across Liara's armor trampling any hope of an honestly restful slumber.

* * *

 **Vancouver, At Large**

Rather than go back down the stairs to ground level, Legion and Ashley's team took the path up to the roof, where they watched as an Alliance shuttle came soaring in from the docks. Ashley spoke to Edi before it came to a hover and slowly touched down a few meters in front of them. "I intend to ask Alliance Intelligence to investigate Kathryn Briggs' recent history and her background… They may wish to begin with an inspection of where she blew herself up... before any evidence they may find is destroyed by weather or scavengers."

Edi responded as the hatches on the shuttle opened for the team to board. "I will reiterate that request if necessary, Ashley. It has been decades since any Human has strapped explosives to their bodies to become walking bombs. It is inconceivable to me that anyone would even consider doing such a thing."

Ashley started for the shuttle while replying, "I agree." Noting that Legion was standing outside the shuttle, Ashley cocked an eyebrow. "I know space is tight with Grunt aboard, but there's room for you as well."

Legion began to protest, but Ashley was having none of it. "Climb in and fold up, Legion. I'll ride with the pilot. We're not leaving you behind to walk back to the Normandy."

The hulking Prime looked at the Human in front of him for a moment before saying, "As you wish, Williams Spectre." He turned and bent at the 'hips' to enter the crew compartment; once inside, he moved to face the rear and carefully folded himself down to 'storage' mode. Ashley smiled as she climbed in the other side and moved around the partition to sit with the pilot, a lieutenant she recognized but did not have a name to put with the man.

With a tired sigh she said, "Take us home, Lieutenant. I'm ready for this day to end."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

It was nearly 0140 hours when the tired and battered assault team returned to the Normandy's hanger deck. Legion elected to remain near the weapons bench after Edi said she'd speak with Gabby Daniels regarding the cleanup needing to be done to his chassis. "I will contact Ms Daniels right away, Legion. I believe the organic remains clinging to your chassis need immediate removal. Delay only allows bacterial growth and decay… it will be unpleasant enough now; the odor will only get worse with time."

The tone of Legion's synthesized speech sounded embarrassed. "Do not disturb Daniels Engineer… I will transfer my runtimes to the consensus while the trooper retrieval team takes this chassis with them; SILC maintenance platforms can repair, clean and sanitize this platform, after which I will return my runtimes to the platform for reactivation in order to rejoin you.

As Edi spoke with Legion, Ashley and Riana shed their armor, which was also spattered with the remnants of Kathryn Briggs. The pair walked to the elevator, Ashley in her under armor skins, Riana in her commando leathers. Ashley tiredly leaned against the sidewall as the hatch segments closed and the car began its ascent. "I hope the armorers don't get sick when they clean the mess from our plates."

Riana, leaning against the opposite wall, was chewing on a bite just taken from an energy bar. "I have never worn somebody's insides in my entire life. What that woman did was…" Riana raised her arms to indicate she didn't have the words to describe what they had witnessed.

Ashley's voice was a mixture of physical tiredness and mental distress. "I'm going to have a difficult time getting that image out of my head… I expect I'll have nightmares from it."

The doors retracted to reveal the Memorial Wall on deck 3; the tired pair left side-by-side, turned to their left and headed for the Med Bay. Upon entering, they encountered Dr Chakwas, who first informed them that Liara would recover from her injuries before then warning them that Shepard was asleep beside the bed at the far end of the chamber. Karin brightened considerably upon hearing that Liara's assailant would never be able to attack anyone else; she then scanned Riana and Ashley for injuries they may have not noticed as they returned from their encounter with Kathryn Briggs.

"Well, my dear," she said to Ashley, "you have two fractured ribs on your left side that will require some time under the bone stitcher. You also have a slight concussion, which could have been much worse had you not been wearing a helmet. As for you…" she addressed Riana, lying on the bed across the aisle, "Considering you Asari are too damned stubborn to wear helmets, you were extremely lucky to escape with nothing worse than a mild concussion and those relatively minor scrapes on your top crests from your collision with that concrete wall. The scrapes and the laceration on your leg can be fixed with a bit of time under the dermal regenerator." Her eyes scanned back and forth between the two. "So, I'll set up each of your treatments and then give both of you a mild sedative to relax you, so you can sleep while the machines work."

Riana looked towards the bed in which her mistress was lying, saying, "How badly was Lady Liara hurt, Dr Chakwas?"

"Her wound was quite serious… Had Ashley not jammed medigel into the wound track so soon after the shot, I expect the outcome would not have been as positive."

"Goddess." The Vanguard brought a hand up to massage her temples as she murmured, "Thank you, Ashley."

Karin smiled softly at the Asari. "Don't you worry about Liara, Riana; she'll recover in no time. What I need you to focus on _now_ is your own wellbeing, so close your eyes and let's get started, shall we?"

Riana sighed quietly and followed the doctor's instructions. The last thing she felt before sliding into oblivion was the gentle touch of a hypospray against the side of her neck.


	36. Changes

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love

 _Anam_ _Cara_ \- Soul Friend/Mate (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

* * *

 **Changes**

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

It was early morning when Liara awakened, feeling as if she had been drugged; attempting to bring her right hand up to her face caused a sharp stab of pain in her arm, and her shoulder ached with discomfort. She seemed unable to shift her position in the bed she was only gradually realizing was _not_ the one she shared with her _Siame._ Liara opened her eyes just enough to look around without moving her head; as awareness of her surroundings grew, she found the reason she couldn't roll over... Some sort of wedge-shaped foam blocks had been placed under her neck, back and legs, keeping her entire body at a slight angle towards her left side. _Goddess! I'm in the Med Bay once again!_

The startling discovery prodded her groggy mind to snap into focus as she remembered, with crystal clarity, the reason for her discomfort. Even with that sudden realization, she remained calm, sensing the quiet, comforting presence of the link in her subconscious and feeling the warmth of Samantha's hand holding her own; she curled her fingers to gently caress the loving hand that she simply _knew_ had held hers all night. Turning her head slowly to the left, a small sigh escaped her as she smiled at the sight next to what she hoped to be her very temporary location. The Human sitting slumped in a chair at the side of the bed, tousled auburn hair on the head leaning against her hip, only confirmed her belief that Samantha had spent the night in nearly as much discomfort as she herself now felt.

The head lifted slowly to reveal a pair of ocean green eyes, filled with loving concern as she attempted to blink away the last vestiges of sleep. "Hey, Blue," came the whispered greeting as she slowly unfolded stiff and cramped limbs to lift her uncooperative body from the chair. Once upright, Shepard leaned in to place a kiss on a pebbled forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure," came the uncertain response. "My shoulder aches quite a bit; other than that, I guess I'm fine. Feeling a bit hungry…"

Shepard chuckled in relief. "That has to be a good sign." She smiled softly and raised the hand she was holding, kissing the fingers before saying in a more solemn tone, "I'm thrilled to see you awake, _A Grá_."

The worry lines wrinkling her siame's forehead spoke to the depth of Shepard's concern for her well-being more than any words she could have spoken. "It was bad, wasn't it?"

Shepard slowly nodded. "I won't lie; it could have been bad... extremely bad, but we got lucky... again. I'll let Karin explain it all to you. I'll find her and see if I need to fetch you something to eat or if you're allowed to get up." She kissed the blue fingers again, before placing the hand and arm back on the bed; turning, she started walking towards the hatch when it opened to admit Karin, followed closely by Hannah Shepard. Looking to the two beds closest to Karin's desk, Sam was surprised to see that Riana and Ashley had apparently been overnight guests as well; both were stirring at the noise and increased light levels near them.

Ashley caught sight of Shepard and said, "Hey, Skipper." She rolled to her side, swinging bare legs over the edge of the mattress as she sat up. "We got back rather late… had some minor injuries between us so it seemed easier to simply stay here during and after treatment in order to get a good night's sleep." She clutched the back side of her hospital gown, keeping it from flying open as she slid off the bed. Looking around, she spotted Karin, cleared her throat and asked, "Um, would it be possible for me to get my clothes? I'd like to get out of here to grab some breakfast and write my after-action report."

Dr Chakwas activated her omnitool as she replied, "Let me check those ribs first, Commander… make sure the bone stitcher did its job properly."

Looking to help out, Shepard asked, "Where is their clothing, Karin?" She indicated Riana as well, who was in a position very similar to Ashley... though, in behavior typical for the Asari Vanguard, felt no overriding compulsion to close the rear of her gown any more than what the loose ties provided.

"Everything was covered in Human blood and body parts, Samantha… well, those garments which weren't shielded by armor plating, anyway. I relieved them of the remains of their contaminated gear as soon as they were asleep… Considering they were sedated, they couldn't even begin to argue with me about it." Karin's face held a knowing grin that bordered on being a smirk as she continued, "I asked the armorers to clean Ashley's armor liners and Riana's leathers, while their under clothing went straight into the medical cleanser... along with a full sanitization protocol... which _should_ be finished by now."

Shepard wished she had misheard Karin but knew better, so directed her gaze to Ashley and queried, "Blood and body parts? What the Hell happened out there, Williams?"

Ashley looked at Shepard with a hint of disbelief as she replied, "Seriously? How about some clothes first, Shepard? I'll fill you in while we have breakfast. Just know that the shooter will never target anyone ever again."

Karin arched her eyebrows and informed the two Spectres, "Breakfast is a wonderful idea, but let there be no mistake. While Riana and Ashley are free to leave, Liara is staying put for another 24 hours. I still need to do a blood test and possibly transfusions, depending on how her eezo levels are responding to the infusions."

At Shepard's crestfallen look, Hannah smiled and shook her head in indulgent understanding. "Sam... Go back to Liara. I'll bring you both breakfast once I consult with Karen as to what is best to feed your eezo-depleted other half."

"Mom..." Shepard's forehead wrinkled in dismay. "I don't expect you to cater for us. That's not why you're here..."

Hannah's smile turned into a quiet laugh. "Of _course_ that's why I'm here... Otherwise, I wouldn't have arrived for another two days yet, silly." She looked toward the bed on the far side of the room as she continued, "Besides which, I'm not so sure Liara is honestly quite ready to eat. She looks to be sound asleep."

"She _was_ awake." Glancing back at her _cheann geallta_ , she continued, "And she said she was hungry so I was actually on my way out to find Karin when you two walked in... to see if Liara could get up to eat."

Karin smiled softly as she responded, "Tell you what. You go to the loft, take a shower and put on some fresh clothes while I give her a follow-up exam. By the time you get back down here, I'll know Liara's current status and we'll go from there."

Shepard grudgingly returned her gaze to the Normandy's Chief Medical Officer. "Yes, Ma'am."

Karin breathed a sigh of relief, having expected an argument from the strong-willed officer. "Thank you, Commander. I promise, you'll get her back soon... unless, of course, I find something not responding the way I expect." Karin gave her a stern stare. "Liara's health comes first."

Shepard nodded in agreement as she answered, "Of course, Doctor. I wouldn't want, nor expect, anything else." She turned smartly and headed out the door.

Karin turned to her visiting friend and let out a long breath. "She can sometimes be a royal pain in my ass, but you raised a good officer, Hannah."

The admiral laughed as she answered, " _We_ raised a good Human being, Karin," but her jovial attitude dimmed as she continued. "After Dave was killed, I couldn't have managed without your help and you know it... _Aunt_ Karin. You were the sister I never had... and I needed you."

"And you know damned well I was happy to do it," Karin answered with a soft smile. "Now, you go figure out what you can stir up for breakfast while I complete Liara's exam. Speak with Specialist Huckabee. He's well versed on Sam and Liara's biotic dietary needs, but be sure to let him know Liara will most likely be needing light eezo enhancements for the next few days."

Ashley and Riana had removed their underclothing from the refreshers and dressed in medical scrubs during the conversation and, while Ashley followed Shepard out the door, Riana had remained behind to speak with Karin. The doctor gave her a perceptive glance as Hannah also made her way from the medical compartment to head toward the ship's Mess. "I assume you're staying behind to ask me about Liara's condition?"

"If it were even remotely possible to convince you to divulge her personal medical status to me, then yes." Riana smirked as she continued, "Otherwise, I am simply here to speak to my mistress. If, perhaps, you happen to be doing her exam and I just happen to overhear your discussion while I am visiting, then what is the harm?"

Karin chuckled, "You're learning bad habits from Shepard... But, fortunately for you, Liara has provided a medical release so you need not convince me of anything; you're an authorized disclosure agent along with the commander." Karin shrugged. "The only thing that surprises me is that you did not already know that."

"Given that the war has ended, it probably slipped her mind." Riana's expression clouded. "I imagine she saw no immediate threat and, therefore, no need to inform me of the measure."

Karin stopped and turned back. "On the contrary... She completed the declaration before the run on London. She told me in the event of Shepard's incapacitation, you would be her primary caretaker, so you were to have full access and your decisions would be binding. Shepard said the same, should her and Liara's positions be reversed."

"Goddess. They said nothing to me!" Riana's eyes shifted to the last bed in the room and the figure lying atop it. "And what if Shepard or Liara had not been incapacitated... but killed?"

Karin hesitated, then simply dropped her eyes and shook her head. "Thankfully, that did not happen... and it is not my place to say." Her eyes came back up and met Riana's. "I will simply say that I'm glad it didn't happen... and if you want details you will have to speak with them about it." She suddenly cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. "Now, if you don't mind, I have an exam to accomplish... and you have Liara to keep entertained while I do so."

* * *

Hair still damp from the shower, Shepard returned in short order in a crisp, fresh uniform. She walked through the entry of the Med Bay to see the entire group... her mother, Karin and Riana all standing around her fiancée's bed. She smiled as she heard Liara saying, "That is most excellent news, Riana. Thank you."

The Asari sounded as if she was in good spirits and that boded well for her recovery. Noting Shepard's arrival as the commander closed the distance to the foot of the bed, Liara smiled lovingly at her. She sat with the head of the bed elevated; all the foam braces and wedges removed, allowing the Asari to move freely. It was amazing how much devotion and gratitude shined through as Liara spoke only a single word. "Sam."

Shepard stepped to the bed and Riana dipped her head to the commander. "Thank you, Captain, for protecting Lady Liara when no others could. House T'Soni is in your debt."

Shepard was about to protest when a quick warning shot through the link. _{Just accept it with grace, Samantha. I'll explain later.}_

"Of course, Ri." Not understanding the cultural undertones, Shepard wisely opted to minimize her comments and change the subject. "You need to get something to eat and help Ashley complete that mission report as soon as possible. Please tell her I promised Admiral Hackett a copy the minute it's ready."

"Of course... _Nara_."

The emphasis Riana had placed on her last word as she retreated from the med bay, accompanied with some explanation from Liara via the link, clued Shepard in on what was happening. As First, Riana's primary responsibility was Liara's safety and, the same as everyone else, she had allowed the explosion to distract her from her duty. Under the circumstances, no one would have faulted her for what happened to Liara, but Riana took her duties seriously... and felt indebted to the commander for fulfilling the role of protector. Since Shepard had been the one to save Liara's life, Riana had referred to her as 'bearer of burdens' in the most literal sense.

Liara saw the confusion melt away from Shepard's expression, but still felt the need to clarify now that Riana had left the room. "Your assumption is very close to the truth, Sam, but there is more to it. As the Captain of the T'Soni Guard, it is also _your_ primary duty to protect me, just as it is hers. Since you both share that particular duty, _your_ intervention is... well... _acceptable_. Had anyone else stepped up to do so, she would have seen it as a failure by you both... and her mind-set would be greatly different."

"Ah. So that's what she meant by 'when no others could.' Then I'm glad I was in the position to help..." Shepard stepped closer and planted a chaste kiss on Liara's cheek before continuing quietly, "... on both sides of the accord." Her visage changed drastically as she practically whispered, "Because I certainly wouldn't want to be dealing with the result of me _not_ getting there in time."

"And such speculation does no one any good, Commander." Karin's chastisement shattered any thoughts of self-recrimination. "I want you to understand Liara is doing remarkably well. Simply as a precaution, she'll remain on bed-rest today but there appears to be no lasting ill effects from the attempt on her life. Her eezo level continues to remain stable, so an augmented diet should correct any deficiency within a couple of days; no transfusions required."

Shepard's face split with an ecstatic smile. "That's great!" She looked over at her mom, who was standing quietly off to the side with a smile on her face.

"Yes, it is, and I've already relayed the news to Mozia at the Estate. She says it won't change their plans much, as they still plan on arriving first thing in the morning. They will, however, delay their planned departure by a few hours; their original launch time would have put their dock arrival at 0300 hours... So, instead of leaving first thing in _their_ morning, tomorrow, they will wait until noon, putting them at the diplomatic docks at our 0600 hours local." She couldn't help but chuckle at the expression that crossed her daughter's face.

Shepard groaned and glared at Liara with envy. "Gods. I think I'm going to shoot myself in the foot so I can stay in the Med Bay with you. Otherwise, I'm going to have to be up by 0430 to make sure I have time to eat and get to the diplomatic docks on time!"

Liara laughed at the relief that washed over Samantha's face as Hannah replied, "Not so. In my position as Post-War Recovery Coordinator, I am meeting them... along with Admiral Hackett because he wants a chance to brief them first about what happened and how we're responding to the incident. He specifically stated that you are _not_ to be there, and promised to show up at the Normandy's airlock no earlier than 0700 hours."

"I'd like to see how he manages that. I've yet to figure out how to stop my father when she gets a notion she wants to do something in particular." Liara smirked before continuing, "And I imagine she's going to be absolutely adamant about seeing me in person, just as she was about getting into Shepard's hospital room after the battle for Earth."

"Which is exactly why Karin and I are going out for some tea and you're going to call them..." Hannah winked at the couple. "... to assuage any fears they may be holding that we are hiding something and not revealing the true nature of your condition."

Shepard finally relaxed enough to laugh. "I guess that's only fair. They must be concerned, since I have yet to speak to them." Liara's surprised look prompted her to continue. "I've either been with Hackett or glued to your side. Mom's been making all the calls for me."

"You haven't spoken to my father at all?" With Shepard's confirmation, Liara rolled her eyes. "No wonder they need us to call them! My father is going to be furious with you!"

"Or thankful that I put you at the top of my priorities list, my _I_ _onúin Álainn_." Shepard sat in the chair at the side of the bed and took Liara's hand as she looked at Hanna and Karin. "And there's only one way to find out."

* * *

 **New Nos Astra, Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

Zoë Lawrence, having returned from an overnight stay in Nos Aedelos, stood outside the branch of the Salarian-owned bank where she intended to deposit a third of the credits in her backpack. She had revisited the clothing store for some attire to help conceal her new identity, most notably, a black, hooded coat made of a tough, tightly woven synthetic cloth; the hem stopped at mid-thigh, allowing her the freedom to run, if necessary.

With the hood pulled over her new, short haircut, she entered the building and asked to speak to the branch manager. She was ushered to a chair beside a rather large desk, the top bare except for a pair of large monitors. She crossed her legs as she sat back in the chair and waited. The hood made it easy to avoid having her face scanned by the numerous cameras placed in the upper corners of the room, as all that was visible was her nose and mouth.

She looked up as a female came through a nearby door to stand behind the desk. "Ms Lawrence, my name is Paedra Edalo. How may I assist you today?"

Zoë remained seated as she replied, "I need to open a new account. I was recently forced from my job… barely escaped with my sanity intact, so no real loss… managed to clean out my accounts before the thieves did. I'll only be on Illium for a short time, so… will I be able to access my account from anywhere in Council space?"

Edalo took a seat behind her desk, activating her terminal as she responded, "Certainly, Ms Lawrence. I'll just need to enter some personal information." Pushing a small scanner towards her, she continued, "If I could just have your thumbprint, Ms Lawrence… that should provide me all the information I require."

Zoë removed the glove from her right hand. _Here's where I discover if my hack was good enough._ She touched her thumb to the device, waited for it to beep, then pulled her arm back and replaced the glove on her hand.

Paedra pressed a key on her haptic keyboard, and then gazed at the results on monitor. "Well, you seem to have been fortunate, Ms Lawrence. Your former company didn't fair too well at war's conclusion. And you've been on vacation since?"

"Felt I owed it to myself. So, an account?"

"Yes… How much will you be depositing today?"

Zoë smiled. "What's the cutoff requirement for you having to report large sums being deposited?"

"100,000 credits daily, Ms Lawrence."

"In that case, I'll be depositing 99,000 creds, Ms Edalo." Zoë opened the pack at her feet and began extracting bundles of thousand-credit notes. Setting ten bundles on the desk in front of her, she deftly extracted a one-thousand-credit note from the tenth packet before pushing the bundles across the desk. Placing the note in an inner pocket of her coat, she smirked, "Just a bit of walking around money." Turning serious, she asked, "May I have a receipt, please?"

Edalo looked at the credits for only a moment before consulting her monitor. She quickly entered several lines of data; upon entering the final keystroke, Zoë's omnitool lit up for a moment before going dark. "There's your account information… it will show your balance less the admin fee for processing a new account…"

"… Which is?" Zoë interrupted.

"A thousand credits."

Zoë huffed. "I see the docks aren't the only place that practice extortion, Ms Edalo. I didn't realize that coming in to talk to you was so expensive. Thanks for telling me up front."

Closing and picking up her pack, Zoë got to her feet, an action matched by Paedra Edalo. "Good day, Ms Edalo." Slinging her pack over a shoulder, she spun on her heel and walked away, leaving the somewhat flustered Salarian to take the credits to the vault.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Referring to Liara's comments about Shepard putting _her_ before communicating with Aethyta, both Karin and Hannah smiled, with Hannah answering her, "She had best favor Sam spending the time with you or we'll have words once she arrives. Sam's place is at your side, not coddling the worries of a father who is halfway across the galaxy, especially since you have me here to take care of that."

"On that note," Karin looped her arm through Hannah's and turned them to head out the door, "we'll be leaving you to make that call. Tell them hello for us and that we're looking forward to all of us being together again."

The duo left the room and Shepard let out a sigh of relief. Happy to finally have a moment alone, she looked at Liara, leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on warm lips before tipping forward to place their foreheads softly together. "This one scared me like none before, _A Grá_." Shepard affectionately caressed the blue hand held in hers before intertwining their fingers. "I saw that red beam bobbing around the back of your head and honestly didn't know if I would make it in time. If the sniper had been a fraction of a second faster..."

"Hush, Samantha." Liara happily took the offered hand and lifted her head to place a reassuring kiss on her Human's wrinkled brow. "I trust you to always be there for me, _Siame_. I certainly have no idea how you managed to control your charge so as to _not_ break my shoulder... and I am sorry to have basically accused you of such. Between that and you somehow also cushioning my head so as to prevent a more severe concussion... Your performance was beyond what even I believed you to be capable of, Love." She angled her shoulders and cupped her free hand around Shepard's neck, encouraging the commander to lean in and kiss her much more thoroughly than the previous time. "You are my Captain and my protector... my _Anam_ _Cara..._ and I love you."

Liara's translator glitched and Shepard grinned playfully, already knowing the answer as she whispered her question, "Did you just speak Gaelic?"

"I did." Liara straightened her shoulders and leaned back against the elevated head of the bed for support, a smile playing across her lips. "You speak Thessian so well that I've decided, perhaps, it is time I begin to learn your native language and return the honor."

"That's awesome." Shepard laughed lightly. "It sounded a little funny with your Thessian lilt... Gaelic is so much more guttural than your musical language... but your words were perfectly understandable."

"Well, _Anam_ _Cara_ is not nearly as rough as many of your other phrases." Liara grinned as she continued, "I decided to start simple."

"You can pick my brain for the words, but getting them to roll off your tongue and out of the back of your throat will be a bit more difficult... That said, I know you can do anything you put your mind to." Shepard drew a deep breath and blew it out in resignation. "Unfortunately, in the near term, we need to take the time to call your father. Language lessons have to wait."

"Of course." Liara's jovial mood waned just a tad as she reached over and picked up her omnitool from the side table. "Dad will be fine." A smirk crawled onto her face as she looked at Shepard and continued, "Even while still recovering, I promise to protect you from the big, evil matriarch, my Captain." They were still laughing when the call was picked up on the other end.

"Liara! It's good to hear you laughing, but what the fuck is so funny about calling an extremely worried parent? I was wondering when you were going to get around to it!"

They heard Mozia speaking in the background. "Thyta! You should be happy they are feeling well and confident enough to laugh!"

"Hello to you, too, Dad." Liara arched her brow markings at the tone in her father's voice. "We've been just a tad bit busy here, with the surgery, bone stitching, muscle treatments and dermal replacement and repair procedures. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner." Even Shepard cringed at the tenor of Liara's final six words, sounding somewhat sarcastic and... Shadow Brokerish.

Aethyta's eyes narrowed and her face held a scowl for a brief moment before she sighed and let her features relax. "You're right. I'm sorry... I was just incredibly concerned. Being way over here and feeling totally impotent doesn't sit well with me, Liara. You needed me and I couldn't be there for you."

"It's alright, Dad. I understand... but Shepard has hardly left my side since this began..." Liara smiled and reached over to take Samantha's hand as she continued, "and there is a good chance I wouldn't be here if she hadn't acted so quickly. I am in excellent hands, both in hers and those of Karin Chakwas... and well on the way to getting out of this bed."

"What's the prognosis?" Aethyta's mood made a visible swing to the better with Liara's words.

"Excellent." Liara smiled. "I'll be up and about before you get here. I'm simply in a 24-hour period of observation to make sure nothing else pops up and my eezo levels bounce back to where they are supposed to be. My still being in the Med Bay is simply a precaution."

Aethyta relaxed and Mozia slipped into the picture from behind, wrapping her arms around Aethyta's waist and drawing the other matriarch close... in an embrace much more intimate than what Liara thought of as appropriate between a Regent and her Captain. Liara smiled softly. _Samantha and I must look that way to others_. As that thought collided with reality, Liara bolted upright with the unexpected insight and gasped, "Goddess!"

Shepard caught the thought that flashed through the link and her eyes opened wide at the conclusion Liara had so rapidly drawn, immediately seeing the truth of it. "Well I'll be damned!" She chuckled and squeezed Liara's hand as she continued boldly, "You two are actually _together_ , aren't you?"

Aethyta growled out, "What in the blazes do you mean by _that_ , Shepard?"

Mozia simply laughed and pulled the matriarch tighter to her side as she answered, "Yes, we are. Aethyta will be staying on at the townhome, assuming our Lady approves?"

"When were you going to tell me? Us?" Liara blurted out the question without thinking.

Mozia smiled and laughed lightly. "I believe we just did."

Blushing profusely, Liara blinked and fell silent... the jumble of confused emotions running through her mind leaving her at a loss for words. Shepard leaned closer and wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tight as she answered for them, "Congratulations! You both deserve the happiness that comes along with having someone you care deeply for at your side."

Worried about Liara's silence, Aethyta spoke quietly. "Liara? Are you okay with this?"

Liara's eyes snapped to Shepard's. Seeing the calm greens and feeling the comforting thoughts slide through the link soothed her emotional tumult. She had somehow never thought of her father as finding a lover other than Benezia, especially with her mother so recently deceased. Shepard simply smiled. _{She's been separated from Benezia for over a hundred years, mo cheann geallta. Don't you think they deserve the same happiness we have?}_

"Of course." Liara's answer was directed at Shepard, but Aethyta sighed with relief as her daughter's words floated across the comm link. Liara turned to her father and Mozia, realizing they had heard the response and assumed she was answering Aethyta's question. Liara's smile returned as she realized she had done just that. "I think it's wonderful, Dad... Mozia. I hope you two have found true, lasting love and happiness with each other. We'll have to celebrate when you get here tomorrow."

* * *

 **Cipritine, Palaven, Apien Crest**

Desis Vyessan had mentally braced herself to witness the destruction of her home world – her home city from the time she was little – but found herself shaking, mouth open, as she simply stared at the rubble all around the landing area. There was little left standing… certainly no recognizable landmarks. "Are you okay, Ma'am?" A crewman had stepped out of the consular shuttle in which she had just arrived from the Asari Dreadnaught _Destiny Ascension;_ Desis had come to Palaven in an effort to provide aid for the thousands of Turian children orphaned by the war with the Reapers. She had hoped, in particular, to find immediate aid for those orphaned by the pirate attack on the city of Estivus Erax on the planet Altakiril; if nothing else, she hoped to find a way to evacuate them to a safer location.

Turning towards the crewman, Desis swallowed hard before coughing in an attempt to regain control over her voice. "I didn't… realize…" she raised her hands to indicate the destroyed city around them. "… How can we possibly recover from this?" she finished, her distress obvious in the warbling note of her sub-harmonics.

The crewman looked around at the destruction for a moment before fixing his eyes on hers and responding, "With a lot of hard work, Ma'am. Not saying it won't be difficult… It's gonna take a tremendous effort. Just have to do it one stone at a time, I guess." He shook his head as he set her travel cases on the metal plating that formed the landing pad for the shuttle. "We have to lift off in ten minutes, Ma'am. Is someone coming to meet you?"

Desis looked around once again as she thought, _Where are you Garrus?_ "A friend is coming for me… Garrus Vakarian; he's supposed to be here to give me a ride."

The crewman stopped what he was doing to stare in amazement. " _The_ Garrus Vakarian? He's your friend?"

"Why yes, he is. Do you know him?"

"Only be reputation, Ma'am. He's a bit of a legend… war hero… the Primarch's Liaison to the Systems Alliance." The crewman dropped his mandibles downwards in a display of embarrassment. "If you'll pardon my boldness, how do you know him?"

"I met him on the Citadel… Commander Shepard introduced us at a nightclub during shore leave."

The crewman's jaw dropped. "You know Commander Shepard, too?"

"Why, yes. I work for the Turian Galactic Councilor… I meet a lot of people there, only… well, not that many of them are so famous." The sound of an incoming air car intruded on the quiet surrounding the landing pad; Desis looked around to see a larger version of the standard air car coming around in a banking turn to settle near her on the landing pad. She began walking towards it as the windshield section came up and the side doors opened; Desis could see the love of her life as he swung his legs out of the car and stood. "Garrus!"

The sparkle in the big Turian's eyes told her everything. "Hi, Desis. Sorry I'm late. I hope you haven't been waiting long." His words were cut short by a full-body hug as Desis flung herself at him, hugging him as if she hadn't seen him in months. "Glad to see you too," he whispered.

The crewman had brought Dee's travel cases over so she wouldn't have to carry them. With a small bow, he said, "Pleasure to meet you, General. I'll just place these in the back." As soon as he had done so, he turned to the couple and said, "I hope your stay is pleasant, Ma'am…" before looking about the landing pad and adding, "… as pleasant as it can be, under the circumstances."

Desis flared her mandibles and said, "Thank you," before climbing into the air car. As Garrus entered from the other side, she looked at him and said, "It's overwhelming, don't you think; all of this destruction?"

Garrus didn't answer right away, instead busying himself with getting the aircar aloft and heading back towards the shattered remnants of Cipritine. After setting the course and speed, he engaged the VI before turning slightly towards Desis. "The destruction is worse than you know… worse than most people realize. Our entire military was virtually annihilated. Entire cities reduced to…" he paused to wave at the canopy, indicating the ruins over which they were currently flying, "… so much scrap. Our total population, including the colonies, has been reduced by at least 25 to 30 percent… some estimates are as high as 35 percent, and a vast majority were military age males. Agriculture here took a significant hit, but reports coming in to the Primarch are somewhat more hopeful; the colonies didn't suffer quite as much. Reapers concentrated on our most densely populated areas, Dee. Other cities on the planet don't look much better, so yeah… it is overwhelming."

The VI controlling their flight trilled an alarm, prompting Garrus to resume control just in time to quickly dive and turn to avoid a collision with a military shuttle heading for orbit. "Damn! I keep forgetting… centralized flight control is inoperative. We're close anyway… I need to prep for landing."

"Where will I be staying, Garrus?"

"Guest quarters near the Primarch's complex. I figured you'd need access to what remains of our comms ability in order to get help for all those orphans, Dee. Truthfully, we think they're one of our best hopes for the future of Palaven."

Dee looked at the big Turian as a touch of anger colored her voice. "That sounds like the Primarch… Hell, the entire Hierarchy... just wants to use them… to exploit them, Garrus."

With a brief glance in her direction, Garrus pointed the aircar into a steep, descending turn; with a deft touch on the controls, he settled the craft onto a makeshift rooftop landing pad and cut the engines. Raising the hatch and opening the side doors, he quickly climbed out and moved to the other side to assist Desis.

Standing in front of him, she said softly, "Garrus, I'm sorry. Don't take what I said the wrong way. I know that every child we save is of value to the Hierarchy, but what I need to impress on you… and what _you_ need to impress on the Primarch, is that these children are just that… children! They must be allowed time to simply be children once again. Their lives have been upended by the Reapers. I expect many have seen horrors we can only imagine, nightmare stuff, events no child should _ever_ have to see. They're going to need a lot of help, beyond their physical needs. They've lost their parents, for spirit's sake."

Garrus huffed as he flared his mandibles in a show of embarrassment. "Dee, I understand what you're saying, and I agree with you. But little ones are more resilient than I think you give them credit for." Grabbing her packs, he said, "Come on… Let me show you to your quarters; it'll give you chance to recover from your trip. Once we drop off your bags, we'll have dinner and, then, I can show you around the facility." He led the way off the platform and into the office block.

* * *

 **A/N:** Many thanks go out to FF author **BeneziaWillLive** for some awesome assistance on a 'State of the Galaxy' report offered up for use. I have a hard time with post-apocalyptic damage... I want things after the war to be on the immediate mend and that's not very realistic after a war of this scale. The info in BWL's write-up will help keep me honest. :-)


	37. Full Disclosure

Notes:

 _Amantia -_ lover (Thessian)

 _Cheann geallta_ \- promised one (Gaelic)

 _Kaffe -_ equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate (Source: CDN)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/ Source: CDN)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Full Disclosure**

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

"Spirits be damned!" Nyreen stalked into her office at the Talon Headquarters and, to vent the frustration and anger she felt, kicked a small, empty storage container, vaulting it across the compartment. She had just received word of yet another 'Omega' raid, this time on a Volus colonial world in the Pylos Nebula; the city of Yila, on the planet Boro within the Satent system, had received an urgent call from the Turian defensive force in orbit around the planet to man the guns... An extremely large Omega fleet had just dropped out of the relay. Within moments, the Turian fleet stopped responding to queries, but no attack ever materialized. After an hour of waiting for the inevitable, the ground force commander finally sent up a scout vessel, only to find the entire fleet gone... assumedly captured by the invaders. _Captured? By the Spirits! Turians don't simply surrender and allow themselves to be captured!_

As the container bounced into the far corner of her office, a quiet "ouch" had Nyreen drawing her pistol with her right hand as her left lit with the deadly glow of a gathering warp. Kasumi quickly stepped forward and spoke, "Nyreen, it's Kas... Please don't. Inadvertently killing me would not bode well for the future of Omega." The Human took a calming breath as the blue faded from the Turian's hand and the muzzle of the pistol dropped toward the floor before being holstered.

"Are you insane? I could have killed you!"

"Which is why I stepped from the shadows... So you would know who was in the darkness _before_ you fired upon me... rather than after you examined my corpse." Surprisingly, Kas found it within herself to grin. "Did I not tell you I would appear when you least expected it?"

"True." Nyreen laughed somewhat nervously. "But you may want to time it better... and not when I am angry and have a weapon close at hand."

"I believed our business rather urgent, so dared not delay. I've heard rumors of another attack."

"How...?" Nyreen's mandibles flared in surprise as she continued, "You're good at what you do... That's very obvious. I _just_ received the report from one of our field agents. The bastards hit Boro, apparently with overwhelming force... The defensive fleet sent only a single missive, warning of an Omega attack before falling silent." Nyreen began pacing as she continued, thinking aloud. "The strange part is the pirates didn't attack the planet."

"Why would they?" Kasumi shrugged as she answered her own question, "They must be collecting additional space faring war craft at this point... still growing their fleet. There is nothing in the Volus settlement that they would want, since their bomber fleet is still in Sol being repaired by the SILC." Suddenly thinking of a potential lead, Kasumi blurted out, "Did your agent think to check the Nariph Relay setting? What gate did they jump to?"

Nyreen's eyes brightened at the thought and she activated her omnitool. They were both stunned two hours later when they finally received the response. "Spirits! They jumped to Omega?"

"Well... _that_ certainly points a huge finger in this direction." Kasumi immediately contacted Bau, who activated his gray box and put the word out, but they were too late. The time lag had allowed too much traffic to cross through the Sahrabarik Relay and no one could sort out which vessels went where, seemingly a relatively equal number going to three separate locations during the applicable time slot; the Crescent Nebula, Eagle Nebula and Hawking Eta.

When Bau contacted them with the information, he simply shrugged. "It is not a concern, as the number of transits occurred in an unnaturally even distribution. It was obviously done on purpose in an attempt to keep us from tracking their final destination. We now have a record of the ships and the associated mass calculations. We will monitor future connecting gate traffic and we will find a pattern. With that pattern, we will be much closer to determining where they are hiding. It is only a matter of time before we find them."

Nyreen growled, "With the force strength they now have, time may be the one commodity which we don't have enough of."

"If Aria is willing, we can buy her that time..." Bau hesitated only a moment before continuing, "... a lot of it; providing she is willing to have a SILC war fleet orbiting her relay."

His statement was met with a stunned silence as Nyreen contemplated what he had said. She finally responded, "I have no idea how she'll respond to that... but I cannot imagine she'd accept the offer unless Spectre Shepard is present in the Nebula and personally in command."

Kasumi frowned. "That's not going to happen. You must be aware of what's happening on Earth?"

"Yes, it's all over the galactic news," Nyreen's mandibles flared in aggravation. "But that doesn't change the fact Aria won't trust the Geth without Shepard being here to keep them on a leash, and I believe you realize that."

"Yes," Kasumi sighed. "But all we can do is ask. She will likely be desperate enough to make the concession, as I would think she'd find the loss of Omega a _second_ time even less palatable."

* * *

The face of the Queen of Omega held a frown as Nyreen stopped before her. "I have more news, Aria, but we need to move to your private offices to discuss this particular topic."

"I already know about _our_ supposed fucking attack on Boro, so if I'm going to leave my comfortable couch, it had better be for a damned good reason, Kandros." Aria was practically glowing in anger as she leaned forward, but did not rise.

"I'm pretty sure this information is worth your time, Aria." Nyreen crossed her arms and cocked a hip, falling silent and settling in to wait Aria out.

"Athame's tits!" Aria stood and stalked around the corner where what had appeared to be a wall panel slid to the side revealing a small, private elevator. "You are so fucking irritating in your overconfidence."

Nyreen chuckled lightly. "It's only _over_ confidence if I'm wrong, Aria. Otherwise it's simply called _poise_."

Knowing she wouldn't back down, Aria glowered at the frustrating Turian as the elevator stopped; the door panel slid to the side, revealing a large, luxurious private office. As they stepped out, Aria closed her eyes as she walked, rolling her head and working her shoulders in an attempt to loosen the growing tension, before finally growling, "Alright, we're alone, so out with it. If you've got a lead on who's doing this, say so, so we can find them and gut them from their crotch to their throat. It's been quite a while since I've ripped out someone's spine... while staring them in the face."

Nyreen was preparing to buy some time until Kasumi arrived when the Human spoke, startling them both. "No names yet, but we definitely have a lead."

Lighting up her biotics, Aria spun toward the voice... only to see the shimmer of a deactivating cloak as Kasumi Goto appeared, sitting in the Asari's chair with black-clad feet up on Aria's desk. "What the fuck are you doing, Goto? Trying to get yourself killed?"

"Seems a popular question as of late." Kasumi dropped her feet and stood, bowing politely. "Apologies, Aria. I gained access to your office much faster than anticipated, so had a bit of a wait. Therefore, once we're done talking pirates, we _really_ need to speak about your security measures. You could use a few pointers."

Aria glowered and gave Nyreen a glance that said her chief of security had trouble headed in her direction once their current business was concluded. As she turned slowly back to Kasumi, she summoned her normal calm demeanor to the fore. By the time her eyes were on the master thief, she had regained control and her voice came out silky smooth with more than a hint of demand. "What lead... and what's your best assessment?"

"After jumping to Omega, the fleet split into thirds and went three different directions; Spectre Bau is tracking the ships via their mass calculations with the hope they all consolidate at a single location. Hopefully they will return to their home base before they go on the offensive again... particularly if their next goal is Omega."

"That is _not_ going to happen." Aria looked to Nyreen. "I assume we've gone on alert and all the defensive canons are on-line?"

"Yes, Aria." Kandros took a step closer and caught the Asari's eye. "But, as Spectre Bau pointed out in no uncertain terms, those canons didn't stop _you_ from getting back on the station, so we need to be ready for whatever they throw at us. And we have an option..."

Kasumi cut her off before she could finish her sentence, fearing she was going to say something akin to ' _and_ _we know you won't like_ _it_ ;' Kas didn't want to give Aria any excuse to say no before the entire explanation came out. "So, I have a story for you. A story of the SILC."

"Silk?" Aria's face wrinkled in confusion. "What the fuck does an expensive Earth fabric have to do with any of this?"

"SILC. Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes, previously known to you as Geth." Kasumi cocked her head like a parent would at a disobedient child as Aria began to protest. "Please, Aria. If you wish to avoid losing Omega a second time, then grant me the same respect I have tendered to you since the moment you were aware we were on the station and allow me to fully explain, without you jumping to faulty conclusions."

Aria crossed her arms to quench the biotic power threatening to erupt from her balled fists. "Fine, but make it a short story. My patience is very thin... and making me angry would be extremely dangerous to your health and wellbeing, no matter _what_ the fuck I promised Shepard."

* * *

 **New Nos Astra, Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

Standing outside the Salarian owned bank, Zoë took a deep breath and released it. _At least I now have an account. I can deposit creds at remote autobank locations until I empty this backpack,_ she thought. _Time to have some lunch, take a look at the Extranet._

Zoë sauntered down the street, taking the time to look into the numerous shops she passed. She paused upon reaching a small shop offering simple lunches and dinners with several tables outside under an awning; it had just opened for the day, so there were only a few patrons inside, consisting of a lone Human and an pair of Asari, seated within. Opening the door and stepping inside drew hardly a glance from any of the three diners. A Salarian, either a waiter or possibly the owner, approached her as she paused just inside the door. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Do you have a table with an extranet terminal? I'd like to check the newsfeeds while I have a bite to eat."

"But of course… if you will please follow me?"

The Salarian led her to a small table near the rear of the café; he waited for her to be seated before handing her a menu and inquiring if she would care for a beverage.

"A glass of cold beer would be nice, thanks." As he departed to fetch the requested refreshment, she activated the tabletop terminal and began browsing the news; she was passively looking for any mention of Cerberus, as well as any stories concerning Commander Shepard or the crew of the Normandy. It didn't take her long to discover an article about Shepard's most recent appearance in the Earth city of Vancouver.

Zoë read with a morbid fascination about the explosion in the Alliance North American headquarters building at the conclusion of the ceremonies. What… or who… had caused the explosion was unclear, according to a report filed by ANN correspondent Amita Qasid; additionally, Qasid stated in her report no one in the Systems Alliance publicity department would give an accurate tally – or even an educated guess – as to how many casualties, if any, were attributable to the explosion.

Zoë studied the grainy photo of the building, its western wing completely obliterated from what must have been a considerable amount of explosives. _Looks as if an experienced person, or persons, planted just enough HE to take down only that end of the building,_ she thought as she reread the article. _Left the main structure intact. Still, I bet that blast rattled dishes all the way to the other side._

She looked up as the Salarian brought her a glass of beer. Setting it on the table beside the terminal, he asked, "Have you decided on your lunch selection?"

"I'll have a salad, house dressing on the side, and a couple of pieces of toasted bread."

The Salarian smiled as he responded, "Very well. I will be right back."

Zoë returned her attention to the terminal as she sipped on her beer. There was no other mention of the explosion, or the memorial ceremony that had concluded with a huge bang. Scrolling through the rest of the headlines, there wasn't even any of the usual Human-centric chest-thumping rhetoric that usually followed such a disaster… unless… _Hello. What have we here?_ Under the rather innocuous title, _Alliance Patriot League Recruiting New Members,_ was a short article by Iris Dunnigan of ANN, in which she equated the newly formed political group with the previous Humans First group known as Cerberus. Dunnigan didn't name her sources – always a bad sign – as she had in the September 2186 published article concerning Cerberus. The platform of this current group, according to Dunnigan's unnamed source, is based on a desire that Earth take a larger role in galactic affairs… to have a Human as the unquestioned leader of a new galactic ruling body.

After her server returned with her salad and toast, she used her fork to pick up a bit of the leafy vegetables, which she dipped in the small cup of dressing before placing it her mouth. Chewing slowly, she thought about what she had been reading. _This group sounds like all the worst aspects of Cerberus and the old Terra Firma Party combined. I wonder…_

As she ate her salad and toast, she looked for links to Dunnigan's article; without entering any key words to assist her search – she didn't want a public terminal recording entries regarding her search history – she was having less success than she'd hoped. _Guess I'll have to perform a more active search once I'm on my ship and away from this place._

Her lunch finished, she downed her glass of beer, shut down the terminal, then rose and walked to the counter, where she inquired, "How much?"

The Salarian held out a datapad displaying the price of her lunch; instead of using her newly acquired bank account to transfer an exact amount to the café's account, she pulled out a crisp, hundred-credit note, enough to pay for her meal with a bit left over for a small gratuity. She smiled at the Salarian as he said, "Thanks for dining with us today." Stepping outside, she glanced at her chrono before setting off for her rented aircar, sitting in a side alley a kilometer away. She intended to return it to the rental agency, after which she would go to a different company to rent another; she hoped that changing companies would throw Warren off her trail.

* * *

Angelique Warren ran her hand over her short-cropped hair in frustration as she waited for her ship's comm system to make the connection with Jana. She and Tim had tracked Maya all the way to a damned apartment in New Nos Astra, only for the trail to go cold once they'd entered and searched the rooms. She was feeling more discouraged now than at any time during her hunt for the elusive assassin.

"Angel!" Jana's image had finally appeared on the monitor. "It's good to hear from you at last… What news do you have on your hunt?"

"I won't lie, Jana… I am really beginning to feel we are on a hopeless crusade. Maya's gone to ground on this damned planet… totally disappeared! We were within meters of catching up with her, I just know it."

If Jana was disappointed, she didn't allow it to color her expression or her voice as she said, "Tell me what happened, Angel… Let's figure this out together."

Warren told of how she and Tim had found Maya's ship in a long-term storage lot in New Nos Astra, after which they'd tracked her movements to an apartment near a warehouse district. "She had the approaches peppered with tiny cameras to monitor for anyone getting close… My guess is she bolted when she saw us walking towards her front door." Angelique ran her hand over her head again as she added, "We were close, Jana… so damned close. She's abandoned her ship… wiped the VI so clean you'd think it was up for sale in a damned shipyard, and now she has an entire planet in which to hide. Is there any place you can think of… any clues you can give us as to where we need to search next? I am totally out of ideas."

Jana frowned for a moment as she looked down at a display just out of sight of the camera feed. Returning her gaze to the camera, neutral expression firmly in place, she said, "I'll need to check our old databases for clues as to where she may have gone, Angel. One thing I can guarantee… by now, her appearance will be totally different from the one by which you'd recognize her. She has the time and I'm sure she has the funds to totally change her looks and her clothing. I would expect you could walk right past her on a street during a sunny day and never recognize her."

Warren was not happy to hear this bit of bad news. "If you have anything encouraging to tell me, now would be a good time to share it."

"Go back to the apartment she rented, Angel… It was paid for with credits from the Illusive Man, so you may as well make use of it. You'll both be more comfortable than you'd be staying on your ship. I'll send a text to your omnitools when I have some new information for you."

"You think she's still down here, Jana? Honestly?"

"I'd be willing to bet big money she's still there," Jana replied with a small grin. "You did a great job… tracking her to Illium was a really nice bit of detective work. Give me some time to learn what resources may be available to her there."

"How long?" Warren didn't care for the idea of having to cool her heels with no way to assist in the search.

"It could be a few days, Angel. Illium is a big planet… even with all the destruction from the war, there are a lot of places within New Nos Astra that Maya could be hiding while she's busy changing how she looks."

"Come on, Jana… What could she change, really? She has a pretty face with dark skin on an athlete's body, dark eyes and black hair. She wears armor like it's a second skin and she's always armed."

Jana chuckled. "She's a chameleon, Angel… always has been. She passed herself off as a boy until she hit puberty." Jana laughed lightly as she added, "Body she has now, she'd never be able to convince anyone she's a man."

Angelique shook her head. "Not seeing the humor here, Jana. I'm tired of the chase. Is there any way we can get a message to her, something that would make her agreeable to a meet in some public place?"

Jana could see Warren was in no mood for jocularity. "Angel, if I thought that method had the slightest chance of succeeding, I'd certainly attempt it. She's not going to agree to any meeting where she cannot control the situation. It would have to be done in a way that would give her a secondary path with multiple avenues in which to escape."

Jana paused to think for a few seconds before continuing. "When you were at her ship – the one she parked and abandoned – I'll guarantee she saw you there, with Tim, so knows what both of you look like. In the meantime, she has changed her identity and is in the process of changing her appearance… it wouldn't surprise me if she employed some sort of chemical bleaching process to lighten her skin several shades.

Warren finally chuckled. "Okay, Jana. We'll go back to the apartment, cool our heels for a bit. If you can figure out a way for us to meet her that doesn't get us killed in the process, I'll go for it. Let me know as soon as you have anything, no matter how tenuous."

"I'll start digging, Angel."

* * *

 **Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver, Earth**

The two admirals had been waiting less than ten minutes when they were notified an Asari corvette, the _Liberation_ , had entered Earth's atmosphere and would arrive in the next few minutes. Hannah chuckled as she looked over at Admiral Hackett. "You look like you've just been assigned to shovel garbage on an Elcor refuse hauler, Steven."

Hackett chuckled and squared his shoulders as the sleek warship, visible vortices of moisture-laden air condensing along the trailing edges of her 'wings', slid into view through the clouds in the distance. "That's because I'm not sure if she's going to come out ready to shake hands or shoot me, Hannah. Especially when we tell her we won't be going to the Normandy for at least an hour."

Hannah had no reason to ask who he was referring to; she knew. "No need to worry about that. Samantha told me they had a good chat yesterday and that Aethyta is expecting a full briefing. However, while she and Matriarch Mozia are with us, two full commando teams led by Captain Nayla Axoni will be establishing a defensive perimeter around the Normandy's docking berth."

Hackett raised his eyebrows. "That could cause problems on an Alliance facility."

"Samantha thought so as well, so we're to instruct the commandos to accompany the matriarchs to the Headquarters, where Ashley Williams, as both the investigating Spectre and the Normandy's XO, will meet them and escort them directly to the ship's berth. Once there, she'll introduce them to the Alliance security detail." Hannah shrugged. "Given the non-Human sentiment that gave rise to this event, Samantha felt it logical for the commandos to stay with the matriarchs until they were safely out of the public eye."

"Good thing I trust the commander." As the _Liberation_ settled nearly noiselessly into the dock before them, Hackett sighed, "Not like I have time to make adjustments to the plan at this point, even if I wanted to." He put a smile on his face and stepped forward to meet the arriving Asari as they disembarked.

Aethyta growled something about _damned Human politics_ , to which Mozia laughed and replied, "Like the Asari are any better? At least the Humans actually do something about it, rather than discuss it for a century before taking action."

Barking out a harsh laugh, Aethyta relaxed slightly and walked directly over to Admiral Shepard to envelop the surprised officer in a warm hug. "Thank you for keeping us apprised, Hannah. I appreciate your candor and straight-up style of information exchange. It's obvious where Shepard gets her military bearing." She paused and held a hand back, inviting Mozia to step forward and join the group. "Now, I'd like to introduce you, in person, to the House T'Soni Executor, Matriarch Mozia T'Sessi."

With a wide smile on her face, Hannah immediately held her hands out, palms up, in greeting. "Welcome to Earth, Matriarch. It is my pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face, rather than via a vid screen."

"Please. It's Mozia. It may be we have only spoken over a great distance, but we are already friends, Hannah Shepard. Such formality is not necessary unless you desire it." She laid her hands atop Hannah's and, though she did not initiate an uninvited meld, Hannah felt a tingle and a feeling of warmth and comfort pass through her.

Her eyes widened and she dipped her head in acknowledgement of their unexpected bond. "Thank you, Mozia. I truly appreciate your friendship and trust." She withdrew her hands slowly and turned to the man beside her. "Now, Mozia... Aethyta. It is my pleasure to introduce Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett."

"Matriarchs, it's an honor to meet you. My only wish would be that it could have been one day later, as originally planned and under better circumstances." Hackett stuck his hand out, first to Mozia and then Aethyta, shaking hands with them as he continued, "If you don't mind, I don't care to discuss our business out here in public, so we'll move immediately to the Headquarters. Spectre Ashley Williams is already waiting there, so she can bring your commandos to the Normandy once you are secure inside. I also have a detail on standby to take us to the ship after our business is concluded."

Mozia nodded in acceptance and responded, "Thank you, Admiral, but I do have one requirement." Hackett remained expectantly silent, which the matriarch took as a sign to continue, "While the commando teams go with Spectre Williams, Captain Nayla Axoni will accompany us; she is our personal guard and we go nowhere without her. It is custom."

"Of course," Hackett answered. "And it's no problem." His lips turned up into a smile. "I also know that it is common for Asari teams to work as a three-person unit, so you have your triad should something go awry." He chuckled at the answering expressions on the blue faces before him. "But don't worry. I'm a military man and I take no affront at your caution... On the contrary, I quite appreciate it."

Mozia smiled in return and glanced at Hannah. "I begin to see why Shepard speaks highly of this man. Shall we proceed?"

* * *

They moved quickly from the docks into the headquarters building, the commando teams leaving with Williams as the smaller group of four made their way inside and moved directly to the briefing room. Once in the secure area, the door was shut and Hackett began speaking. "First off, I sincerely apologize for such a thing happening under our watch. All I can say is that, thanks to Shepard's remarkable reflexes, Liara did not get counted among the casualties of that damned attack."

He pulled up the graphic put together by the investigative team and displayed it on the briefing table as he continued. Pointing to the detention block, the graphic dropped altitude until it displayed the basement support columns. "Shaped-charge plastic explosives were strapped at the very top of these six independent columns, totally destroying this one section of the detainment area." The graphic shifted slowly upward to show the individual cells. Pointing out one cell in particular, he explained, "This room contained a dissenter by the name of Josiah Pickett. He was the man who leaked the classified information to the reporter at Shepard's first speech. He hadn't uttered a single word since his arrest and confinement."

Aethyta whistled quietly and commented. "Someone seriously wanted to make sure it stayed that way, didn't they."

"Yes." Hackett expanded the graphic again, to show the entire building in reference to the stage. "The multiple, simultaneous explosions collapsed this whole wing, leaving us with twelve total dead. Pickett, of course, along with two other prisoners and nine Alliance military police assigned to the detention department."

Mozia frowned, "I am sorry for your losses, Admiral. That is a horrible method to accomplish a single assassination... but how does this link to Liara?"

"She was a designated secondary target. The bombing served two purposes; first, to kill Pickett, and next, to serve as a distraction for the attempt on Liara." Hackett looked up from the display to look at the three Asari. "You know the Normandy team is extremely good at what they do, so the assassin probably realized if the team was focused, there was no way she would succeed. So, the organization responsible apparently tagged the attempt on her life along with the plan for the bombing." His eyes focused on Aethyta as he continued. "It's not the first time someone has tried to kill Liara... so they are more than aware she's an extremely hard target."

"Yeah. And look what happened _that_ time," Aethyta growled. "Shadow Broker forces fucking destroyed half of downtown Nos Astra trying to get to her... and they still failed." She suddenly smiled. "That's my girl!"

Hackett nodded, "Yes. And we've come to rely on her remarkable talents; she and Shepard are nearly unstoppable when they are together."

"So who is responsible for all of this, Admiral? Cerberus?" An expression of disgust on her face, Mozia's eyes scanned over the visual depiction of the damage wrought by a single assassin.

"It's a group called LEAP – The League of Earth Alliance Patriots – and yes, there is a very good chance their membership contains remnants of what was once Cerberus. Their basic goal is to put Humankind at the top of the food chain... and at the top of the new Galactic Council. They sent a woman named Kathryn Briggs, a highly trained rifleman who earned rifle expert badges in each of the three years prior to her discharge from the Alliance Marines. As a covert assassin, Briggs excelled at accurate, long range kill-shots of up to 680 meters. Amongst other skills, she was also trained in the placement and detonation of explosives... in particular, molded polymer-infused high explosives. After she left the Alliance, she went off the grid."

"Off... the grid?" Mozia looked at him in confusion.

"Sorry. Dropped out of sight." Hackett shook his head. "No public banking transactions, no known address or travel registries... no _anything_. She simply vanished."

"How is that possible?"

Aethyta looked at Mozia and answered her question with a sigh. "With a lot of experience and a bit of help. It's not too difficult for short periods of time, especially in the aftermath of the Reaper War. But, the longer it goes, the more you need a support network." Her focus shifted to Hackett. "So, what you're saying is she's likely been in the employ of this... LEAP... for a decent period of time."

"Yes." Hackett's expression suddenly turned hard. "But, rest assured, her... _employment..._ was terminated the same evening of the attack, violently." He adjusted the three-dimensional image hovering over the table. "This is the building she took the shot from... and, due largely to Spectre William's rapid response, the same building in which she died. I'll spare you the details; just suffice it to say our team came away with a lot of information and only minor injuries."

"Yes... Riana sent us a secure message yesterday evening that told us as much." Aethyta scowled as she continued. "What I want to know is where in the blue blazes a Human assassin got her hands on a semi-auto Acolyte Heavy Pistol with _Phasic_ Rounds?"

"Good question." If Hackett was surprised, he didn't show it as he calmly shut down the display and looked at the matriarchs before continuing, "We've asked Vanguard Iregos to look into it... but I'm afraid we may not like the answer."

Aethyta growled, "Only thing I can think of is some desperate Asari Resistance member sold the technology. It was developed during the damned war! It hasn't had time to leave Thessia through normal commercial channels... at least none that existed _before_ the war... so that means it was sold on the black market."

"Aethyta!" Mozia gasped, "Do you truly wish to insinuate one of _our_ commandos committed treason and sold a regulated weapon to off-worlders?"

Aethyta cocked her head as she scoffed, "One of ours? As in a T'Soni commando? No." She then shrugged and continued, "But some poor sap certainly did; of _that_ , there is no doubt."

For the first time since entering the room, Hannah spoke up. "And we'll leave that discovery to the experts." She glanced at her chrono. "In the meantime, we need to head over to the Normandy. I'll continue to provide you with any significant updates, and also arrange to get you a full copy of the final investigative report once it's complete."

Mozia simply nodded and dipped her head in thanks, but Aethyta growled, "Good. And once we learn how such a weapon departed Thessia, we'll make sure whoever is responsible will never be in a position to commit treason again." She shook herself and looped her arm through Mozia's before looking to Hackett. "Thanks for the information, Admiral... and I know who to ask if we think of any more questions." She raised her free hand and indicated the doorway through which they had entered nearly an hour before. "I do believe you said something about having an escort on tap to get us to the Normandy? I'm more than ready to go see my girl."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

When they arrived at the docks, the Normandy cargo ramp was open, surrounded by a large arc of alert guardians. Pairs of commandos had been matched with an Alliance Marine, resulting in a security team of 18 arrayed in a protective line across both the dock access and the exposed ramp leading up into the Normandy. At the top of the ramp, Aethyta and Mozia saw a welcome sight. Shepard and Liara stood side-by-side, smiling broadly at the arriving couple and their escort of six additional Alliance soldiers.

Liara was glowing with happiness at seeing her father and Mozia together. Now that she was over the surprise of their announcement, she was positively delighted over what she considered a rather unexpected union. "Goddess. They actually do look very happy together, don't they?"

Shepard smiled and squeezed the Asari's hand before releasing it as they began to walk down the ramp to greet their guests. After Liara was thoroughly hugged by the two new arrivals, Aethyta stood stiffly and stared at the commander. Liara looked at the expression on her father's face with concern, a single word expressing the worry she felt. "Dad?"

Mozia grasped her hand and smiled, whispering quietly, "It's alright, Liara."

Aethyta gave them a quick glance before returning her attention to the Human, her voice deep and gravelly as she spoke. "Shepard. I know I've given you a lot of grief over shit that has happened in the past, but this one? This attempt on Liara's life tops them all." She stepped forward and stuck her hand out, Human style, and drew a deep breath before finishing, "Thank you, Shepard. From the bottom of a grateful father's heart, thank you for saving my daughter."

Astounded, Shepard stared at the offered hand for a moment before a gentle, humor-filled prod through the link broke through her surprise. She reached out, clasped Aethyta's forearm tightly and drew the Asari closer to her as she whispered, "Of course, Matriarch. You must certainly realize how much Liara means to me. On my honor, you know damned well that if it came down to it, I would offer my life, without hesitation, in her defense."

Normally, the Asari would have chastised the use of her title, but this was a solemn moment as Shepard pledged her life to Liara's protection. Aethyta had seen the pained expression that crossed Liara's face with the commander's statement and ignored it, staying focused and squeezing the commander's arm in return. "Let us hope that never becomes necessary, Shepard, as such a sacrifice would most certainly break my Little Wing's heart."

Hannah's face held the same pained expression as she also replied, "And mine... along with any number of your friends, Sam. We need to ensure it never comes to that."

Shepard smiled apologetically and looked into Liara's sad blue eyes; the Asari knew the full truth of Samantha's statement and nodded once before adding, "I concur; to save _me_ , only to have you gone from my life is an unacceptable outcome, _Siame_. That has happened once before and my life spiraled quickly downward. I don't care to ever repeat the experience in my lifetime."

Shepard looked to be on the verge of tears, but she maintained her bearing as she dropped Aethyta's arm and returned to the side of her _cheann geallta_. "Nor do I, Liara. So how about we stop talking about the 'what ifs' and move inside to the loft, where we can all sit and chat, get caught up with everyone, and discuss what we are all here to celebrate?"

Mozia stepped between her _amantia_ and the admiral, linking her arms with those of both Aethyta and Hannah. "That is a most _excellent_ idea, Commander. Perhaps we could also arrange for some snacks? We had lunch aboard the _Liberation_ shortly after we departed Thessia but, if I remember correctly, it is a number of hours yet before your next meal... Assuming both of you have already eaten your breakfast?"

The mood shifted and Shepard chuckled. "You assume correctly, Mozia. Riana has a _Kaffe_ press aboard and we also have a fairly wide selection of both Earth and Thessian teas. With both Liara and I being biotics, we have a tendency to keep a number of snacks available in our quarters..." She glanced at Aethyta as she continued, "And any number of alcoholic beverages are available in the crew lounge."

Liara gasped in surprise, "It's barely seven in the morning!"

Aethyta, however, let out a raucous laugh. "By _your_ time-clock, Liara. As for me, that's the best damned offer I've received all day. Thanks, Shepard!"


	38. Unwelcome Surprises

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Kaffe -_ equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate (Source: CDN)

K'affo – A dextro beverage, made from roasted and ground seeds of a tropical shrub of the same name, served hot or iced. (Turian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code (previously known as Geth)

 _Verrat seputus -_ Verrat (pork), Palma juice and hot sauce with spices. Turian comfort food (Source: CDN)

* * *

 **Unwelcome Surprises**

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

Aria scowled once Kasumi told the entire story of the SILC's devotion to Shepard and Tali. "As if Shepard isn't dangerous enough on her own, especially with the Shadow Broker in her pocket." Aria suddenly smirked as she continued, "And I'm sure that maiden has been in several more of Shepard's spaces when they aren't busy fighting." She shook her head to get rid of the image that suddenly popped into her mind and her scowl reappeared as she returned her focus to the matter at hand. "And now you're telling me she has the whole fucking synthetic army at her fingertips?"

"And at your disposal, Aria..." Kasumi nodded once before continuing, "In service to you, just as they are to chosen persons on Thessia, Palaven, Rannoch and Earth." Kasumi crossed her arms and set her feet in a challenging stance that even Aria could not ignore. " Giving you command of that kind of force is an incredible expression of trust from the galaxy's premier Spectre, and she expects you to use it wisely to help Omega become somewhat more... legitimate... instead of a pirate power."

Aria rose to the bait and she growled, "Neither I nor Omega will become Shepard's puppet! What the fuck is she thinking? She has to know I'd never accept those terms!"

"What terms?" Kasumi scoffed, "It's not that much different than what you're doing now. You have thieves and cutthroats here, I know, but much of your business is in eezo and trade tariffs on the more... _questionable_... goods. You don't deal in drugs and you don't indulge in the slave trade, so you aren't really that much different from places like Illium, except Omega is a dictatorship rather than a consortium." She paused and shrugged. "Your leadership style is a bit different. So what?"

Nyreen perked up, having been silent to this point, and chimed in, "So she wants Aria to simply shift her emphasis to the legal sections of her economy?"

Kasumi actually laughed before answering, "Shepard's not so naive as to think anything about her request is _simple_ but, basically, yes. She wants to see Omega shift its emphasis to businesses that are _mostly_ legal, at least. Push the pirates and the slave traders to the fringes so you don't purposely give them safe harbor. You don't have to take action against them... just don't help them any longer." The eyes under her hood traveled back and forth between the faces and she knew she had a deal as she continued, "And she doesn't expect it to happen overnight. She understands these things take time..." Kasumi's voice hardened as she finished, "Unlike a sudden and forceful takeover, which can happen in the blink of an eye if you're not prepared for it."

Kasumi's expressive mouth lost its slight smile as her tone of voice became even more somber with her next statement. "This Turian force is cruel and ruthless... and seems to be intent on framing Omega for acts not of Aria's doing. We're not sure if a hostile takeover of Omega is even the objective or if it's something bigger." Her voice went icy as she finished, "But _neither_ endgame is something that Shepard wants to see happen. And, needless to say, whoever is running this new organization is not someone the Council wants as a next door neighbor."

Aria uncrossed her arms and paced her office with slow, deliberate steps in total silence for what seemed an eternity. The single time Nyreen started to speak, Aria held a hand up abruptly in a clear signal for her to shut up, continuing to slowly pace before finally stopping to spin about to face Kasumi. "Fine. I accept the terms for her assistance, but I'll not have her meddling in my affairs. She leaves me alone to rule Omega as I see fit... and neither she nor her pet Broker will interfere in the businesses I elect to keep. Understood?"

"I cannot answer for them but will relay your offer." Kasumi bowed politely. "I will inform you when and if I get a reply."

"You do that." Aria smiled wickedly as she continued in a chillingly calm voice, "And Goto... I don't give a Pyjak's ass _who_ you are. Never, ever sit in my chair and put your feet up on my desk again... or I'll _take_ those feet as trophies. It is disrespectful of me and what's mine... and I tolerate that from no one... resident, visitor or emissary. Consider this your one and only warning."

Unseen beneath her hood, Kasumi's eyes momentarily widened in shocked surprise, but she managed to hold her voice level as she responded quietly, "Understood, Aria. I apologize. I was simply relaxing as I waited... I meant no offense."

"Which I recognize... and is the _only_ reason your feet are still attached to your legs. But perception is everything, and it will not happen again. Now, get out of my office."

Dismissed in no uncertain terms, Kasumi bowed again before moving to the elevator in silence. Aria watched her form shimmer and disappear behind her cloak as the panel slid closed and the Human vanished from view.

She spun to confront Nyreen and growled, "Tell me you did not know what offer was on the table... That you did not know Shepard planned to give me an ultimatum like that!"

Her normal, calm self, Nyreen responded easily, "I knew only of the Geth, not the contingencies Shepard had placed upon her offer. Besides, as Kasumi stated, it's not really that different from what you're doing now."

"Goddess be damned, Nyreen! Don't you see it?" Aria raged on, "They are getting their foot in the door so they can make more changes later! They want to alter Omega and I won't have it!" She balled up her fists and placed them angrily on her hips, falling silent in her frustration.

Nyreen stepped up to her and looked her in the eyes. "You're simply angry because you realize you have no choice, as Bray and I were unable to stop the damned defections and thefts of your ships. We did no better than any of the damned planets those Turians hit... and it scares you."

Aria glared at the former Cabal member but, surprisingly, did not refute her bold statement. "I'll not lose Omega a second time, Kandros. It's all I have." She hesitated and almost whispered, "It's who I am... and I'll die before I give it up again."

Surprised, Nyreen's voice softened and she reached out and grasped Aria's left arm, directly above her elbow. "It may be _what_ you are, Queen of Omega, but not _who_ you are... Aria." Nyreen's talons slid slowly up and down Aria's tricep in a calming motion as she spoke. "You are so much _more_ than Omega."

Aria's glare softened at Nyreen's words and her hands moved from her own hips to the Turian's abdomen; her fingers slipped in behind the latch of the equipment belt and she pulled Nyreen close, so they were face-to-face as she growled. "You think I've gone soft? Is that it, Kandros?"

"Soft? No." Nyreen grabbed Aria's wrists and firmly removed them from her belt, pushing her hands to the side, but not releasing them. Aria struggled gently to pull them from her grasp as the Turian continued, "But you've changed. As much as you try to hide it... As adamantly as you _deny_ it when accused, I know better, Aria. You. Care."

Recognition dawned in Aria's eyes and she almost laughed. "What the fuck, Nyreen? You want to go back in time to reclaim what we had?"

"Not a fucking chance, T'Loak!" Nyreen growled, "What we _had_ was shit. A lost Turian and an egomaniac who was so damned insecure she felt the need to dominate every single thing she ever touched." She released Aria's wrists and shoved her hands away in frustration. "We've both changed... a lot... and there is no going back, for either of us."

Aria didn't get where she was without knowing how to read people and she instantly sensed the disappointment in Nyreen's voice. Gathering her resolve in the unfamiliar territory before her, she took a leap of faith. "But we _can_ go forward, can't we." It was not a question and she reached for Nyreen's hand, her eyes going black as a starless midnight when she touched bare skin. "Allow me to meld with you, Nyreen. There are things we need to discuss... privately."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

The group of five sat in the lower lounge of the loft; Liara was in the corner of the L-shaped couch, while Sam sat with Hannah to her right, Aethyta and Mozia toward the steps to her left so that Liara was between Samantha and Aethyta. The two Matriarchs quickly shared information to catch everyone up on the status of things on Thessia first, before finally sitting back and relaxing with mid-morning refreshments. Riana had joined them, bringing her press and beans, and even Aethyta, as much as she wanted a tall glass of something much stronger, settled for what turned out to be a very pleasing cup of fresh _Kaffe_. Mozia was particularly impressed by the thoughtful gift and absolutely insisted that Riana and Samantha Traynor join them all for a traditional Asari dinner aboard the _Liberation_. Riana dipped her head in thanks. "I am sure Specialist Traynor would enjoy joining us for the evening meal, Matriarch, but I must first check her duty schedule before making such a commitment for her."

"Of course." Mozia smiled appreciatively as she continued, "But please be sure she understands it is optional... and I do not expect her to make special arrangements if she is otherwise engaged. We will not be offended if she does not attend."

Before Riana had a chance to respond, Aethyta cleared her throat and interrupted. "I don't mean to be impatient, but I'd like to get back to the topic at hand. We've filled you in on everything happening in _our_ little corner of the galaxy." Aethyta nonchalantly placed her empty mug back on the tray resting on the table in the middle of the sitting area as she continued, "What information, exactly, do you have on this group that tried to murder my girl... this LEAP?"

"I'm afraid I must admit we don't know much." Liara frowned. "We've been so focused on coordinating relief supplies to keep worlds from starving, we haven't been looking at them." She glanced at Shepard and reached over to take the commander's hand, waves of irritation and anger rolling through the link. "We had no idea they were so militant as to pose a physical threat."

"It's the first time they've done anything this blatant," Shepard growled. "But you had better believe we won't make that mistake again. They just made the top of my most-wanted list."

"Good. That's where they belong." Aethyta's gravelly voice sounded harsh, as if she held something distasteful in her mouth. "So, what _do_ you know then?"

Liara, somewhat embarrassed by her lack of knowledge, shrugged self-consciously under her father's scrutiny. "Only that they are a Human-supremacy group, based here on Earth. The public face of the organization is Charles Saracino, previously the lead candidate of the now defunct Terra Firma party." She glanced over at Riana. "As for the actual attack, Riana can provide more explicit details on what my would-be assassin actually said and did during the course of the pursuit that resulted in her death."

"I'll start with this." Riana immediately sat forward and activated her omnitool, sending a copy of the classified mission report to the matriarchs. "I know having this electronically is different than a verbal briefing, but I very much doubt there is anything in here not already provided to you by Admiral Hackett, so I'm not concerned about the security implications."

"Definitely no worries on that account," Shepard chuckled. "If it comes down to it, I can always grant you immunity with my Spectre status."

After flashing her Captain a quick smile, Riana used the report as a guideline to step through the entire mission, adding in personal details that the report lacked and answering questions along the way. By the time the matriarchs were satisfied, it was early afternoon. When the chime rang and Shepard answered the door, she knew the timing could not be mere coincidence. She raised her brows and quickly queried, "Doctor Chakwas, your timing is beyond impeccable. You wouldn't _possibly_ have asked Edi to eavesdrop on us to let you know when we were done with our discussion, now would you?"

"Eavesdrop? Absolutely not, Commander." Karin was unable to conceal her smirk as she replied, "As the Normandy's Chief of Medical, I _ordered_ her to tell me, seeing as Liara missed her noon meal... and the eezo supplement she was supposed to take with it."

Liara smiled and stood from the couch, joining Karin and Sam at the door and held up a small box. She opened the lid, displaying its contents. "On the contrary, Karin. We keep a supply of the sweetened eezo cubes in the loft and I've eaten two of them along with our snacks."

Hannah chuckled from the couches, having remained seated with the Matriarchs. "Oh, just come on down, Karin. You don't need an excuse to join us! Our... _business_... is concluded and it's time to simply visit. We can easily make room on the couch."

"Doctor." Riana rose as she spoke. "You are welcome to my chair. I have business I must attend to before dinner." She turned and bowed lightly to Aethyta and Mozia. "Matriarchs, I will see you at dinner aboard the _Liberation._ 1800 hours?"

"For drinks." Aethyta stood and stretched her back. "Dinner at seven."

"Drinks sound like a wonderful idea!" Shepard wrapped an arm around Liara's waist. "We have a few hours yet. I think we should relocate to the lounge and relax. I'm tempted to give Ashley command of the Normandy until further notice... at least until after the promotion ceremonies."

Shepard groaned as Karin reminded her, "Drinks sound excellent, but we still need to be up bright and early, Sam. Don't forget our practice ceremony with Admiral Hackett is first thing tomorrow morning, at 0800 hours."

"Fuck that, Shepard." Aethyta reached back to pull Mozia up along with her. "I've seen you drink. With those nanites of yours, you absorb alcohol like a sponge! We could drink most of the night and you'd be fine!"

A stab of caution flashed through the link and Shepard tightened her grip on its source, acknowledging the concerns of the Asari at her side. "True, Aethyta, I would be... but, with her recent injuries, I'm not so sure about Liara. Besides, with everything that's happened, more than a smidge of vigilance would not be out of place during the festivities."

"Bah!" Aethyta laughed freely. "You're right, of course... but why in the blue blazes do you think we brought two full commando teams with us?"

* * *

 **Cipritine, Palaven, Apien Crest**

Desis Vyessan gradually became aware of the increase in filtered light sneaking past the thick drapes covering the wide windows in the bedroom of the VIP guest quarters, adjacent to the Primarch's residential complex on the outskirts of the ruined city of Cipritine. The glimmer of light she could discern seemed to be drearier, for lack of a better term, than the colors of a normal Cipritine morning. She listened carefully, and was able to just hear the sibilance of rain, gently falling from what she knew – without even actually witnessing it – to be a leaden sky.

Arriving late yesterday aboard the diplomatic shuttle sent by the Turian Councilor's office, Desis had been tasked with finding assistance for the thousands of children orphaned during the Reaper War, a war that seemed to have punished Palaven particularly hard. Outlying Turian colonies had also fallen victim to the Reapers, insuring no shortage of suffering and hardship to go around, but what really stuck in her craw was the recent pirate attack on the colony planet Altakiril. All the reports indicated the defenseless colonists – _Turian_ colonists – had been murdered by Turian members of the Blue Suns working for Aria T'Loak, all in order to steal warships bunkered in the city of Estivus Erax. The senseless deaths on the notoriously cold planet had left a large number of orphaned children in dire need of swift assistance.

After the previous evening's sumptuous dinner as a guest of the Primarch, the dichotomy of the repast she'd enjoyed compared to what the orphaned children had available to them caused her to weep as Garrus silently accompanied her back to her quarters. The big guy had stayed with her in her apartment to do what he could to comfort her, holding her close in his arms as she railed against the injustice of it all. She had hoped he would make love to her before he left, but had not given voice to her desire; given her emotional state, she didn't blame him for offering what comfort he was able without taking her to bed. _Spirits! I wouldn't have wanted to lie with me last night either._

A soft tapping at her entry hatch sounded like gunfire in the quiet rooms; she rose from her bed and pulled on a thin robe to cover her nude form as she padded to the door. "Who is it?"

"Garrus," came the sub-harmonic response, sending a shudder of wanton lust through her core.

She released the door lock, and then backed up to give him space to enter as the door segments retracted into their pockets. When the door had closed and latched behind Garrus, she reached for and threw her arms around him, not caring that her robe was open in front. "I'm sorry, Garrus… I am so sorry for my behavior last night." Nibbling on a mandible, she said, "Forgive me? I really wanted to take you to bed, and I drove you away."

Garrus, while thoroughly enjoying the passion of her greeting, was a bit taken aback by Desis' behavior. "Dee, there's nothing to forgive. I don't blame you for being upset about everything. We have all the food and drink we want… something those children can only dream about. Hell, there are many, many adults out there facing starvation as well. The hierarchy is having a tremendous amount of difficulty gathering and moving supplies to where they need to go."

"SILC." Desis' one word reply puzzled Garrus until she explained, flaring her mandibles slightly in amusement at his expression. _Spirits, I love you so much!_ She explained, "Geth. Their new name for themselves is SILC… Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes. They have a representative on the Galactic Council… Prime Huulik. Inform Primarch Victus of this, if he doesn't already know, so he can ask Quentius to inquire about the SILC assigning some of their agricultural units to Turian war relief, either here or in the colonies." She nibbled on the mandible again in an attempt to get a rise out him.

"Damn it, Desis! When you do that I can't think of anything but quenching the fire you've ignited within me." He had his arms under the flimsy robe she was wearing; lowering them around her bare back, he used his hands to carefully massage her butt, fully aware his talons could injure her; this caused her to squirm about in an attempt to melt into every bit of the body against which hers was pressed.

"I'll be more than happy to quench your fire, Garrus, if that is what you truly desire. We can discuss business afterwards, over a late breakfast."

Garrus hadn't realized just how sexually aggressive this female was; he cupped her perfect ass with his hands and lifted slightly, to which she responded by bringing her legs up to wrap around his hips. "Oh, I desire you, Desis…" He slowly carried the love of his life back to her bed; after undressing for her, he spent the next hour allowing Dee to quench his hot desire as he eased hers.

* * *

It was late-morning when Garrus and Desis finally sat down to an early lunch in the common area near the Primarch's residence. As they ate, Garrus told her about the previous day's explosion at Alliance headquarters in Vancouver, his destination to attend Commander Shepard's promotion to Captain. She listened in horrified silence to his report of the subsequent attempt on Liara T'Soni's life. "That's all I've learned," he said in a quiet voice. "Shepard sent Williams and a team to find and capture the sniper, but I don't know how badly T'Soni was injured, or if she's recovering… Alliance has clamped down on the news feeds, so I probably won't learn anything further until my arrival tomorrow."

"Garrus, that's awful," Desis commented in a sad voice. "Have you contacted Commander Shepard? Surely she'd be able to tell you what has happened since the explosion."

"Hhhmm… I thought about doing just that, but came to the conclusion Shepard probably has more than enough to deal with right now." Garrus took a sip of k'affo from his mug before continuing. "I'll remain positive for now, but… if the worst _has_ come to pass, I don't wish to intrude. I'll be there tomorrow, and as soon as she fills in the blanks, I'll contact you and the Primarch."

"Do you suppose it was someone from Cerberus," Desis asked, trying to wrap her head around this latest bad news. "Neither Hackett nor Shepard was the target. Who else would target an Asari?"

"I suppose there could still be outliers, former members of Cerberus, unhappy that the council has been expanded without elevating a Human to a leadership role." Garrus finished the last bit of verrat seputus on his plate, followed by the rest of his k'affo. With a deep sigh, he added, "I'm afraid that anyone stupid enough to order a hit on T'Soni will soon find themselves on the wrong end of a Vanguard charge and a Graal shotgun. Shepard will be out for someone's head over this, and if Liara's father gets involved…" He left the thought unfinished, preferring not to think about how Matriarch Aethyta would deal with anyone senseless enough to target her daughter.

"It sounds like your trip to Earth will be a lot more interesting than originally planned." Desis finished her own cup of k'affo, then stood as she asked, "Shall we go? I have to get to work, and I suppose you need to complete whatever preparations you were making before I arrived. I hope I didn't screw up your schedule too terribly."

Garrus lowered and flared his mandibles in an exaggerated imitation of a Human smile. "I planned for your arrival, Dee..." With a chuckle, he offered his arm, which she took as he continued, "… and I'm glad we have a little bit of time to spend together before I depart for Sol."

* * *

Garrus had secured a driver for the aircar transporting him to the diplomatic spaceport, not because Desis was incapable of flying one, but to make sure she was returned safely to the Primarch's compound.

Setting down near the small diplomatic shuttle that would transport him to the Sol system, he slowly stepped out of the luxuriously appointed X3M, walked around to the other side to help Desis climb out, then gathered up his travel-packs from the unused front seat by the pilot. Looking at this female, he said a silent prayer of thanks to the spirits for placing her in his path on the Citadel before the war's end. Holding Desis close, he whispered, "Dee, I cannot begin to describe how lucky I feel to have met you… and to have earned your love." His flanging voice softened a bit more, sub-harmonics carrying his feelings. "You are absolutely beautiful, and I'm hoping we'll be able to settle down together as soon as we have some of Palaven's problems on the mend."

He dropped his packs on the damp metal plating forming the shuttle pad so he could place both his arms around her, unencumbered. "Honestly? I wish you could accompany me to the ceremony." Holding her in a tight embrace, he nuzzled her nose plates before accepting her open-mouth invitation to nibble on her tongue.

After a few moments, she pulled back to breathlessly declare, "You keep doing that, I'm going to jump you right here beside this shuttle." In a slightly husky voice, she added, "I love you, Garrus Vakarian. Come back to me safely."

Garrus placed his mouth beside her ear and breathed, "I love _you_ , Desis. I'll be back as soon as I can. Now, go help save some children."

Letting her go, he quickly retrieved his packs and entered the diplomatic shuttle before she could work her magic on him; he found that leaving her behind was becoming increasingly difficult. Waving as she backed away from the shuttle to stand beside the X3M, she tried desperately to hold her emotions in check as the shuttle's hatches closed and sealed. The pilot lifted the ungainly looking craft straight up to a height of seven or eight meters before tipping its nose skyward to ascend on the power from the stern thrusters. After it disappeared into the thick cloud cover, she reluctantly turned and entered the aircar for the flight back to her quarters. Sitting back in the luxuriously upholstered seat, she looked out into the darkness of the rainy night, praying to the Spirits for his safe return.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Shepard had risen and left early after she and Liara ate a quick breakfast together; Sam had gone to the headquarters for the ceremony practice while Liara went to work, determined to find more information on LEAP and all those associated with it. When she contacted the _Aletheia_ , Miranda had simply glanced quickly at Judea and laughed in disbelief.

Returning her gaze to the screen, the operative's voice was incredulous. "You're joking, right? That's all we've been doing since their attack! I'll forward everything we've found so far. Honestly, Liara? They don't appear to have any ties to Cerberus; none that I can find, anyway. I realize I've been out of the loop for awhile now and they had done more recruiting, but none of the names are familiar... However, there is one rather disconcerting piece of the puzzle... There are multiple references to someone referred to only as 'The Captain.' From everything we've read, the only conclusion I can draw is that an Alliance... or _ex_ -Alliance... Captain is the true leader within the organization, which confirms our suspicions that Saracino is just a figurehead."

"Thank you, Miranda. I should have known and simply asked what you have found." Liara smiled sadly. "On another topic, don't bother traveling here for the promotion ceremonies." The Asari shook her head as both Miranda and Judea started to protest. "Given everything that has happened, the promotions will be held in a small conference room, the final location to be chosen at random, and not until immediately prior to the ceremony. Only the essential staff will be allowed in the room – everyone else will have to be content watching it as a live broadcast."

"And we can see it here just as well as there." Miranda sighed in disappointment. "It was more about seeing you both in person, rather than the actual ceremony, Liara. I guess we'll simply have to wait... We'll go visit T'Sere Shipwrights and see where they are on production of the new ship, instead. And now that we know you're back to work, we'll keep you updated with anything we find, as we find it." Her voice turned to ice, a tone Liara hadn't heard from Miranda in a very, very long time. "We'll find these bastards, Liara. And when we do, I will not hesitate to utterly _destroy_ them."

* * *

Shepard returned to find Liara still hard at work alongside Riana, both turning as they heard the hatch slide open. Shepard frowned at the look on Liara's face. "What's up, Li?"

"The _Aletheia_ team has been hard at work while we've been recovering from the attack." Liara waved her over to the terminal. "Miranda forwarded this... rather disturbing news. It is as Admiral Hackett feared; it appears there is a traitor amongst us."

Shepard quickly read through the report. "Not necessarily. 'The Captain' could refer to just about anyone... Though, looking at the way the messages are formatted, I mostly agree with Miranda's assessment. It sure sounds as if the person spent a lot of time in the Alliance." The commander shook her head. "Damn it. There really isn't much to go on; they've been very good at covering their tracks."

Liara cocked a brow marking as her hands continued to run across the haptic interface, entering orders for various agents. "So far, yes. But, now that we have a start, the information will begin to flow." Her lips curled into a smirk as she continued, "I've done this a time or two, Shepard. We'll trace the message origins, pin down a location, and get someone on the ground to personally observe... at least get names, if not images." She tapped the 'execute' key and turned around to face the commander with a smile. "Have faith. I'm a very good information broker."

As Liara's hands landed on her waist, Shepard couldn't help but smile in return. "Oh, I am very much aware of that, Shadow Broker. So much so, that sometimes you scare even me."

"I know better, Samantha." Liara chuckled. "You love the intellectual challenge I provide."

The Asari's face turned a deep blue at the images that tumbled through the link as Shepard pulled their hips tightly together and her hand slipped around to Liara's lower back. "I certainly enjoy much more than solely your intellect, my _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _._ " Shepard smirked at the Asari's reaction as she continued in a whisper. "I still manage to bring out the shy maiden at times." She planted a firm kiss on Liara's lips before finishing, "I hope I always can."

"Yes, well..." Liara swallowed the lump in her throat and she felt her face become unusually warm as she spared a glance at Riana, who was still working diligently on the terminal in the back corner, seemingly oblivious to the conversation behind her. Blue eyes, now tinged around the edges with black, returned to those of the commander. "Perhaps I should take a break and we can finish this discussion in the loft, _Siame_?"

"I would love that, Blue, but I dropped in because we have other commitments to take care of... We have a lunch date with the family." Shepard waggled her eyebrows up and down as she struggled not to laugh, thinking of all the times Liara had answered her advances the same way. "Maybe later?"

Liara groaned in recognition, answering quietly. "I realize now why you absolutely hated that question." She squirmed in Shepard's grasp in an attempt to calm the desire rising rapidly within her body. Burying her face in Shepard's shoulder, she wrapped her arms tightly around the commander's waist in desperation. "Yes, of course. Lunch." With her breathing becoming irregular, Liara widened the link and let her feelings run free. _{We are going to be late.}_

* * *

When they arrived behind schedule at the Mess, they were pleasantly surprised when her father simply grinned and winked at Liara. A swat from Mozia indicated they had probably talked about it and, not surprising in any aspect, Aethyta was not acting in accordance with what Mozia considered acceptable behavior. Liara's face was still a bit flushed from her and Shepard's hurried encounter in the loft, so the slight embarrassment she felt from her father's actions didn't really show. When they sat down to eat, Liara swiftly diverted everyone's attention by opening the discussion with what her field agents had discovered about LEAP thus far; all thoughts of the lovebirds' exploits before lunch were quickly forgotten.

"Riana is also on the trail of a small crate containing six Acolyte pistols that got into the hands of the Eclipse before moving off-world." Liara looked at her father. "The freight trail started somewhere in Attena. With the region's decentralized trade and loose aggregation of mostly small towns, it will be extremely difficult to track the exact point of origin."

Mozia smiled and placed a supportive hand on Aethyta's knee. "At least we can rest assured it was not one of _ours_ who committed this treasonous act."

"Small comfort when one of those weapons was carried by someone attempting to assassinate my daughter." Aethyta looked at Liara and continued, "I assume Riana is staying on this in an attempt to find more information?"

Liara narrowed her eyes. "Don't worry about it. The Brokerage will find those responsible and they will be taken care of." She looked pointedly at her father, Liara's voice becoming eerily detached as she continued, "The treason was not accomplished by T'Soni commandos, so is no longer your concern."

Aethyta thought only briefly to offer a retort, but the shadow in Liara's angry eyes made her think twice. Shepard leaned over and whispered softly in the matriarch's ear, so no one else could hear, though Liara heard it via the link. "She's trying to protect you, Aethyta. She doesn't want you implicated when the perpetrators end up dead."

The matriarch's face paled a bit and she coughed, reaching for her glass of water as she considered what Shepard had said. It suddenly hit home; her Little Wing had been forced to grow up fast in a war-torn galaxy... and had done things in the name of the Shadow Broker that, as her father, Aethyta would never have thought her capable of. Some... _unthinkable_ things. So, instead of a ready retort crossing her lips, she responded with only one word. "Understood."

Liara's face fell, knowing Aethyta had just been forced to very suddenly come to terms with who her daughter became over the course of the war. Things had changed for Dr T'Soni since her attempted kidnapping on Therum... and drastically more so after Shepard had died in the skies over Alchera; even Liara had a hard time believing the transformation she had gone through and had to wonder how her father could process it, if at all. Her brow knit and she reached across the gap to grasp her father's hand. "Dad. I'm sorry. I know..." She paused and let out a sad sigh. "I know I'm not what you had hoped for in a daughter..."

"Nonsense, kiddo. For a change, you have no clue what you're talking about." Shocked by the words, Liara fell immediately silent as Aethyta continued, "I am so incredibly proud of who you have become and what you were able to do for the war effort. You have absolutely no idea." The matriarch smiled and squeezed the hand in hers before letting go and sitting up tall in her chair. "You and Shepard _won_ this damned war for us... and we've all done things the last few years we never would have done otherwise. Goddess, Liara. You turned out better than I ever dreamed possible, even with _Nezzie's_ awesome genes!"

Shepard smiled and wrapped an arm around her Promised as she added, "And have no doubt, Aethyta. When it comes to fighting for what she loves and believes in? She's every bit your daughter... right down to being a quarter Krogan!"

"Oh, Goddess," Liara groaned. "How many times do I have to say it doesn't _work_ that way?" She simply shook her head in resigned tolerance as the rest of the table erupted in laughter.

The afternoon with the family passed quickly after that, the alarm on Shepard's omnitool finally interrupting their conversation. She looked at Liara and stuck out her hand in invitation as she stood from the lounge chair. "Come on. Time to head over to the diplomatic docks; Garrus is scheduled to arrive in less than thirty minutes."

Hannah stood with them. "I assume you will want to escort him to the Broker office and get caught up on events... and I have absolutely no desire to go through all that information again. One time alone was more than enough bad news." She walked over, gave Liara a hug and Sam a quick peck on the cheek. "See you in the morning at the headquarters. Enjoy your time with Garrus and tell him I said hello and that I'll see him tomorrow."

Aethyta and Mozia also stood, Mozia speaking. "The same goes for us. We'll walk with you back to the diplomatic docks and take our leave so you can spend time with your friend. I know you'll be going through final preparations and then head out for the Destiny Ascension... Are you still scheduled for departure tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We are." Shepard nodded. "Though I do believe we could all get together for lunch one last time before we all head our separate ways?"

Mozia smiled as she responded, "That would be lovely... Captain."

Shepard grinned at the familiar title; she was already 'Captain' to her Asari family... and her promotion would help eliminate some of the confusion everyone else felt. "Well, come on then. We can talk about the time and place as we walk, else we'll be late picking up Garrus and he'll think we don't love him anymore."


	39. Upward and Onward

Notes:

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Code (previously known as Geth)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Upward and Onward**

 **Diplomatic Docks, Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver**

Having escorted their Asari guests to the _Liberation_ , Liara and Shepard relaxed together, their arms wrapped comfortably around one another's waists as they slowly strolled the virtually empty diplomatic transit docks, waiting for Garrus' transport to arrive. After a few minutes of quietly enjoying each other's company, Liara poked Shepard in the side and broke the silence. "Hey you. Are you alright? You seem awfully quiet."

"Yeah, I am," came the hushed rejoinder. "There isn't anything better in the entire galaxy than being here with you at my side, walking without having to be anywhere, watching the stars in the sky instead of watching for enemies." Giving Liara a quick squeeze, Shepard smiled softly. "Though I do have to admit I'm looking forward to seeing Garrus. I miss the big guy and I wish he had more than a day to spend with us."

"Me too." Liara offered up an answering smile. "Garrus is a good friend. He was always there... for _you_... whenever you needed him. His presence was always... calming."

Shepard chuckled, "Yeah. He was a rock. Nothing seemed to fluster him and he was always ready with a joke, even a bad one, when things got too crazy. He helped me stay grounded."

"It was horrible when he left me on Omega. I needed... No. I _wanted_ his help to find you and he abandoned me... us. Our first private conversation after he rejoined the Normandy was a bit tense, but he apologized profusely and swore an oath to never leave your service, for any reason, ever again." Liara stopped and turned them both so they faced each other. "He kept you sane, yes. But he also helped keep you _safe_ , Shepard... and for that, he earned my forgiveness that day and my trust over the next few weeks." Liara drew a shaky breath before leaning in to hug Shepard tightly, as if she was never going to let go. "He came to me at the end of the war and asked to be released from his oath... so he could return to Palaven where he could serve the Primarch... and the Turian people. Of course, I said yes."

"I didn't pick up on any of that... but I understand why you kept it from me... and glad you finally opened that little corner of your mind and explained it to me." Shepard returned the embrace as she queried softly, "You asked if _I_ was okay... How about you, Li. I know the attack was unexpected... and frightening. Are you doing alright?"

Liara sighed, not relinquishing her hold. "To come so far... to win the war... only to have someone try to kill one of us? Goddess! I have to wonder if we'll ever truly feel safe again, Sam. This is not how I envisioned our future _after_ the war."

The commander pushed back and brushed a tear from Liara's cheek with a thumb. "Hey now; enough of that. We won... and we have each other, Blue. We'll finally... _truly_... be out on the Normandy again tomorrow afternoon..." Shepard suddenly laughed. "By the Gods! I think maybe I've turned you into a spacer... It seems you need to sense the ship in motion under your feet in order to feel comfortable! I have to remember to tell Mom and Karin tomorrow!"

"Very funny." Liara smacked Shepard lightly in the shoulder before wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, her lips turning back up into a trace of a smile. "I'm being serious, Sam."

Wrapping her arms around the love of her life, Shepard assured her. "I know you are... but so am I. I love you, _mo cheann geallta_ , and I can protect you better on the Normandy than anyplace else in the galaxy." She stepped back, shrugged and tipped her hands up in front of herself, letting out a sigh. "I'm pinning on Captain tomorrow... and I'm supposed to give Hackett my answer, but I don't have one for him. Not yet. I know I'll finish the Victory Tour for sure, but after that? I have no idea what I want to do..." She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the cheek of her _I_ _onúin Álainn_. "... other than take enough military leave to have time to bond with you on Thessia."

Liara's expression clouded slightly and she cocked her head. "You know I'll follow you, wherever you go, right? I don't care what you decide or where you end up, Shepard. You'll have both my unconditional support and my loving companionship as long as you want me on your crew or at your side."

"I know, Li." Shepard looped her arm around the Asari's waist and gave a little tug. As they started walking again, the soon-to-be Captain canted her head and gave Liara another quick peck on the cheek. "And I'll count on it... every single day for the rest of my life." She used her free hand to point at an approaching ship. "But it looks like this conversation has to be put on hold."

"Yes, it would appear so." Liara gave her a comforting squeeze. "We will most certainly talk more about this later, Shepard. I'm happy to be your sounding board."

As the diplomatic shuttle grew closer, Shepard dropped her arm and picked up the pace to get to the berth in time for the craft's arrival. "Liara, you're a lot more than a sounding board." Flashing a contented grin, she finished, "You're an equal partner and have as much say in our future as I do. Everything, as far as I'm concerned, is a joint decision. Deal?"

The shuttle settled onto the cradle as Liara smiled in response. "Absolutely, Captain."

In a few short moments, the hatch slid to the side to reveal their Turian friend. "Garrus!" They both called his name as soon as their eyes caught his.

His tone was light as he called down the ramp, "Well, fancy meeting you two here! How did you find out I was coming?" He looked immediately to Liara and his voice turned unexpectedly somber. "It's very good to see you up and around, T'Soni! I have to admit, after learning of the bombing and the attempt on your life, I was a bit concerned with the lack of follow-on communication."

Shepard smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, Gods. I'm an idiot! I am so sorry, Garrus!"

As Liara leaned in to hug their Turian friend, she cast a glance at Shepard, incredulous. "You didn't call Garrus, either?"

"Either?" Garrus chuckled with relief. "Who _else_ didn't you tell that Liara was going to be okay, Commander Shepard?"

She ignored the question and simply explained, "My Mom contacted Thessia for me... but I had good reason!" Shepard actually blushed. "I was a bit busy!"

"I understand... If I had been in your boots I would have been out of my mind with worry. I'm only giving you a hard time... but I do have one question." Garrus pulled back from the embrace with Liara and stared at the commander intensely, his mandibles flaring in aggravation. "Did you get the bastard?"

"I gave her to Ashley; she and a fire team chased down our bomber and would-be assassin and... eliminated... the problem the same night." Shepard paused for a moment, glancing around the dock. "But, even as empty as these docks feel, I would prefer to not talk out here. Let's get to the Normandy."

* * *

They went first to the Broker Office to fill Garrus in on the entire sequence of events since the bombing. After going through the entire story, Shepard leaned back against a console and chuckled. "Legion's frame was apparently pretty disgusting! The SILC shuttle stopped at the building to pick up the disabled trooper platforms before making a stop at the Normandy to drop off a fresh Prime chassis for him. Legion was actually surprised; he had expected to upload to the main server and have to wait while the team took it away to clean it. He had no idea they were bringing a replacement for him, so he could simply transfer to a new platform with no downtime."

Garrus waggled his mandibles in surprise. "So more units than Legion have already evolved to independent thought... and were able to surprise him? That's amazingly fast."

Liara nodded. "We thought so too, but then we realized they still have tremendous processing capabilities within the Consensus. I will be curious to see if their evolution slows once more units become independent, or if they will maintain their hive-style communication throughout... and the processing power that connectedness brings along with it."

"I'm beginning to understand the Prothean's concern regarding synthetics. If they develop as individuals, yet still maintain a processing power that is superior to organics and their VIs..." Garrus crossed his arms and spoke hypothetically. "What if some future SILC individual comes to believe they _are_ superior? Could they have a synthetic Illusive Man in the making? And if they did, could they _all_ come to believe that, like the Heretics did under the influence of the Reapers?"

Shepard smiled. "No. Legion has assured me they have instituted protocols to prevent a mass overwrite of their programming ever again. They have a rather large number of separate sections within the mainframe, with no overlap, and each section is coded on a delay so they can only update one section at a time. Should the Consensus ever decide to do a massive upgrade, only one section would go through it and every remaining section would do an evaluation on the pros and cons of the results."

"That does not mean a synthetic like the Illusive Man could not come into existence. And if it does occur, I would hope it would be a situation very similar to Jack Harper... the unit would exist, but its followers would remain a small minority." Liara's eyes glittered with determination. "We most certainly would not allow it to take over the SILC."

Garrus dropped his arms and huffed. "I guess that's the price of freedom. There's always going to be something out there to fight against, huh Shepard? Guess you'll just have to stay ready."

"Well, there's no Shepard without Vakarian..."

Garrus did his best imitation of a Human smile and continued, "...And no Vakarian without Shepard... So, since there doesn't appear to be any enemies immediately present, I think it's time to go to the bar."

Liara smirked and looped her arm in his. "How about we head to the Mess to sit for a quick dinner, first?"

"Ah. That's right. I always forget about the damned time shifts. I arrived here much earlier in the day than when I left Palaven. It always feels odd, getting somewhere new before I left the old... but I won't deny you your dinner, especially since I imagine you are still on your high-eezo diet. So lead on, T'Soni!"

As they sat down at a table, Shepard looked at Garrus and asked, "So how are you doing on Palaven, Garrus? You look pretty relaxed given the rumors regarding the conditions there."

"Ahem. Well, yes." Garrus rearranged his dishes and finally looked up at the couple sitting across from him. "Desis Vyessan received a leave of absence from Councilor Quentius and has arrived on Palaven to assist with the care and placement of Turian war orphans. The need was already huge and this Turian bastard running amok in the Terminus is adding to the numbers at a horrifying rate. We need to stop him, Shepard."

"Well. That's a mixed news announcement if I ever heard one." Liara smiled briefly as she continued, "Has she moved in with you?"

"Egads, T'Soni! Straight to the point, aren't you?" Garrus chuffed, the harmonics in his voice reflecting embarrassed humor. "But, no. She has her own quarters in the government district."

Shepard frowned, "And what about Palaven itself, Garrus. The reports we've been getting haven't been very encouraging."

The Turian sighed and his shoulders slumped. "It's really bad, Shepard. Our fleet is in shambles, we're having a hard time maintaining the flow of necessities like food and water, and the atmosphere is not, by any means, conducive to good health... for anyone. We have three Quarian liveships in orbit, but it takes time to grow food; our stores are running low and we don't have the ships to transport enough from our agricultural colonies at the rate necessary. People are starving and we can't help them all."

"What about the Shroud plans, Garrus?" Liara glanced at Shepard as she asked the question.

"We simply don't have the bodies to build them, Liara." Garrus looked defeated. "It's taking everyone we have just to keep the peace and to transport the necessary supplies."

"The SILC have done amazing things on Thessia, Garrus." Shepard stopped speaking and looked at her friend until he looked up and met her eyes, curious about the silence. "Why didn't you say something? Ask us for help?"

"Because you've had your own shit-pile to deal with, Commander. The Turians need to be able to stand on their own."

"To Hell with Turian pride, Garrus! It's going to be the death of you all!" Shepard sat back in her seat and crossed her arms in frustration. "Nobody won this war on their own and no race is going to recover without help from the others. We have to get back on our feet the same way we won the war. Together!"

When Garrus remained mute, Liara spoke up. "My father is here and we're all heading out late tomorrow afternoon. I'll have her dispatch the SILC units from Thessia to continue construction of Shroud facilities on Palaven. They'll do the planetary study and decide on the optimal placement configuration for the structures; then, we'll have Legion contact you directly... And I won't take no for an answer, so you'd better contact Primarch Victus tomorrow to let him know they'll be arriving soon, very likely within the week."

Garrus hung his head slightly as he admitted, "Desis mentioned the SILC before we had our late breakfast yesterday, an excellent option I had obviously forgotten. She reminded me about the agricultural units that are being assigned to assist colonies in the restoration and optimization of their farms... and we didn't even consider using them to build the Shroud facilities." Mandibles flaring, Garrus shook his head in resignation. "Thank you... both of you... I should have known better, but I was too embarrassed to ask Legion for assistance because I have no way to guarantee their safety on my own homeworld."

Shepard laughed lightly. "You don't have to. They'll bring their own security and assistance teams... and they don't sleep and don't eat, so won't be using any of the resources needed to keep your people alive. It's a no-brainer, Garrus. If you don't wish to tell the Primarch, I most certainly will."

At that, the big Turian laughed. "I bet you would. And, somehow, I think it would be a very direct, one way conversation."

"You can bet your blue Turian ass on that one." Shepard looked at her dinner. "Food's getting cold. Let's eat and we'll figure out the details later."

* * *

 **Systems Alliance Headquarters, London, Earth**

It was early morning when Shepard dragged Liara out of bed, much earlier than the Asari had desired to rise, simply telling her, "I need to go look at something and I want you with me. Actually, I want to show it to you, assuming it's still there."

Without questioning Shepard's unusual shielding of the link, Liara dressed quickly and followed her to the shuttle docks where they acquired a generic Alliance shuttle. Shepard quickly popped the shuttle into orbit and made a very short FTL jump before dropping back into the atmosphere. As they emerged beneath the clouds, Liara instantly recognized where they were and she asked, "London, Sam? Why are we here?"

As the soon-to-be captain set the Kodiak down just outside the headquarters, she pointed to a large area of destroyed ships. Liara frowned as she looked out upon the ravaged vessels. "Why are we visiting a collection of destroyed ships at this early hour?"

"Early, because we'll be busy later and won't have time to do this before we depart Earth." Shepard smirked as she continued, "Trust me. You'll understand the _why_ soon enough." She stuck her hand out and Liara's face held a puzzled smile as she willingly took the offering.

"Now you have aroused my curiosity." The Asari allowed Shepard to lead her onward as she continued, "I have to wonder what secret lies amidst this particular quadrant of Reaper destruction."

"These ships were all derelict... from the First Contact War. They were only used for salvage, so it was a complete waste of time for the Reapers to focus any energy on destroying them. The distraction, however, certainly worked in our favor."

Ships had been destroyed and tossed around since the last time she had been here, so the commander had to backtrack a few times before she finally found their destination. "There. That ship right there."

They stood before a rather unimposing, antiquated fighter. "It was 2168 and my mom was a Commander, stationed here at the headquarters. I used to ride my hoverbike down here to check out all the ships." The link opened and Liara saw through a very much younger Samantha Shepard's eyes. "It was my first time riding through this particular section. My mom was getting a new assignment and I wanted to be sure I didn't miss any neat stuff back here before we left."

Shepard led them both a few steps forward and the Asari felt the memory resonance of a harsh pain in the back of her crests. Liara glanced sharply at her _siame_ and gasped, "You were injured here! How? What happened?"

Saying nothing in response, Shepard closed her eyes and focused on her memories of that day. They unfolded before Liara; a tale of a hovercycle crash and the discovery of a damaged fighter whose eezo core had not been properly sanitized. "This is where is all started, Liara. Simply getting too close to this pile of junk triggered the emergence of my biotics; it set me on my path in the Alliance. The eezo in this fighter was the beginning of my future... the beginning of _us_."

Liara looked at the fighter's remains in a new light; she smiled and squeezed the hand in hers. "That fighter wasn't the true start... it was your mother's accident while you were still in utero, but I understand why you say that. It was the first action regarding your biotics over which _you_ had control."

Shepard smiled and turned Liara toward her, drawing her close. "Yes... And, as much as that day could have cost me my life, it was worth every bit of pain I had to suffer if ending up with you is the final result."

The Asari leaned in and kissed the woman before her. They separated, breathless, and Liara whispered with a smirk, "Who would ever guess a scrap yard could be so romantic?"

Shepard dropped her head back with laughter. When she recovered, she had a beaming smile on her face. "You, Doctor T'Soni, have developed a rather dry sense of humor." She closed her eyes and tipped her head forward until their foreheads touched, enjoying the quiet togetherness for a few moments as she breathed in Liara's comforting scent. Finally letting out a long sigh, she straightened her posture and stepped back. With a smile reserved only for her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ , Shepard spoke quietly. "I suppose it's time to head back. People are probably getting up and wondering if we ran away sometime during the night."

"And what, exactly, would we be running from, Samantha?" Liara cocked her head in question.

"Promotions, even more responsibility and that damned Victory Tour," Shepard scoffed. "There is so much we need to be doing; instead, the Normandy and her crew are stuck world-hopping as a show of solidarity and good will on the part of the Council. I think the people would better appreciate the supply runs Ashley was making while I was recovering."

Liara took her hand and started the walk back to the Kodiak. "Consider it an information gathering mission. By the time we are done, we'll have a much better idea as to the state of the galaxy, and be better able to coordinate the relief required based on personal observation. That has to count for something, Commander."

Shepard drew a deep, cleansing breath, blowing it out slowly as they walked. "You're right. Thanks, Li. That's an example of one of the many reasons I keep you around."

"Oh, _really_." Liara gave her _siame_ 's hand a squeeze as they continued their walk toward the shuttle, grinning as she continued, "That makes me want to hear the remainder of your reasons. You know... you never did give me that list."

* * *

 **Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver, Earth**

The group in the conference room was very small, consisting of only matriarchs Aethyta and Mozia, along with those personally involved in the promotion ceremonies. Karin was up first, being promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel Chakwas. Admiral Hackett presided over the ceremony while Hannah and Samantha stood on either side, each replacing one of Karin's old shoulder boards with ones holding her newly acquired rank.

When they were done, Karin's face held a broad smile as she looked around the group. "I cannot begin to say how much of an honor it is to know each and every one of you." Her eyes shifted to each in turn as she addressed them. "Hannah. You have been a steadfast friend ever since we met on the _Fuji_ 25 years ago; I cannot thank you enough for the loving support you have provided me all this time. And Samantha... Observing your maturation through the years has been a privilege; in particular, watching the adoring relationship between you and our lovely Liara blossom so beautifully has been pure joy. I have been proud to serve under your command these past few years; it has been an amazing experience... one which I will never forget. I am happy to continue to serve on the Normandy as long as you desire my expertise... _and_ as long as the Alliance will permit." Her eyes finally shifted to Admiral Hackett as her last words were spoken.

Hackett chuckled at the implied request. "Of course, Karin. You'll certainly stay aboard the Normandy in the near term... at least for the duration of the Victory Tour. After that? No promises. Now, if we can keep things moving... Commander?"

Karin smiled at Shepard and promptly moved out of the way, joining the group of Asari and giving Liara a huge hug. "Goddess. Thank you, Karin... and congratulations. Your promotion is well deserved." After a quick kiss on the cheek, Liara moved forward to stand beside Hannah.

Hackett performed the second promotion ceremony, nearly identical to the first, this time doing a quick review of Samantha's career before reading her promotion order and having the Alliance's newest captain renew her oath. As she uttered the oath's final words, Hackett reached out and shook her hand. "Congratulations, Shepard. Since you've already been in command of the Normandy for over four years, this promotion is actually late in coming." His focus shifted to Hannah and Liara as he beckoned them forward. "Ladies, if you please?"

The two moved forward and quietly pinned on the captain's new rank, each placing a gentle kiss on Samantha's cheeks when they were done. Shepard turned first to her mother, saying a heartfelt thank you as she hugged her tight and kissed her cheek in return, before turning her attention to Liara. She stared at the Asari in silence for a long moment, her heart beating hard in her chest before she finally spoke. "You, Liara T'Soni, I cannot fathom how to even begin thanking. We have saved one another more than once, our lives intertwined beyond separation. You have become my love and my life... one I cannot imagine a future without. I am privileged to have you at my side and honored by your acceptance to be my wife and bondmate. The words _thank you_ are simply not enough." With that, Shepard leaned forward and wrapped Liara in an embrace, kissing her passionately... without a care in the world that they had an audience far beyond those within the room.

For once, Liara did not care. Shepard's words had been beautiful, but the intense emotions flooding through their link spoke directly to her heart and overwhelmed any feelings of embarrassment or shyness she would normally experience with such an open display of affection. She returned Samantha's kiss with equal ardor... even Aethyta's gravelly laughter and her comment of ' _now, that's my girl_ ' had no effect on Liara's response.

The kiss ended and they stood in silence for a moment longer with their foreheads touching before Liara finally pushed back. "I love you too, Shepard, with all of my heart and soul," she whispered quietly.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, Vancouver**

Everyone gathered aboard the Normandy for the promotion party, which included a farewell luncheon for all those who would be going their separate ways. The Asari contingent would be returning to Thessia, and were given orders to dispatch their SILC helpers to Palaven. Garrus offered them many thanks for being willing to part with their new partners. Mozia simply inclined her head politely, responding, "We have had them as our guests on Thessia for longer than what is our due, considering the conditions of your homeworld. It is well past time for us to share our good fortune. Had we realized, we would have sent at least some of them to you much sooner."

"Yes, well... If we had simply inquired as to their availability, you would have known." Garrus bowed graciously to the matriarchs. "Our lack of communication is by no means any fault of yours. Thank you for your willingness to part with such an advantage, once asked."

Mozia smiled. "Of course, Garrus. You have been an amazing friend to Liara and our extended family. We could do no less."

As the time for their departure drew near, Hackett said his respectful farewells to all the special guests, wishing them all well before turning to Shepard. "Captain. Best of luck with the upcoming tour and know that if you need anything while out there doing Council business, you simply need to call me. I'll send whatever assistance I can."

"Thank you, Sir." Shepard grinned and offered her hand. "You've always been in my corner and I appreciate the trust and support you have given me since the very beginning of my career. Thank you for presiding over my promotion to captain. It means a lot to me... and not simply because you're the Admiral of the Fleet."

"I realize that, Shepard." Hackett chuckled softly as he gripped her hand, giving two strong pumps before dropping the handshake and continuing, "And it was my honor. You're one of the best damned officers I've had the privilege to know and, given the length of my career, that puts you in a very elite group. I'm proud of you, Captain Shepard. Fly well."

Hackett turned and walked away, but just before he disappeared around the corner, Shepard belted out, "Admiral going ashore!"

A soft laugh was accompanied by the words, "As you were!" as the doors closed and the elevator bore the Admiral to the main deck for his departure.

"I guess that's our cue." Aethyta stood, Mozia quickly following, as tears sprang to Liara's eyes.

"Goddess, but I do hate saying goodbye."

"No worries, kiddo. You know where we live... and, by Asari timelines, it won't be _that_ long before you're back on Thessia again." Aethyta turned to Shepard. "Not that I would expect anything else, but you take good care of my Little Wing, Captain."

"Of course, Aethyta. And you all travel safe; it would break our hearts if anything should happen to any of you... so you be sure to take care of my Asari family." Her eyes wandered across all the commandos who had accompanied the matriarchs. "That goes for all of you. Take care of one another, and we'll see each other again soon."

Garrus also said his farewells to the Asari contingent. He was hitching a ride to the _Destiny_ _Ascension_ , so would remain aboard the Normandy for what he feared could potentially be his last ride on the stealth frigate. His future was taking him to new places and he was no longer a member of his favorite Spectre's crew, meaning the short trip would be bittersweet. His eyes locked with Shepard's as he spoke in an unusually gruff voice, "I'm headed to the Main Battery to check the calibration. Who knows when I'll have a chance to work on her again."

Shepard said nothing, simply offering a nod of understanding to send the Turian on his way. She then looked to Ashley, who had a knowing gleam in her eye as Shepard ordered, "XO. Make ready for departure."

"Aye Aye, Skipper!" Ashley smiled at the woman as she cued her comms. "Joker! Make ready for departure. Start running preflight while our guests depart the Normandy. I want us pushing away from the gate no later than 1600 hours. Understood?"

Surprisingly, Joker was pure professionalism as he responded, "Roger that, Commander. Initializing preflight checklists."

* * *

 _ **Destiny Ascension**_ **, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

An Asari crewmember ushered Garrus into the reception area of the Turian councilor's office, where he was greeted by a female he didn't know using _his_ name as if she was acquainted with him. "My name is Tavia Verinus," she purred. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

Garrus was a bit nonplused by this young female's greeting. He had a feeling he had seen her before, but couldn't quite remember when… or where. Dragging the words through his sub-harmonics, he asked, "Have we… met… somewhere recently?"

"Oh Garrus, you'll make me cry," she replied, her own sub-harmonics adding a touch of honey to her tone. "I was standing behind my cousin the night you called concerning the mercenary raid on the planet Altakiril."

"Spirits! I didn't realize… that is, I'm sorry if I…"

Tavia held up her hands, saying, "My apologies, Garrus. If Desis was here, she'd probably be really cross with me for so blatantly flirting with you." Holding out her hand, she added, "I am happy to meet you, Garrus. I can see why Desis is head-over-spurs in love with you."

Garrus chuckled as he took her hand in friendship. "You really had me, there. So, I have you to thank for enabling Dee to travel to the home world."

"Yes… she taught me enough to allow me to serve the Councilor on a temporary basis. And since you are here to see him, I'll show you to his office."

"Thank you, Tavia."

* * *

"Ah, yes. Agent Vakarian. Very good to see you, though I am a bit surprised, as you do not appear to be on my calendar. I've had a shift of staffing recently and I hope your appointment didn't get lost in the confusion." He moved toward a couple of chairs. "Please, sit."

"I had no appointment, Councilor. I am simply on my way back to Palaven after attending Captain Shepard's promotion party and felt it beneficial if I stopped in, seeing as I was passing through anyway."

"Well, as you can see, the new Center for Galactic Cooperation is progressing nicely. The SILC have only been helping for two weeks, yet we find ourselves already a month ahead of schedule. They are providing not only a tireless workforce, but also many of the critical resources we were struggling so hard to locate."

As Quentius took a breath to continue, Garrus held up his hand. "Sir, please. I was merely a military advisor and my job regarding the CGC is done. I am here today on an entirely different matter, and knowing how busy you are, I don't want to waste your precious time."

Quentius sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. "Is the Primarch aware of your visit?"

"No, Sir. He is not." Garrus met the councilor's eyes purposefully, wanting to leave the definite impression he had zero intent to hide his visit from Victus. "I was going to speak with him the moment I arrived back on Palaven, but this was an opportunity I could not pass up." He went on to describe the dire conditions on the homeworld and the plans already in action regarding the SILC coming from Thessia to assist.

As Garrus finished, Quentius stood and beckoned him to follow. They moved to a small, private communications room and the councilor spoke as he approached a very familiar looking console. "This unit is a secure QEC. I feel uncomfortable speaking of these things without the Primarch in attendance; these are issues that should have been reported to the Council, not mentioned in passing... when you just happened to be flying through the Serpent Nebula."

While Quentius input the necessary communications identifiers and pressed send, Garrus squared his shoulders and crossed his hands behind his back, patiently waiting. As the image of the Primarch came into focus, Victus started speaking. "Councilor. A secure communication? To what may I attribute the pleasure... or has something happened?"

"You tell me, Primarch." Quentius went on to relay a very abridged version of the events of the past hour before continuing, "These are grave conditions that should have been reported, Primarch." He fell silent, awaiting a response.

Looking at Garrus over the comm unit, Victus shook his head and began, "You can't sit still and relax even for a moment, can you Garrus? You were supposed to be on vacation... attending the promotion of a dear friend and enjoying some down time." Victus chuckled, his mandibles quaking with humor. "I should have know better. You were part of Shepard's crew and never one to sit on the sidelines... Of course, neither is Shepard, so I imagine with the two of you together, it was a completely absurd expectation on my part."

His focus shifted to Quentius. "You're right, of course. I should have reported our situation... but I honestly don't know who to trust at the moment and I fear Council communications may be compromised. I suppose I could have done either of what's happening right now... Garrus sitting in your office as a personal envoy or me calling you directly on the QEC. That's my lack of foresight and inexperience as a politician."

Quentius stiffened at the implications of Victus' statement and queried, "What do you mean, we may have compromised communications?"

"Exactly that." Victus sighed. "That damned rogue Turian bastard is hitting colonies almost every single time we move forces around on rotation. By the Spirits! How he knows which colonies are minimally defended is beyond me!" Victus began pacing. "That's why you haven't received any _real_ updates the past couple of weeks. I'm not sure if I have the leak... or if you do. The last thing I want him to know is how weak the _Palaven_ Defense Force truly is at the moment!"

"Do you honestly think...?" Quentius took a step closer to the holographic image of Victus and paused before shaking his head and blurting out, "He wouldn't dare!"

Victus snorted. "Why not? He's gathered a sizable force and I can't believe Omega is being framed for no reason. I can only think of two options... He's either trying to anger Aria T'Loak so much she can't think straight, or he's goading her into taking some action to serve as a distraction. All I know for sure is some rogue Turian is amassing an army... Who's to say they're going after Omega... and not Palaven proper? I'm not ready to take that chance!"

"Spirits." Garrus hadn't meant to speak aloud, but he couldn't take the word back... and both the Primarch and the Councilor were now focused on him. "Sir, I realize Palaven is weakened, but if the Reapers couldn't take Palaven, no damned _pirate_ is going to do it!"

Victus nodded. "I agree, Garrus, but how many more of our people will perish if we end up in a damned civil war? I'm not sure how much more our civilization can take."

Quentius cleared his throat to garner their attention. "I honestly had no idea things were so bad. I will arrange a private meeting with Councilor Huulik, the SILC Prime unit, and see what more they can do to assist."

"Thank you, Councilor." His eyes shifted to Garrus. "I take it you are on your way back to Palaven, so I'll see you soon, Agent Vakarian."

As Victus terminated the connection and the screen went black, Garrus wondered what kind of reception he was going to get when he arrived back at the homeworld.


	40. Victory Tour - Beginnings

Notes:

ANN - Alliance News Network

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

RF - Radio Frequency

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes

STG - Special Tasks Group (Salarian)

* * *

 **Victory Tour - Beginnings**

 **Normandy SR-2, Widow System, At Large**

The Normandy spent the next week in close proximity to the _Destiny Ascension_ while Shepard attended innumerable briefings with the Council in preparation for the Victory Tour. The Council laid out every aspect of the upcoming trip, down to the most infinitesimal detail – everything from the basic itinerary to specific speaking points they wanted her to make with the various governing bodies of the worlds she would be visiting. By the end of the second day, Shepard was ready to scream with frustration – by the end of the first week, she was privately hoping the unknown rogue Turian would attack the _Destiny Ascension_ with the entire enemy fleet, simply to break up the monotony that had become her daily schedule.

Shepard got a brief respite when they received news of the Hercules Relay opening which, while relatively inconsequential by itself, also enabled contact with the neighboring system of Theseus and those that had remained behind to keep the Feros colony alive and running. Liara had been ecstatic and immediately contacted Shiala to let her know of the colonists' survival. "Of course, you realize you have my leave to return to the colony with your friends, should you choose to do so. With all the assistance you provided them during the rebuild, I feel certain they would welcome you with open arms."

Shiala nodded and smiled. "They would; those who traveled to Earth to fight with me have said as much... and I am thrilled they are finally able to return to Feros, but my place is once again here on Thessia, back with the T'Soni family."

"Your place has _always_ been on Thessia, Shiala, not only with, but as part of, the T'Soni family. You have always been and always will be a member of the clan." Liara smiled at the commando who had once been her instructor. "None of us have ever thought differently."

"Thank you, Mistress." Shiala bowed respectfully. "It warms my heart to hear you speak so."

Liara laughed softly. "As it warms mine to know you truly feel at _home_ , and are not merely biding your time with us. None of us were truly sure if you had become comfortable being back with family again, or if you would leave once Feros reopened. I am extremely happy you intend to remain in Armali."

Unexpectedly, Shiala knelt onto one knee as she stared at Liara's image over the vid comm, her solemn expression at odds with her previously cheery mood. "My Lady, my blade is yours," she intoned. "Upon my honor, I will serve you until the daylight winds carry my soul to the bosom of the goddess."

Liara rapidly drew a deep breath; never before had she received the Vow of the Acolyte and it had been decades since she had even heard one offered to her mother. _I am only a maiden! By the Goddess... How am I supposed to reply to that?_ Tears came to her eyes as she struggled for the right words, "Shiala... I must apologize. I do not remember the appropriate response! Your vow humbles me, but I am merely a maiden, much too young to deserve such devotion!"

Shiala smiled, obviously taking no offense. Instead, she remained in position as she spoke. "You are Lady T'Soni. Your age does not matter, though it appears I am destined to continue as your teacher, for at least this once. Prepare to copy and I will give you the acceptance phrase."

Liara dutifully copied the verbiage and repeated it back to Shiala, speaking slowly and distinctly. "Shiala Treya, I accept your vow and welcome you as an acolyte into my service. You are now under the protection of House T'Soni. An attack on you shall be seen as an attack on our house and we will defend you as you would defend me."

"Excellent, Mistress." Shiala returned to her feet, her tone remaining serious as she continued, "You keep that close at hand and memorize it, Liara. With the war over, I imagine you will have quite the following amongst the Asari. Do not take such oaths lightly and do not, under any circumstances, accept such an oath from anyone you do not know well enough to trust with your life. Understood?"

Liara nodded. "Of course, Shiala. I swear it... and other than you, I will accept no others except in person. Thank you for teaching me the proper protocols... You will always be a mentor to me, until our dying days."

"You honor me beyond words, Mistress. Stay safe and come home soon." With that, Shiala reached out and the vid screen went black.

Liara spun around when she heard approaching footsteps from behind, to find Shepard smiling proudly. "I'm glad Shiala is staying... and I find it fitting she is your first acolyte. I'm proud of you, Blue." Shepard leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "She's right, you know."

"About me needing instruction?" Liara shrugged her shoulders as she continued, "I know. I am not nearly ready to be Lady T'Soni."

"That's not what I meant at all; you are more than ready to lead House T'Soni." Shepard smirked. "She's right about the attention you are going to receive... and not only on Thessia. You're as famous as I am, Liara. It's just easier for you to stay out of the spotlight... for _now_... but once you return to Thessia? They'll be looking at you instead of me."

Liara sighed and stepped into the shelter of Shepard's arms. "Then I am glad I will have you as my brave protector when that time comes."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, Parnitha Relay, Athena Nebula**

Three days later, Miranda and Judea were enjoying a short break in the ship's lounge when Aresia sprinted in through the open hatch and slid to a stop beside the table, practically shouting, "Pelion is open! We can pick up the new staff and deliver them to the Monastery!"

Judea stood quickly. "I will contact Matriarch Tela immediately and have her ready her new staff for departure. If you can get with Sellis and start us toward Serrice to pick them up, I'll let the Matriarch know we can be there within three hours."

Miranda was already up and moving before Judea finished. "Absolutely not." The Human turned quickly to Aresia. " _You_ find Sellis and get us underway. I need to contact Liara and let her know we're moving on the relocation plan."

Judea nodded sharply in concurrence and cast her lover a quick smile. "Agreed. That _is_ a better course of action."

The three individuals scattered to complete their tasks, but once Aresia sought out Sellis Boni and the _Aletheia_ had begun the trip to Thessia, she called Falere to meet her in the comm center; she wanted to catch up with Miranda... and to hopefully speak with Lady Liara. While Aresia did not resent her early life spent at the monastery on Lesuss, as it taught her the discipline necessary to control her genetic condition, neither did she have any honest desire to return there... not after she had tasted such freedom over the past seven months. She felt she had much more to contribute to the recovery effort, but was scared to death of how the new Lady of House T'Soni would respond to her request. She stepped into the compartment just as Liara and Miranda were finishing their discussion.

Liara saw her enter the back of the room and smiled. "Aresia! It's so good to see you. Are you excited about going home?"

The Ardat Yakshi faltered for a moment, flushing with embarrassment as she moved slowly forward, attempting to firm her resolve for the conversation ahead. When she reached the console, she stopped and took a deep breath before speaking. Her voice was quiet but steady as she stated, "That, Doctor T'Soni, is exactly why I am here to speak with you."

* * *

 **Nos Aedelos, Illium, Crescent Nebula**

Zoë Lawrence emerged from the tattoo shop with bandages on the left side of her face, the deep hood of the cloak she was wearing hiding the majority of them from curious people on the streets. She walked to her rented aircar – her third one from a third company since the day she'd opened an account at a Salarian-run bank – and flew back to the personal transport she'd taken from a Cerberus-owned storage bunker in Nos Aedelos.

She had docked the ship in a small facility several klicks from the place she'd abandoned the transport she'd flown halfway around the galaxy since taking it from storage in the Horsehead Nebula. This new shipyard was a lot less expensive than the first place she'd set down; that it was out of the mainstream, high-traffic area of New Nos Astra was a plus, as she found it much easier to simply live inside the ship, named _Starlight's Rage_.

Zoë's newly inked facial tattoo in a second shade of bright ivory would take about ten days to properly heal – as had the initial outlines – after which she felt she'd be able to pass unrecognized in most of the places where her image had been plastered all over in the form of 'wanted' posters after her failed attempt to take Commander Shepard's life. That she had saved Shepard on the Citadel by venting the Illusive Man's head, _and_ helped her survive long enough for an Asari commando to reach her, hadn't been made public by the Alliance or the remnants of Cerberus. _Funny, that. I'm more famous for the attempt on Shepard's life than for eliminating the worst example of humanity ever born._

Not having much to do while her face healed from its first session under the tattoo gun, she had watched the ANN reports of the Victory Day fiasco in Vancouver with a great deal of interest – there was a lot of overblown speculation about the bomber and the would-be assassin of Liara T'Soni – some pundits even theorizing that the shooter had been Maya Brooks, attempting to kill Shepard yet again, and missing yet again… this time nearly killing Shepard's wife-to-be.

In the days since the event – with the same vid coverage of the explosion and attempted murder being endlessly replayed – there had been very little in the way of new facts released concerning casualties of the explosion, nor had any believable reason for the destruction been offered – the identity of the shooter hadn't even been disclosed. What _had_ been shown was clandestinely obtained footage of the site where the shooter had chosen to die by a self-inflicted explosion rather than being taken into custody by an Alliance search and recover team.

As she watched the vids in slack-jawed amazement, an idea began to form regarding her pursuers – she needed to find _their_ ship and surreptitiously plant a tracker, something that would allow her to learn the location of the person Warren was answering to. _Shouldn't be too difficult to locate_.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Widow System, At Large**

Liara's brow furrowed in thought as she considered Aresia's request, realizing she could not make a decision before gathering additional information. Seeing that both Falere and her mother, the Justicar Samara, had entered the back of the compartment, Liara brought them into the discussion. "And what about you, Falere? Would you also prefer to not return to Lesuss?"

Falere smiled at Liara. "Please, Dr T'Soni, do not worry so. I can see the concern written across your brow." She glanced at Samara before returning her attention to the display and continuing, "I love Aresia like a sister, but these past few months have made me realize I want to stay with my mother for now and continue getting to know her better. If she is to be the Monastery Staff Justicar, then I will return to Lesuss in order to spend what time I can with her."

Samara gazed at her daughter in wonderment. "You would give up your freedom to stay with the mother who consigned you to such a fate?"

Falere smiled and laughed. "I am not losing my freedom, Mother. I have a home there. I have friends and I am choosing to return... with you. To allow me to spend more time with you is the best gift you could possibly give me."

"That causes a dilemma." Liara pursed her lips and focused on Samara. "I cannot, nor would not, ask you to lie, but if you go to the Monastery with Falere, people will naturally question what happened to Aresia. How would you respond?"

"That is a very good question." Samara looked from her daughter to Aresia. "If one returns, you must both do so or there will be questions we cannot answer. Your fates are joined, at least until Shepard and I are able to confront the Justicar Order about how we currently handle the Ardat Yakshi." She looked back at Liara. "I believe, for now, they should both remain on the _Aletheia_." As Falere started to protest, Samara cut her off. "No. If you return to the Monastery, you may have to remain there, never to leave again, if we are unable to sway the Order's policy."

Falere glanced at Aresia and hung her head as she responded, "Which would deny Aresia the opportunity to remain aboard until such time as she can join Riana on Thessia... unless we lie about her survival."

"Which would be very difficult to explain when she then shows up at the Estate at some point in the future." Liara sighed. "I'm sorry... but I believe your mother is correct. You both need to remain on the _Aletheia_ for now, at least until the end of this Victory Tour when we can all go to Thessia to speak with the remaining Justicars. But, the choice is yours... The two of you must discuss this and make a decision before you arrive on Thessia with the new Monastery staff."

"There is no need to await our decision, Dr T'Soni." Aresia smiled sadly. "All those on Lesuss are my sisters and I will return to the Monastery to assist with the continued rebuild. I am confident that, in time, we will gain our freedom and I will eventually be able to join Riana on Thessia. It is not like I will be able to spend the next year with her anyway, with the Normandy on tour. Knowing that, I refuse to take away Falere's chance to spend time with her mother."

Tears came to Falere's eyes as she turned and hugged Aresia. "Thank you, Sister. I hope that somehow, in time, I will be able to repay you for such gracious generosity!"

Liara breathed a sigh of relief. "Excellent. Thank you, Aresia, for making this decision so quickly. Since I presumed to keep you on the _Aletheia_ , it is now obvious to me that I would have chosen contrary to your desires for your future."

Falere bowed. "And if you had, I would not have begrudged the decision. You have been extraordinarily generous to us. How could I be angry at you, simply because you chose to protect us as you best saw fit?"

Liara smiled at the group on the other side of the vid call. "I am simply happy we could come to a resolution so quickly. Travel well, and let us know how things are on Lesuss. If we need to send more aid, we can arrange it, I'm sure."

Miranda nodded. "Agreed. Though I believe, now that the communications are functional, we should allow our new Headmistress, Matriarch Tela, to make the formal request to Thessia."

Samara agreed. "Yes. I will speak with those on Lesuss and have them refrain from communications with Thessia until we can get the staff in place and make initial... _formal_... contact from the Monastery's new leadership. It would be best."

Liara nodded quickly. "Then I will let you get on with it. The longer we delay, the greater the chance the Matriarchal Forum may send a team there before we are ready."

The screen went black and Shepard stepped over to Liara's side, having remained out of view during the discussion. Liara reached over and ran a hand down her captain's arm as she said, "Thank you for standing by... I am glad they resolved the question themselves, without us having to impose a decision upon them."

"No problem, Li. They're a smart bunch... I never thought they would decide otherwise."

Liara closed down the terminal and turned, placing her forearms on Shepard's shoulders to play with her auburn locks. "Have you heard anything from the rest of our extended crew?"

Wrapping her arms around Liara's waist, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the Asari's fingers running through her hair. "Yes. The SILC construction teams are moving to Palaven and their war ships are going through final departure preparations, planning to head to Omega as soon as all the ships are ready. At that time, Legion plans to depart his platform on the Normandy in order to personally lead the battle fleet to Omega."

"Good. I guess once the Monastery issues are resolved, I'll attempt to contact Jon and Kas to get an update." Liara frowned. "I have a bad feeling; it's been too quiet on the pirate front. I feel as if they are lying in wait for a major strike... yet we still have no idea who is leading them, where they are hiding, or what their final objective is. There are simply too many unknowns!"

Shepard actually chuckled. "I know it's not funny, but welcome back to our world before the Shadow Broker entered our lives."

"Yes, well... The Shadow Broker isn't exactly being much help to us at the moment, is she?"

"You're selling the Broker short." Shepard smiled and pushed away, holding out a hand in invitation. "Now, come on. I want to go to the observation lounge and check out the construction of the new CGC. We only have one more full day here, and it's amazing to me how fast they are working!"

* * *

 **Nos Aedelos, Illium, Crescent Nebula**

In just under 24-hours and without having to stretch her capabilities very far, Lawrence had discovered the location of the Cerberus-owned ship being flown by her pursuers, whom she now knew to be operatives Angelique Warren and Tim Stafford. Though neither was an assassin by trade, both were high-ranking members of Cerberus, thus doubly-damned in Zoë's eyes. They had stored their ship at a spaceport shipyard adjacent to the yard in which her own vessel was now abandoned; once she saw it, she immediately knew its ownership, as its external appearance was nearly identical to her old ship in every way.

With her cloaking shield engaged, she carefully approached the craft from its stern while employing a special monocle to thoroughly inspect the surrounding area for the tell-tale RF emissions of mini-cams. Not surprisingly, there appeared to be no hidden 'eyes' watching their ship – nether Warren nor Stafford would have expected _Maya_ to have the audacity to turn the tables, transforming the hunters into the hunted, in order to locate their transport.

She walked up to the main airlock and carefully inspected the entire hatch for intrusion sensors; finding none, she used her omnitool to hack and override the security code Stafford had used in an apparently successful attempt to keep thieves out of the ship. _Bastard didn't expect an ex-Cerberus operative to break in…_ Once inside, she went straight to the main communications transceiver on the bridge, where she carefully installed and activated a small addition – a tracer that would log the location of the ship itself, along with the physical location of anyone on the other end of any video or audio message, as well as the location of any receiver to which a text-only message was sent. Once logged, the tracer would send the information to her omnitool in a microburst transmission, thus minimizing its vulnerability to detection by those on board. Zoë felt confident that she'd have the information she needed the next time Warren's handler contacted her or was contacted by her.

After a quick visual inspection to be sure she'd left no trace of her visit, she returned to the airlock; crouching behind the bulkhead with her cloaking generator engaged, she triggered the haptic interface to open the hatch. After taking a careful look outside to be sure there was no one waiting for her, she rose and stepped out of the ship, where she reclosed and relocked the hatch, using the same code Stafford had used originally.

With another look around, she rapidly left, returning along the same path she'd used to approach the ship. Checking elapsed time on her chrono, she smiled to herself at the results – in and out in less than fourteen minutes. All that was left was for her to return to her own ship, where she'd bide her time until Warren received a call… a call that Zoë felt was imminent.

* * *

 **Sur'Kesh, Pranas** **, Annos Basin**

Amidst great fanfare, the Normandy and her crew finally escaped the vicinity of the _Destiny Ascension_ and made their way to the relay, making the jump to Annos Basin enroute to the Victory Tour's first destination – Talat, the capital of Sur'Kesh. It was no great surprise when Captain Shepard was met by a small group of dour-faced Dalatrasses, none of whom agreed with the decisions made by the then _Commander_ Shepard during the course of the war. Of greater interest to Shepard was that Dalatrass Linron, despite her refusal to provide support until very late in the war and her obvious error about the Krogan still being war mongers, was still the leader of the Salarian Union, having somehow managed to retain her position, albeit by a narrow margin, in a recent election to determine the leadership of the Linron bloodline.

Based on their collective expressions, Shepard correctly assumed all those assembled held the same opinion on her decision regarding the Genophage. Even so, she canted her head politely as she greeted them. "Dalatrasses. It is my privilege to visit on behalf of the Galactic Council and thank the Salarian Union for your contributions to our united victory." Her eyes met those of their leader as she continued, "Dalatrass Linron. Pleasure to see you again."

Maedri Linron sneered as she replied, "Captain, your lies insult me and the intellect of all the Dalatrasses assembled before you. You are no happier to see us than I am to see _you_ standing upon the sacred ground of my homeworld; your very presence taints our soil. We both know curing the Genophage is going to have long term consequences neither of us is able to foresee... And when the resurgent Krogan finally decide to seek revenge upon us all, the Salarian Union will be among their first targets. When that day comes, Captain, the blood of my people will be on _your_ hands. This... _victory_... of yours has yet to reveal its hidden costs."

"Perhaps you should have thought about that _before_ you uplifted them..." Shepard balled her fists and swallowed the rest of the words she wanted to spit out as a soothing voice whispered quietly into her mind. _{Shepard, she is trying to goad you into doing something rash. Edi informs me there are snipers in the top floor of the building to your left.}_

Shepard took a calming breath, placed her fists on her hips and made a point of looking up at the location Liara had indicated, before looking back at Linron and snarling, "You can call off your snipers, Dalatrass. I'm not an idiot... and I never enter a situation without collecting the proper intelligence first. I'd be well within my authority as a Council Spectre to shoot you dead on the spot, only I imagine I wouldn't survive the event long enough to gloat over your corpse."

The Dalatrass attempted to mask her surprise with indignation, but Shepard scoffed at her. "Stow it, Linron... and know that the intelligence report on your... _welcome_... just hit the relay on its way to the Council. I imagine Valern will have some serious explaining to do... and _you'll_ be lucky if he and your prize Salarian Union aren't expelled from the Galactic Council!"

"You wouldn't!"

The laugh that escaped Shepard's mouth held no mirth and her lips set in a grim line for a brief moment before she responded, "And why wouldn't I? You've treated me with nothing but scorn and contempt since the first time you met me... Following _that_ episode, I personally requested Valern be spared the wrath of the Council due to your intransigence on the Krogan issue and your failed attempt at stalling the united war effort. I honestly hope he had no idea you were going to meet the Council's emissary this way..." She shrugged and waved her hand at the Dalatrasses, "But none of that matters now; what's done is done. Just get on with the business at hand so we can all be on our way. The less time I have to spend here with you sanctimonious ingrates, the better. You need to learn a few lessons from the elites among your STG forces."

"They had no authority to assist you in your mad plan!" Linron was so angry, she actually spit as she spoke.

"My _mad plan_ worked!" Shepard took a step forward and stared Linron in the face, their noses barely 10 centimeters apart. Her voice seethed with quiet power as she hissed, "And they had _Spectre_ authority, Dalatrass, with full backing of the Council. So, if you seriously want to remain members in good standing on the new Galactic Council, you had better adjust the tone with which you address me... or I just might take my chances with your snipers."

"Did I hear someone asking about the Special Tasks Group?" A bright voice chimed in from the side, catching Shepard's attention. She turned her head just enough to locate the source at the edge of her peripheral vision and was surprised to see Major Adus Kirrahe approaching quickly, the pace of his walk contradicting the calm delivery of his words. "Captain Shepard! Excellent to have you here!"

Shepard took a step back and turned to him, clasping forearms with the follow soldier. "Kirrahe! We've got to stop running into one another like this. First Beijing and now here? What are you doing back on Sur'Kesh?"

"It seems I arrived just in time... I was sent here by Councilor Valern to ensure you had a safe visit. There is a bit of dissent amongst the populous, given the war shortages and such." Kirrahe glanced at the Dalatrasses, his mouth set in a grim line. "Can't have the hero of the galaxy injured on Salarian soil, now, can we?" He turned back to the Captain. "Please, enough with the formalities. Where are the lovely Dr T'Soni and the rest of your party? It will be my privilege to take you on the obligatory tour and show you where the memorial service is to be conducted this afternoon."

"Thank you." Shepard glared at Linron and turned away, activating her comm. "Deploy the ground team; we've got places to go and people to see."

Linron scowled sourly and turned her back on the arrivals, addressing her own entourage. She practically growled, "Come along. It's clear nothing we say will have any effect on the way these barbarians think," before stomping off in disgust. "They're nearly as bad as the Krogan!"

Once Shepard and Kirrahe were joined by the full Normandy entourage, including Liara, Riana, Corporal Sarah Campbell, Edi and Legion, the Salarian flashed them all a wide smile. "Welcome. Welcome! Good to see you all again." He stood to the side and indicated a path leading off to their left. "This way please. We've much to do and only a couple of hours in which to accomplish it!"

"A couple of hours?" Liara smiled knowingly at Kirrahe as she continued, "It is good to see you, Adus. The situation was growing rather tense. As usual, your timing is impeccable."

"You too, Dr T'Soni." Kirrahe chuckled. "And, as I have said before, the STG stands ready to assist, no matter _what_ the Dalatrasses say."

As they walked, Kirrahe introduced his team, one name in particular standing out; Tolern Solus immediately nodded in welcome. "Captain Shepard. You are looking well... and in much better health than the last time I saw you." The face of the medical officer before her held a hauntingly familiar smile as he offered his hand in greeting. "And I can see the question in your eyes. Yes, Captain. Mordin was my great uncle and I am proud to be carrying on the extraordinary medical career of such a renowned Salarian. If you will please follow me, I have something of great importance to show you."

Shepard's feet refused to move as her brain processed what the younger version of Mordin had just said. "Wait. The _last_ time you saw me?"

Tolern nodded. "Yes. Since the STG assisted in the battle on Earth and the relays were all non-functional, I assisted with a few surgeries at the end of the conflict... Yours being one of them."

"Goddess." Tears sprang to Liara's eyes as she looked at Mordin's nephew. "Do you realize your presence saved the commander's life?" She moved quickly to wrap the surprised Salarian in a tight embrace. "Miranda told me Shepard would have died without your timely intervention!" She stepped back and swallowed heavily; taking in his new expression she chuckled softly and wiped the tears off her face as she continued, "I'm sorry. I suppose I should have asked before I did that."

"No. No." Tolern suddenly grinned. "Quite alright, Dr T'Soni. Salarians are generally not so expressive, but I don't really understand why not. It was quite... pleasurable." As Liara turned a suddenly darker shade of blue, Tolus continued, his tone once again very matter of fact. "But, all that aside, please come this way."

They stepped into a small laboratory, where Tolern moved spritely to a small desk. Picking up a notepad, he turned back to the group, focusing on Liara and handing it to her. "This is a copy of a brief feasibility study on the Elcor. I understand their species is in serious danger of extinction due to their limited numbers and extremely slow reproductive rate. Elcor would normally take a millennium to regain their numbers under the best possible conditions and, without genetic modification and enhancements, inherited diseases will be a serious problem for them in the future. They are a magnificent species and it would be tragic to lose them."

As he spoke, Liara had been glancing through the data on the pad he had given her. "This appears to be a genetic study of some kind?"

"Yes." Tolern flashed a grin. "I believe the Elcor can be rescued... but only with concentrated assistance, which could be very expensive. But, I am willing to volunteer to complete the procedures... at cost. No profit on my part, simply looking to help."

Shepard cocked her head as she peered over Liara's shoulder, the technical report meaning little to her. "What type of procedures are we talking about here?"

Tolern looked at her, his eyes bright with hope. "With a concentrated genetic study, I believe the Elcor can be saved within 3 generations... via egg harvesting and artificial insemination. With careful sampling and collection, we can capture the entire existing genetic pool and ensure its transfer, in total, to the next generations. Preventing a genetic collapse of the species could be as simple as making only minor gene modification to improve survival rates. At the same time, utilizing the same technology with which Urdnot Grunt was birthed, we can create an entire boosted generation to more efficiently restore their population to pre-war numbers."

"And you're willing to do this at cost?" Shepard narrowed her eyes in thought. "I can't believe the Salarian Union doesn't want something in return... Will the Dalatrasses let you do this?"

He offered a quick shrug. "They do not have much choice in the matter if they want to preserve their status in the Galactic Council. Overall, we are better off than most council races. Our population losses are less than five percent, largely due to cloaked cities and our lack of major participation in the war. The heaviest damage was done to our mostly industrialized colonies where cloaking shields failed. Overall losses from the Reapers were respectively very light, but significant damage was caused by Cerberus assaults, which, combined with your contributions toward the curing of the Genophage, has resulted in somewhat of a ridiculously ill-reasoned anti-Human sentiment."

Shepard glanced at Liara as she responded, "Yeah, we kind of got that from our discussion with Linron, before Kirrahe showed up and we headed this way."

Tolern blinked a couple of times and frowned. "They are needlessly focusing on the past and not on what they are still able to affect. The biggest threat to Salarians now is economic collapse, as science, technology, and many other products where we are leaders will be low priorities for other races relative to construction, shipbuilding and other disaster recovery sectors for the next few years. Salarians are strong in some of these sectors, but Humans, Turians, Asari were better in most before the war... and the SILC are currently better in almost all. As participants in the new Galactic Economy, the SILC may represent the most serious economic danger to whatever the Dalatrasses are planning, as I assume the leading houses here would attempt to extend their influence while the other races remain weak. SILC will be seen as the greatest potential threat to Salarian power – other than Krogan, of course."

"Thank you, Tolern." Liara smiled at the middle-aged version of Mordin. "That information is crucial to planning our way ahead." She glanced at Shepard and ideas flew back and forth across the link as she continued, "We'll need your advocacy to put pressure on the Dalatrasses... to convince them their best way ahead is to make themselves useful to the other races during the rebuilding of the galaxy. Their assistance now would help tremendously in erasing the negative image of non-cooperation held due to their lack of support during the war."

"Agreed." Tolern nodded quickly. "But if they agree or not, I will help the Elcor to ensure the survival of their race. As it will necessitate my travel to Dekuuna, would it be possible to secure transportation aboard the Normandy? The Dalatrasses may attempt to stop my departure, otherwise."

"I'm afraid we have a fixed itinerary and are unable to deviate." It was Shepard's turn to glance at Liara as the captain continued, "However, we have other... assets... available to transport you after you attempt to make your case to the Salarian Union."

Liara looked at Kirrahe. "Assuming you can get Tolern and his cargo on a shuttle for a relay rendezvous, I can provide transportation aboard the House T'Soni corvette, _Aletheia_."

Adus flashed a grin. "Easily done, Dr T'Soni. I'll simply need you to provide the vessel's secure communications protocols."

Smiling in return before glancing back at Tolern, the Asari continued, "She is captained by Miranda Lawson, who has access to an STG graybox communications system."

Tolern's eyes widened in surprise. "I would be pleased to see Dr Lawson again, but how in the galaxy..." He paused only briefly before continuing, "...My uncle was crew aboard the Normandy. He gave you the device and _that_ is how you all communicated securely while under the watchful eyes of Cerberus!"

"Exactly." Shepard laughed. "So, it seems we have a plan... and none too soon. It's time to head over to the memorial site."

Kirrahe nodded. "Yes, it is, but before we depart I must ask you to trust me... and to give me your personal shield generators."

"Thank you for your concern, but it's not necessary." Shepard grinned as she continued, "Another one of Mordin's contributions was the shield hack data. He provided the basics when we went up against the collectors and then augmented the data with the information about the STG political assassinations tool when we were looking for Leviathan. Our resident engineer, Judea Voni, reverse engineered it to create a defensive protocol against the hack."

Kirrahe's hand remained out. "Understood, but I would be more confident if you would give me at least one to test... to ensure any modifications that have been made to the tool since then are still ineffective against your defensive programming."

Without a moment's hesitation, Shepard unclipped her own device and handed it over to the Major, who promptly attached it to a chair and activated it. As the shield conformed to its newest 'host', Kirrahe activated the hack program from his omnitool. A broad smile crossed his face; he turned everything off and retrieved the generator, handing it back to Shepard. "First-rate work; I think I would enjoy speaking with this Judea Voni."

Liara smiled as she responded, "If you have some spare time, I'm sure she would be more than happy to talk with you when you deliver Tolern to the _Aletheia_."

* * *

 **Nos Aedelos, Illium, Crescent Nebula**

Angelique Warren was sure she was going to simply explode from the utter waste of time Jana had imposed on Stafford and herself. It had been two full weeks since she'd last communicated with Jana concerning the whereabouts of Maya Brooks, and Warren was bouncing off the walls in her unhappiness with the situation. The pair of Cerberus agents had been staying in the apartment Maya Brooks had rented, a situation that had become increasingly boring... and frustrating. As she paced about between the main room and the tiny kitchen, she continued to rack her brain for any way she could speed up the process. She had stopped to gaze out the one lone window when her omnitool lit up. _Damn it! About fucking time!_ "Tim! Message!"

Opening her tool, she wasn't surprised to see a text only message from Jana, ordering them back to their ship, where she could have a secure conversation with the agents. Warren gathered up all the gear she'd brought with her, in the optimistic hope that there would be no need for her to return. Stafford moved about in a similar fashion and, in less than twenty minutes, they swept out of the apartment together, climbed into their rented aircar and headed back to their ship. Warren thought, _Jana better have some positive news for us!_

* * *

Angelique stared hopefully at Jana's image as it coalesced above the communications console inside their ship. "Please tell me you found a lead for us, Jana."

The image smiled grimly back. "I _do_ have news, Angel, but it means you and Tim will have to relocate to check it out." Jana looked down at something below the camera's field of view, then returned her gaze to Warren's image. "Whether or not it's of any value will depend on what you find in Nos Aedelos. There's an empty, Cerberus-owned storage facility in the industrial section of the city, mostly used as a clandestine information warehouse until the Reapers attacked Illium in force. There probably are a few info terminals still inside, but there hasn't been anyone there in almost a year."

Angelique was not thrilled by this. "It's taken two fucking weeks to learn of this? Damn it to Hell, Jana! How does that help us get any closer to Maya?"

"Our analysts believe she's still on Illium, Angel. In addition to the storage facility, Cerberus had a pair of patrol-class FTL capable ships in a nearby bunker… _Starlight's Rage_ and _Major Illusion…_ either can be flown by one person with assistance from the onboard VI." Jana looked down once again, as if reading from a datapad. "If she was able to enter our storage facility and access a terminal inside, Maya could have learned of this bunker, maybe even taken one of the two ships.

"Any record of either one going through the Tasale Relay?"

"Negative. If she wants to leave the planet, her only other option is to book passage on a commercial transport or a freighter, something I don't believe she'd do."

Warren looked at Tim for a moment as she thought about Jana's findings. "Okay, Jana… send us the information. One of us will go take a look, see if those ships are still in storage. I seriously doubt there's anything to discover at the storage facility… our girl is quite adept at hiding her tracks. Soon as we have something, we'll message you."

* * *

 **A/N:** Dalatrass Linron's biting welcome is largely drawn from the canon e-mail sent during the game if the Genophage is cured. Also, more of the 'State of the Galaxy' report was used in this chapter, so additional thanks go out to FanFiction writer **BeneziaWillLive** for the information provided.


	41. Beware the Ides of August

Notes:

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes

STG - Special Tasks Group (Salarian)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Beware the Ides of August**

 **Nos Aedelos, Illium, Crescent Nebula**

Zoë Lawrence smiled with satisfaction when her omnitool softly trilled and lit up… it meant that Warren and Stafford's handler had most likely contacted them with an update on the hunt for a woman that no longer existed – Maya Brooks. Pleased to have accomplished everything she had set out to do while on Illium, she began performing the ship's required pre-launch checklist. She planned to contact Warren's handler, but needed to do it from orbit in order to avoid sending from a static location that could be pinpointed by her pursuers.

In just under three hours, Zoë had _Starlight's Rage_ in a high geosynchronous orbit over Nos Astra; with the VI monitoring the ship's progress around the planet, Zoë donned her hooded cloak and sat in front of the main transceiver. Checking that her visage was nearly completely hidden under her cowl, she retrieved the contact information on her Omnitool; she was a bit surprised at the identity of Warren's handler and the origination location of the message. It seemed as if Jana Cantrell, the Illusive Man's former lieutenant, was responsible for having Zoë followed all the way from Widow. _Time to turn the tables some more,_ Zoë thought as she placed the call, which would appear to originate from Warren's ship on Illium before bouncing through the relays and comm buoys to Earth, where it was rapidly accepted. Zoë knew it was Jana the instant her image appeared in front of her. "Did you forget something, Angel?" she answered, her calm expression rapidly changing to one of shocked surprise at the image she was receiving. "Brooks?"

Zoë smirked, although her expression… indeed, the majority of her freshly tattooed face, was hidden in the shadow of the deep cowl over her head. Replying in an even voice, Zoë responded with, "Brooks is dead, Cantrell. She was working for the Shadow Broker when she died in a mining facility on an asteroid orbiting Themis in 2161."

Jana schooled her expression as she smoothly replied, "Voice recognition says otherwise. You may or may not be Brooks, but I do believe I'm talking to Maya… or the woman who is _known_ as Maya, or Rasa, or Channing. You apparently made a successful escape from the Citadel, and you were probably on _Eva's Vortex_ when it arrived in the Widow System. Do you know what happened to the ship's crew?"

Zoë's lip curled in distaste. "Indoctrinated, all of them... from the Captain on down to the lowliest bilge rat. The Red Wave from the Crucible probably killed every damned one of 'em, just like it took care of all the Reaper spawn on every planet it touched." Lips set in a firm line, Zoë added, "As for Maya, she probably died in an explosion aboard the Citadel."

"You're lying, Maya. Question is, why?"

"Maya is _dead_ , Cantrell. Having Agents Warren and Stafford looking for her could end badly… for both of them." Knowing Jana could see only her mouth and chin, she smiled ever so slightly. "It would be a real shame if they had to be shipped back to you in boxes, Cantrell. If you value their lives at all, you should have them terminate their chase, before they themselves are… terminated." Zoë's trace of a smile broadened some more.

Jana's eyes widened slightly at the threat as she spoke. "They were not sent to eliminate Maya Brooks! They were sent to find her, so we can talk with her. If _you_ truly are not Maya, then just who are you?"

"Zoë Lawrence, at your service," came the smiling reply. "And just what were you hoping to accomplish by speaking with Maya Brooks?"

"Cerberus needs you..." Jana instantly recognized her mistake and corrected the wording. "... needed _her_. The Illusive Man had originally designated Kai Leng as his successor. Once Leng discovered this, his stupid arrogance got him killed and Maya Brooks became the designated successor to the Illusive Man. For her own protection, Harper didn't tell her... nor did he ever schedule her for any of the special augmentations given to Leng. By then, he had realized his primary mistake and wanted the designated successor to be totally Human."

"That's where you're wrong, Cantrell… the fucking bastard _was_ going to implant God only knows what in Maya, right before he sent her to Sanctuary to retrieve Lawson's Reaper research. So I guess it's too bad for you… and Cerberus… that Maya Brooks is dead. She wanted nothing more to do with Cerberus… Were you aware of that? She had been looking to get out ever since _before_ she led the assault on Athame's Temple on Thessia. That's why she put a bullet through Jack Harper's indoctrinated brain… She'd had enough of the 'Humans First' bullshit… the political assassinations… all of it!" Zoë was beginning to doubt the direction she'd taken; she needed to end this. "Call 'em off, Jana… Send the recall to Warren and Stafford. You'll not be warned again, and I promise you, I will know when they leave Illium." Zoë brought her hand up to end the connection.

"Wait! Maya… Zoë! Please!" Jana frantically brought her hands up, imploring Zoë to listen. "Don't disconnect, please! Just… hear me out."

Zoë paused, hand poised to hit the cut-off control. "Make it good, Cantrell! My patience with anything and anyone connected to Cerberus… in _any_ form… ceased to exist after Thessia." _Damn it all to fucking Hell!_ _ **Talk**_ _to me? Who in Hell does she think she is? No one that high in the organization_ _ **ever**_ _wanted to just talk, unless they had a gun to the back of their head._

Jana spoke quickly. "Zoë… You need to know the Cerberus that Maya knew is dead… it died when she killed Jack Harper."

"Really? Then what the fuck was that stunt in Vancouver, Jana? Blowing up Alliance Headquarters?"

Jana was in total shock at this revelation. "Holy shit! ANN speculated _you_ were involved in that, especially after your attempt to take Shepard out on the Citadel! If it wasn't you, I _definitely_ want to meet with you!"

" _That_ assassin blew herself up, Jana. And whoever tasked her with that assignment has a serious death wish to be sending assassins out to murder Liara T'Soni. Either you're all insane or you have a rogue assassin working for you… But none of that matters, because I won't be coming back. I've seen…" Zoë paused as a vision of the dead Asari commando on Thessia momentarily swam in front of her eyes, causing her voice to hitch slightly as she continued. "… I've seen too much death, Jana… aliens, Humans, most of 'em by my own hand. I can't…" another pause to take a deep, calming breath. "I don't want to kill again… ever, and that's the _only_ reason Warren and Stafford are still breathing."

"Zoë, listen. Vancouver? Most definitely _not_ Cerberus. There's a new Human-centric group, based in Boston or New York. They call themselves the League of Earth Alliance Patriots – LEAP. _They_ took down that building to kill a jailed member, and they appear to share Jack Harper's philosophy that collateral damage incurred during an op is of no concern. Trying to kill T'Soni was stupidity, plain and simple … I know Harper tried to have her eliminated a number of times, but the woman that blew herself up was most definitely not a Cerberus agent. All we're doing right now is data collection... and trying to locate _you_. You have to believe me, Zoë."

"Jack told me in no uncertain terms that Shepard had outlived her usefulness to him…" Zoë spat out angrily. "He told me to take her out at the earliest opportunity, just before he sent me to Sanctuary to retrieve Henry Lawson's research data; I also know he tried to have T'Soni killed, numerous times." Reining in her anger, Zoë asked, "So, how many former members have joined this… LEAP? Must be more than a few."

"I know of very few of our people joining LEAP; most of the hardline radicals died during or after the end of the war… and I wasn't aware Harper had instructed Maya to terminate Shepard." Jana paused for a moment before adding, "So, she put a bullet through Jack's head instead of killing the commander. Can't say I blame her."

Zoë solemnly stared at Harper's former assistant, thinking about what she'd just been told; she was silent long enough that Jana felt it necessary to prompt her. "Zoë? What can I say that will persuade you to come in? There are still a lot of us left, and no one in the remnants of this organization wants to see you dead… far from it, actually… You have to believe me. Cerberus is done, but LEAP is not the answer, either. We need someone to pull us together, take Humanity in a new direction. I cannot pull that off by myself! We need you… I… need you." Jana paused for a moment before asking, "Where can I meet you, Zoë?"

Zoë was surprised at this, but didn't allow her surprise to color her response. "Meet me? I've already told you…"

Jana interrupted with, "… I'll call off Warren and Stafford, but only if you agree to meet with me. You choose the time and place. I'll come alone, no weapons, no bullshit… wherever and whenever you say." Jana held up her hands, palms facing the camera. "You've led us on a pretty good chase over three quarters of the damned galaxy, but you must be tired of running, Zoë. You don't have to run any more. Everyone here agrees Jack Harper got what he deserved. Can you find it in your heart to simply trust me, please?"

Zoë was tired. "I'll contact you in twenty-four hours, Cantrell. In the meantime, call off the dogs. If I see… or detect even a _hint_ they're still tracking me, I may be forced to carry out my threat." She hit the disconnect before Jana had a chance to reply, leaned back in her chair and contemplated everything she'd just learned.

* * *

 **New Nos Astra, Illium, Crescent Nebula**

Just as Angelique Warren had been ready to contact Jana, the comm unit trilled to announce an incoming message. Her expression as she answered betrayed her surprise. "Jana… didn't expect to hear from you again today. Do you have more news about Maya?"

Jana rubbed her temples with thumb and fingers of one hand and sighed before responding with a heavy sigh. "Come home, Angel… you and Stafford are done."

Warren couldn't believe her ears. "What the hell, Jana. We haven't even located…"

Jana interrupted with, "… I just finished talking to her, Angel." Jana sighed again. "She called me… Actually, the woman's name is Zoë Lawrence… she told me Maya Brooks is dead, as is Rasa. She promised to contact me roughly 24 hours from now to tell me where I can meet her, but only if I recall you from the Nebula. She's tired of running, Angel. I think I can persuade her to come in."

Angelique was amazed. "How in the world did she get your contact address?"

"I suspect she infiltrated your ship and added an info logging device to the transceiver. She told me you and Tim very nearly came home in boxes."

Warren's mouth dropped open. "How in the name of…"

Jana chuckled again. "She's good, Angel… the best of the best at what she does… or used to do. She told me she's tired of doing wetwork… won't do it again, unless she's pushed to it. So, I need you two to load up and come home."

"You don't want one of us to accompany you to this… meeting? What if she's lying about not wanting to kill anymore?"

"There was something in her voice, when she said she'd seen too many dead aliens and Humans… She's changed, Angel… and my instincts are to trust her. I'm to meet her alone… and unarmed, but make no mistake… When she calls me tomorrow, you and Tim _have_ to be off that planet and out of the system… she won't meet with me otherwise, and this is too damned important to risk spooking her."

Warren slowly nodded. "Okay, Jana, if you're sure. I don't like you meeting her without some kind of backup, but it's your call. I have to send a message to Tim… he went to Nos Aedelos to check on the bunkered ships. We'll load up and leave as soon as he returns… probably within…" she looked at the nearby chrono. "… seven or eight hours. I'll call you after we clear the relay."

"Sounds good." Jana paused for a moment, before adding in a solemn tone, "And Angel…? Don't waste any time looking for the tracker on your ship. Zoë has to be able to follow your departure from Illium."

* * *

 **Jarrahe Station, Strabo, Eagle Nebula**

Knowing the Humans had tracked pirates to their main bases once before by studying relay travel patterns, Sparatus had ordered General Flavius to keep the forces dispersed, operating independently in three distinct regions of the Terminus and Attican Traverse as mobile fleets, with no central base of operations. Sparatus smirked at the message he had just received; the disgustingly ostentatious and wasteful Victory Tour had finally begun and Shepard was now otherwise engaged... for all intents and purposes at the polar opposite side of the galaxy. _The time of our conquest has arrived._

He chuckled to himself. _Even if she attempts to respond... or has the Alliance send a security force... it will be too late. Once we launch, we'll have Omega in our possession in less than one solar day... exactly as General Petrovsky had._

He strode confidently to the communications center and activated the QEC, starting to speak before Flavius' shadowy figure had fully resolved on the platform. "It's time, Aetius. The Normandy has departed the Serpent Nebula and is now buried in the political quagmire known as the Salarian Union. Even if that miserable Human desired to run to T'Loak's aid, her orders from the Council prohibited _any_ deviation from their established itinerary. By the time that self-righteous imitation of a true Spectre realizes what we're doing and can contact the Alliance for assistance, Omega will be ours and they will be too late. The Council has no authority in the Terminus and I imagine with their war recovery efforts stretching resources so thin, they won't have the political stomach to offer any help to the soon-to-be-deposed Pirate Queen." He paused for dramatic effect before commanding, "Initiate Operation Omega... and remember – we will not make the same mistake as Petrovsky. If _anyone_ gets the opportunity, they are to terminate Aria T'Loak, immediately and with extreme prejudice."

Flavius saluted sharply. "Understood, Legate. We'll meet you at the Aquila Relay."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

The defensive cannons started firing as soon as the station's security VIs detected the invasion force pouring through the relay with weapons hot. Nyreen scrambled her way to the bunkered Operations Center, realizing her hopes that this day would never come had dissolved faster than the Reaper creatures under the Crucible's red wave. There was no attempt at deception as Aria's fleet had done during the operation to retake Omega from Cerberus; the Turian-led fleet simply emerged from the relay, scattered to take various vectors of approach, and made their way directly toward the station. Glancing at the battle display as she ran into the room, she quickly realized the invading ships were targeting only the Omega Fleet, not the station's defensive cannons.

Somehow, Aria had beaten Kandros to the Command Center and was already shouting orders to intercept the landing teams. _Landing teams? So soon? By the Spirits!_

As Nyreen ran over, Aria glared at her chief of security. "Shepard was fucking right! They are simply ignoring the cannons and driving straight to the docks! Even with us destroying a third of their ships as they come in, they're still going to land an overwhelming force!" Without pausing, the Asari activated a station-wide broadcast. "Omega is once again under attack! It took all of us to eject Cerberus from this station and, at that time, I promised I would not abandon you again. Today, I am making good on that promise, but Omega needs your help. Turian pirates are landing all over the station. Take up arms against these intruders and keep the freedom you have earned!"

She cut the feed and turned toward Bray. "Call up the guard, we're going out where the citizens of Omega will see us; I'll not hide in the bunker while Omega is at risk... Not this time!"

Bray immediately turned and started shouting. "You heard her! All non-essentials... if you're not manning surveillance or defensive systems, grab a weapon from the armory and meet us at the door!"

* * *

Down in the docking bays, Kasumi and Bau heard the warning sirens and bolted for cover. Kas immediately opened her comm unit and broadcast to the Broker network. "Shepard! Liara! The Turians are hitting the Omega docks in force! They have already penetrated the outer defenses and have begun boarding the station... We need the SILC, now!"

The link suddenly went dead and Kasumi looked at Jon, none of her usual joviality present as she whispered in defeat, "I hope that got through... The comm buoys just dropped out."

"They have most likely destroyed them to avoid any distress calls going out." Bau sniffed and pulled out his pistol while activating his cloak. "We assume the worst and fight with the rest."

"Jon." Kasumi hesitated before activating her cloak, looking at the spot where she last saw the Salarian before he had activated his and vanished. "I've never said anything... but..."

A quiet voice startled her, in extremely close proximity to her ear, whispering, "I know, Kasumi Goto. You can be confident I feel the same."

* * *

 **Sur'Kesh Orbit, Pranas** **, Annos Basin**

In immense contrast to the fanfare they had experienced before departing the Destiny Ascension, Shepard had spoken to a very small crowd in Talat, numbering less than 100. If Shepard had to guess, she would have identified them all as military or STG members. Given the total surviving population of nearly 10 billion, including the orbital stations, even the simply curious should have numbered greater... with some 500 million dead to be mourned. The scarcity of the crowd made it blatantly obvious just how much influence the Dalatrasses had over attendance; most likely, any seen at the ceremony could count on never getting a decent breeding contract in their all-too-short lifetime.

The ground team had said their farewells and offered good wishes for a speedy recovery, made their way onto the shuttle, and returned to the Normandy. Shepard had not honestly expected much better, but still came away somewhat disappointed. She took Liara's hand and sighed. "I'm not sure if I should be angry at their stubbornness or pity them for their complete self-centeredness and isolationist attitudes."

Liara smiled lightly. "Neither. We'll simply ignore the actions of the Dalatrasses and support Tolern to the best of our ability. The leadership of the Salarian Union obviously doesn't need or want any help at this time, so our only option is to wait and see what happens."

Edi's voice in their comms interrupted their conversation. "Dr T'Soni. There is an emergency transmission for you in the Broker Office. Please respond as quickly as possible."

Giving each other concerned glances, Shepard and Liara immediately changed their destination and headed for the Crew Deck. Once they arrived in the office, Liara initialized the system to find Miranda waiting impatiently to relay the information they had picked up on the STG gray box.

"Son of a bitch!" Shepard slammed her hand down on the console in her frustration before activating her omnitool, her fingers stinging from the blow. "Legion. Are you aware of the situation developing on Omega?"

It was the briefest of pauses before Legion answered, "I am now, Shepard Captain. Required runtimes are saving back-up copies to the mainframe and uploading to all available SILC war fleet vessels. Estimated arrival at the Omega relay is less than one hour. I must go to them."

"Understood, Legion." Shepard started to say 'stay safe,' but the comm unit went dark before she could get the rest of the words out of her mouth.

As she stared at the blank interface on her omnitool, Shepard was flexing the fingers of her right hand when she felt Liara's hand land on her arm. "He'll be fine, Shepard. He'll make a back-up before he deploys to the fleet... it's standard protocol... and we'll always have the Prime platform here for him to return to, even if things on Omega go badly." Realizing the _Aletheia_ was still on comms, Liara looked back to the Broker terminal. "Thank you, Miranda. Please, let us know if you hear any news. Under the circumstances, there is little we can do from the Normandy..." Her voice trailed off in frustration.

"Of course, Liara." Miri offered up a concerned smile. "I'm worried about them too. I'll let you know the minute I hear _anything_. Try not to fret."

Shepard took a deep breath and looked at the screen. "Thanks, Miri. I don't care what time it is. If you get news... please, call us."

Glancing at the hand Shepard was continuing to flex, Miranda responded, "Yes, Ma'am. Take care, Shepard." She offered up a brief smile before leaning forward and terminating the call.

Shepard blinked slowly before activating her comm unit. "Joker. Next stop, Halegeuse."

"Roger that, Captain. Laying in the course to Halegeuse." After a brief pause, Joker came back with, "ETA... 7 hours by FTL."

Liara slid her hand down Shepard's arm until she reached the wrist; wrapping her fingers around it softly, she pulled the captain's hand up for inspection. "That was not the smartest thing to do, Samantha. With your augmented strength, you could have broken the console..." She smirked at the expression on Shepard's face as she continued, "or your hand." Liara gingerly turned the hand she held, inspecting it for obvious damage but saw none. "Does your hand feel alright?"

"It'll be fine, Blue. It just stung a bit." She tried to tug it away as Liara gently prodded a rather sore spot. "Okay. So maybe it hurts more than just a bit."

Liara blew out a heavy breath in resigned patience. "Come on. Let's get some medigel on it, before it bruises."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

Exactly as Aria had done in the beginning stages of retaking Omega from Cerberus, the main concentration of the initial Turian attack armada was the strike team dedicated to taking down the station's defensive cannons, and just as Aria's ships had previously done, Sparatus' strike fleet rapidly emulated Aria's previous success by silencing the main defensive cannons before they were able to make much of an impact on the number of vessels approaching the station. With the station's heavy defenses neutralized, additional Turian troop ships moved unopposed toward the docks and landing pads while the frigates and scouting vessels did their best to occupy the Omega defense fleet.

As an increasing number of Sparatus' soldiers, many of whom had originally come from Omega and knew their way around, battled their way into the depths of the station, the conflict's intensity rapidly escalated – the populace had not been trained as soldiers, but their relatively recent experiences in the fight to kick Cerberus troopers off the station had hardened those who survived. They all understood that no quarter would be given, so granted none in return – many were the wounded Turians that could do nothing to prevent a common civilian from finishing them with a gunshot to the head.

Aria, Nyreen and Bray were front and center in some of the most intense fighting they'd ever encountered as they worked their way through enemy forces, first in the Kima district, then in the adjoining Gozu District. Aria was continuously using her carnage power to great effect as Nyreen used overload to obliterate shields and overheat weapons; rather than remaining in the bunker to coordinate Omega's defensive forces within the station, Bray had elected to stay with Aria, guarding her flank with an assault rifle that he wielded with uncanny accuracy.

The trio found themselves having to take cover more frequently due to intense barrages of small arms fire coming from the seemingly ever increasing number of Turian attackers arriving from the still indefensible landing pads. "Damn it, Kandros," Aria huffed. "How many of these bastards are there? I can't believe this many Turians are willing to die just to take control of this station. We need to find their leader and determine what the Hell his endgame is!"

Nyreen shook her head slightly as she peered past their cover. "They've been taking ships and crews from all over the Terminus. Seems logical that someone with a lot of influence has a serious hatred of the Queen of Omega."

With that, the former Cabal member threw an overload at a group of soldiers, frying their shields and overheating their weapons. Bray responded by rolling out of cover on the opposite side and drilling all five Turians with well-placed shots from his assault rifle. As Aria left their cover to come alongside Nyreen, she applied a biotic Reeve to a Turian unfortunate enough to have been following the five soldiers Bray had cut down; this also affected the two men immediately behind him. The unlikely threesome continued on in this manner, sometimes leading and at other times following the defense forces as they slowly plowed their way through waves of advancing soldiers.

As they moved forward, Aria quietly confided to Nyreen that she was getting tired. "Having to constantly use my biotics is wearing me down, Kandros. The supplements aren't replenishing my eezo reserves near as fast as I'm burning them... I'm not sure how much longer I can sustain this level of action." She lit up a small group of invaders with Carnage, seemingly without effort, but Nyreen could see by the look in her eyes that Aria's assessment was correct.

"I have extra if you need them, Aria."

Aria shook her head in response. "I've got plenty... My body simply can't assimilate the eezo fast enough for what we're doing."

Nyreen grimaced and countered, "Then use your shotgun more and your biotics less. Let Bray and the assault squads pick up the slack for a bit while you recover some of your reserve."

Sparatus and Flavius took cover behind a large support column as their main attack force worked its way into and across a rather large, open area normally used for loading outbound cargo vessels. The further into the loading bay the Turians proceeded, the heavier the resistance became; Sparatus was not pleased that the residents of Omega had picked up weapons to defend the station against this invasion, until he considered the fact that his invading army was not that much different than that of Cerberus. _Petrovsky was weak-willed,_ the Turian thought as he carefully followed the main force. _His downfall came from his flawed belief that battle-tested troopers, Reaper tech and special mech units would keep the populace in line… ultimately, he was defeated by his failure to publicly execute Aria T'Loak once she had been captured – an unforgivable blunder – one I don't intend to repeat._

He and Flavius had just left cover and were carefully following along behind the main attack force when General Flavius received an urgent call from the Fleet Admiral; he pulled up short and quickly dropped behind cover so he could focus on what the admiral was telling him.

* * *

In the space surrounding the station, the sudden appearance of a SILC dreadnaught emerging from the primary Sahrabarik Relay had caught the attention of a Turian scout vessel. Making a quick decision, the invading Turians split off a small portion of their force to face it only to quickly realize this was not a chance occurrence; within moments, the vacuum around the relay was filled with additional SILC warships – a great many of them – none smaller than equivalent Turian spec frigates. As they left the vicinity of the relay, many of the large ships began deploying a significant number of agile fighters, which immediately began harassing the many smaller vessels of the Turian armada. The odds suddenly shifted as the Turians found themselves wedged between the Omega and SILC fleets. Forced to retreat from the station to avoid being crushed between the two opposing forces, the Turians regrouped quickly and dug in for a real fight, no longer having a victory assured by their previously superior numbers and firepower.

As the battle raged on and the losses for Sparatus' fleet mounted, the Turians were finally forced to admit they were completely outgunned and outmatched. Recognizing the most probable outcome, Admiral of the Fleet Quintadim Lithnos placed a secure call to General Flavius to give him the unwelcome news of the likely fate of the Turian fleet. "The Geth have arrived in force, Aetius; it appears they brought nearly their whole damned battle fleet. Unless we manage to conjure a miracle, it's quite likely our entire fleet will be destroyed; all we can do is buy you as much time as we can."

Flavius frowned, "Spirits be damned! What am I supposed to tell the Legate?"

"The truth." Lithnos scowled at the general. "What else is there? You _have_ to tell him, so he knows he's on borrowed time. As long as you kill that Asari witch and take over the station, the objective will have been met and it won't matter what happens to us out here... It won't be the first time Omega has experienced a hostile takeover; the people will fall in line under the new leadership. Simply make sure our sacrifice is worth it... and be advised – I imagine it will only be a short while before those damned machines are on the station and closing in behind you. I wouldn't think of telling you how to run your ground war, Aetius, but you may want to consider posting a rear guard before those Geth run right up your ass."

When Flavius relayed the news, Sparatus nodded. "He's a good soldier... and he's right. He'll give us the time we need, but we still need to be prepared. Keep one squad with us and post the other two as a guard to our rear while we push forward and take this damned station. Once we kill Aria and take the command center, Omega will be ours."

"Understood, Sir." Flavius issued the commands and then called for status reports from the main force. He was smiling as he turned to the Legate. "Our lead unit is in direct contact with Aria T'Loak and her main force, Sir. It shouldn't be long."

* * *

Once they got away from the docks, Kasumi and Bau turned off their cloaks to conserve power as they continued to work their way through the station utilizing shadows, cover and back alleys to progress without being seen. They encountered a few random patrols that had become separated from the main Turian force and terminated each of them quickly before moving onward in their attempt to link back up with Aria and Nyreen.

When they finally came upon the rear guard, Kasumi paused and whispered to Bau, "Look at their armor... I recognize those colors. Do you?"

Bau's lips were set in a grim line. "Unfortunately, yes; I believe our previous unresolved task is about to be completed." He looked at Kasumi and sighed before continuing, "We have finally located ex-councilor Sparatus. It certainly explains the high level of loyalty this 'pirate captain' commands... and we have no way to relay the information we have acquired."

Kasumi shrugged rather nonchalantly. "Doesn't matter... because we're going to kill him."

"Agreed." Bau lifted his arm and fiddled with his omnitool. "I have the perfect solution, but we need to get closer for it to work."

"The personal shield assassination hack?"

He glanced up at her, surprise evident in his large eyes. "Yes. How do you know about that particular programming tool? It is a closely guarded STG specialty."

A small smile graced Kasumi's face at the memory of the deceased doctor. "Mordin Solus. He entrusted it to a few select people while he was a member of the Normandy crew."

"Ah." Recognition lit in Bau's eyes. "Of course. I should have guessed."

They continued to move forward, activating their cloaks to bypass the guard in total silence. Not much time passed before they caught up to the command team, confirming their suspicions about the leader of the rogue Turian group. "That seals the deal, Jon. If you swing around the left, I'll go to the right and create a distraction."

Bau looked at her, his concern evident, and she grinned. "Don't worry. I'll plant a small charge and move away... The resultant explosion should be enough to draw their attention, but I won't be anywhere near it when it blows."

"Excellent." Bau nodded. "Meet up again at the door to the cooling shaft for the Zone 5 thermal regulators."

"Good idea... We should be able to take that shaft most of the way through, maybe even make it to friendly lines." Kasumi blew him a kiss and grinned. "Be careful... and I'll see you there!"

* * *

Nyreen turned at the bump on her shoulder; expecting a scouting report, she was surprised when the 'scout' turned out to be Goto and Bau finally joining the fight. Before she could question where they had been, Kasumi gave her an abridged version of what they had done, from the docks until the last few moments.

"Seriously?" The former Cabal member stared at the human in shocked disbelief. "You planted a hack that will crush him if he activates his personal shield?"

"Yes." Bau nodded. "On both Sparatus and his general... a Turian whom I have never seen and know nothing of, other than he picked the wrong side if he desires victory today."

Their conversation drew the attention of Aria, who glanced back over her shoulder to see who Nyreen was speaking with. "About damned time you two got here. Where the fuck have you been?" Aria growled at the two infiltrators as they approached from the rear.

"Scouting." Nyreen moved up beside Aria as she continued, "And they bring news that the leader of our Turian pirates is none other than ex-councilor Sparatus... and he's almost here."

" _Sparatus_?" Aria sneered. "What the fuck does he want with Omega?"

"Most likely to establish a power base to throw over the Council or the Turian Hierarchy… maybe even both," Kasumi volunteered. "He doesn't seem the sort to take losing his position and influence very well, so this is his plan to get all that back."

"Well, he fucking chose the worst first step possible, because the _only_ way he's taking Omega from me is over my dead body!"

"From what I overheard as we bypassed his lead unit, that's exactly his plan." Bau spoke earnestly as he continued, "They have absolutely no interest or intent in repeating General Petrovsky's mistake of keeping you alive."

Aria's face lit with a malevolent grin. "Then he best get on with it, because reports from the docks say we've got help. Shepard's SILC battle fleet has arrived and they've chased the Turian ships away from the docks, so he won't be getting any more reinforcements."

Nyreen added in, "And latest reports have Geth units on the station, working their way in from the Turian's rear flank... so, it's become a race to see which happens first. Do the Geth get to Sparatus or does Sparatus get to us?"

* * *

Flavius narrowed his eyes as he peered across the last section of battlefield. His troops were holding their ground but the forward line seemed to be stalled, neither side able to advance... and what remained of Aria's forces had fairly defensible territory. Omega's militia was cut off from reinforcements so, normally, the general would be content waiting, knowing the enemy would tire and his men would eventually emerge victorious... _eventually_. Unfortunately, this battle was anything but normal. _The damned Geth have us cut off as well, and their ground troopers are climbing through the destruction we left in our wake, getting closer by the minute._

He turned to Sparatus. "Sir. It's time."

"Yes, I believe you are correct." Sparatus gave a nod. "Make it happen."

"Specialist Kinzer?" Flavius glanced back at one of the squad members who had remained with them. The man grinned and moved forward, knowing what was coming.

"You know what you need to do?" Flavius' voice flanged with excitement, anticipating the coming event.

"Yes, Sir. I've been studying the terrain since we arrived here." He pointed off to the left side. "I'll follow that balcony up to that vertical column there, before engaging my cloak to move the last 50 meters along the catwalk to that vent pipe. I should be plenty high enough to have a clear shot and this will be over before you know it."

With a go-ahead from the general, the specialist set out on his mission. As Kinzer crawled up into position and set his bipod, he glanced down and realized the angle would be a little tight, but nothing he couldn't make. He couldn't get any higher and moving farther forward wasn't an option, as there was no cover available and he would be exposed to enemy fire. _I might never get off a single shot... and where would we be then?_

As he peered though the scope, he gained a grudging respect for the Asari known as Aria T'Loak. She was constantly in motion as she encouraged... if that was the proper term for her style of motivation... her troops to continue the fight. As he began to sight in, he realized she was also making herself a difficult target. The way she was weaving in and out of her forces made it impossible to get a clean shot. Cursing, he came up with his next best option. _Damn it! I may have to double-tap her. A chest shot to stop the witch, then a head shot to end it all. Fucking rude is what it is, her making me have to consider taking two shots to finish this._

He rolled his shoulder one last time and steadied his hands, fixing on a point in space that he knew Aria would cross. Anticipating her speed and movement, he drew a breath and let it out slowly, smoothly squeezing the trigger as he paused between breaths. He watched the expression of pained surprise explode on Aria's face as blue blood blossomed on the Asari's chest, soiling her damned pretentious white leather jacket, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning wickedly as he reloaded his Kassa Fabrication M-98 Widow for the kill shot... assuming the Queen of Omega wasn't already dead.


	42. Dodging a Bullet

Notes:

Hachiman - Shinto god of war and protector of Minamoto clan; most samurai worshipped him

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **Dodging a Bullet**

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

Aria had just turned and stepped behind a waist-high barricade as she readied her biotics for another carnage blast at the advancing Turian line when it happened – simultaneous to the explosive bark of an extremely powerful rifle, the impact from an enhanced sliver of alloy staggered her, causing her to take a step backwards. This was instantly followed by excruciating pain high enough in the right side of her chest that her right arm, hand still aglow with wisps of biotic power, fell to her side as if attaching strings had been suddenly severed. She looked down at her chest as she dropped her shotgun and brought her left hand across to grab her shoulder. She was bleeding – copious amounts of blue were leaking from her wound, spreading across her white leather jacket.

Already suffering from Eezo depletion caused by her nearly indiscriminate use of biotics during the massive Turian assault on her station, she had no physical reserves to call on; from her own perspective, she ever-so-slowly collapsed to the metal decking under her feet, ending her ungraceful fall on her right side, arm twisted uncomfortably beneath her and her back partially against the barricade – as her senses began shutting down, she wasn't aware her position behind the barricade was the only thing that saved her from receiving a kill-shot in the head. The last thing she remembered hearing was a near-scream of denial from someone close by. She felt cold all over, but this feeling also disappeared as conscious thought left her.

* * *

Kandros heard the sharp crack of a sniper rifle and watched in horror as Aria took a step back, then seemed to freeze in place before looking down as her shotgun clattered unceremoniously to the deck. She brought her left arm across her chest and swayed slightly before folding down on herself, simply crumpling with her back to the barricade, her blood pumping out of her chest much too quickly for Nyreen's rediscovered love to survive in the battle conditions they were enduring.

Several things happened at once. First, as Nyreen watched in stunned silence, Bray let out a cry of anguish that no one ever expected to come out of Aria's Batarian bodyguard. Next, she heard shouts of anger, fear and despair from the Turian backfield as the first SILC troopers broke through their rear guard to come surging forward into the fray.

Up on the balcony, Kinzer cursed his luck and prayed to the spirits that Aria was dead. She had slumped to the ground behind a barricade that prevented him from locating her in his scope, so there would be no second shot. He looked back toward where he had left Sparatus and Flavius, only to see their surprise as the Geth broke through the rear guard. He quickly flipped his direction and used his advantageous position to begin shooting at the mechanized horde, realizing the whole scenario had just turned into a fight to the death. _Those things won't bother taking me, or anyone else alive, that's for damned sure!_

An unstoppable, boiling rage surged through Nyreen's chest and she grabbed at her utility belt, pulling her entire string of grenades free. Giving a shout to duck and cover, she activated and lobbed the whole string into the remaining Turian front line before raising a biotic protection shield to defend her teammates. She held the shield steady for a number of seconds until the grenades detonated, very effectively ripping the closest Turians to shreds. Then, amidst the smoke and carnage, she bolted across the field of battle, intent on penetrating through the relatively few remaining invaders to do the same to Sparatus.

Watching Bray follow the crazed Nyreen, Kasumi and Bau moved quickly to Aria's side, fearing the worst. Blood was trickling from the Asari's mouth along with that which continued to bubble from her chest but, of great surprise to Kasumi, the Asari was still breathing. Thinking such fortune could not last, she whispered under her breath, "By the spirit of Hachiman, this cannot be possible."

Bau was working quickly to apply every last bit of medigel he still had on his person as he answered, "Obviously, it _is_ possible or else it would not be so. Give me your remaining medigel. I do not have enough!"

"Of course!" After handing it over, Kas lifted her head to watch for threats, determined to survive what had appeared to be a lost cause only moments before. On the far side of the battle, she caught sight of a Prime platform appearing through the smoke. _Could that possibly be...?_ She activated her comm and queried, "Legion? Are you here?"

"Affirmative, Goto Agent. Do you require assistance?"

Thinking a quick, silent prayer to herself, she responded, "I do not, but Aria T'Loak is severely injured and likely has only moments to live. We're on the far side, behind the first row of barricades."

The Prime's head quickly scanned the area and located her, responding. "Assistance will be there momentarily." Kasumi didn't have to ask 'how soon,' as she watched a SILC unit move quickly to their position and fold its legs to 'sit' at Aria's side.

"Please, trust me to assist. One of my runtimes is a programmed medical unit, versed in all known physiologies and capable of sanitized field surgeries."

Bau looked at the unit in surprise. "By all means. What do you require from us?"

"If you are able, extra hands will speed the surgery. Otherwise move at least two meters away so I may raise a kinetic barrier and sanitize all within. Also, we will need a ready supply of Asari-compatible synthetic blood replacement. I have all other necessary supplies in my kit."

Kasumi immediately stood and backed away. "Sorry... I'm afraid I don't trust myself to do this and you don't have time for complications... so, I'll find the closest synth supply."

Bau stayed where he was as he spoke a single word. "Begin."

* * *

As Kasumi scampered off, Bau observed the SILC unit with great interest as a powered, domed shield formed above them, a UV sanitization light continuously bathing the entire interior of the space, all while the unit retrieved a med-pack and laid it open beside them. The first thing to emerge was a hypospray, which was quickly administered to the unconscious patient... ensuring she would not wake during the procedure.

Next, the SILC wasted no time in slicing Aria's jacket open with an extremely short but incredibly sharp monomolecular blade, laying the fabric aside to allow unimpeded access to the wound. He then produced a portable medical scanner and viewer, which he assembled quickly above the still form of the Asari, providing the ability to scan and operate at the same time, enabling the medic to see exactly what he was doing as he worked.

"That's positively amazing!" Bau was beginning to wonder exactly why he had needed to remain within the dome when the unit handed him a suction tool.

"The blood is unnecessarily obscuring my view and slowing my progress. The alloy sliver has penetrated her lung and I must not tear any more of the tissue than necessary to remove it, which would compound the severity of the wound in the process. If you are able to suction the blood, I will retrieve the sliver and begin the repair."

"What about the amount of blood loss?"

"It is of no concern." Bau was about to protest until the unit continued, explaining the logic behind his statement. "Until Goto Agent returns with supplies, there is little we can do to affect the situation, other than to suture the gap as quickly as possible to prevent additional loss. If we wait until the synth arrives, there is an extremely high probability the patient will not survive long enough to receive it."

Bau fell silent as he watched a pair of forceps slide in with uncanny precision, seize the end of the sliver and withdraw, only to be replaced by another device, which pulled the sides of the tear in Aria's lung together and firmly clamped the hole closed. A pinpoint laser then proceeded to cauterize the wound, leaving scar tissue behind but most definitely stopping the bleeding. The SILC unit continued on in such a manner until every bleed he could detect was closed, including the original entry wound in the Asari's chest.

The SILC medic then withdrew an intravenous kit from his med-kit and packed the rest away with the same efficiency with which he had completed what Bau thought of as an impossible field surgery. The dome above them dissolved and the unit stood upright. "We now require a stretcher and the supply of synth. The patient must be moved extremely carefully and as soon as possible to an operational medical facility to complete her treatment. The laser closures are not permanent and must be repaired in full within a few hours... or they will fail and she will die."

Kasumi pushed her way to the front of the pack, announcing, "Here's the synth... I didn't think I could pass it through the shield..."

"Your assumption was correct." The SILC medic paused for a moment before continuing, "My services are required elsewhere. I leave T'Loak Aria in your care."

* * *

Nyreen Kandros had literally become an unstoppable force of vengeance, by turns using her assault rifle and biotics to simply mow down every Turian that crossed her path. As Bray followed a few meters behind, he heard the bark of that same sniper rifle from close by. Looking upwards, he spotted the unmistakable barrel of the M-98 Widow that had put the offending projectile in his boss. The Turian sniper was not visible, so was obviously employing a cloaking generator. It was of no matter to Bray; the Batarian's upper eyes were sensitive to heat signatures. He could see the rifle barrel as a white to medium-gray tube, and he could just see the glimmer of the Turian's head and shoulder, heat waves shimmering due to the effects of the cloaking field. With a great deal of effort, Bray took a deep breath to center himself, focusing every last bit of his rage into his upper body, particularly his arms and hands. He cleared his mind of any thought other than focusing on this miserable excuse of a cowardly Turian, hiding behind a damned cloaking device. Setting his assault rifle to single shot, he changed the shot enhancement from incendiary to armor-piercing, raised the gun and took careful aim, all in the space of a heartbeat. Taking a breath, he let it out slowly as he gently squeezed the trigger.

The Turian's head exploded like a ripe melon, spraying blue tinged pulp and bubbly froth all over the wall above and behind him. Nerveless fingers relaxed, forcing the Widow's barrel up as Specialist Kinzer's body slowly fell forward against his sniper rifle stand, his interest in assassinating anyone else completely gone forever.

Bray grunted in satisfaction as he popped the used heatsink in favor of a fresh one; resetting the rifle to fire automatically and the shot enhancement back to incendiary, he looked for and quickly spotted Kandros, the devastation in front of her resembling a narrow triangle with herself as one point, dead and dying Turians spread before her. Catching up to her, he grunted, "Took out the sniper, for what it's worth."

Nyreen glanced at him, the gratitude in her copper-colored eyes providing Bray all the thanks he needed. Returning her attention ahead, she rolled into cover, the Batarian right on her heels. "There's Sparatus and his general," she said, voice dripping with acidic contempt. "Whistle a few rounds between their heads, Bray. Don't hit either of them, whatever you do!"

Bray grinned at her as he responded, "With pleasure." So saying, he rolled out of cover to kneel and carefully spray some bullets past Sparatus, hitting one of the unfortunate people behind him. Rolling back in behind Nyreen, he raised his head just in time to see the two Turian leaders activate their personal shield generators.

What followed had the mis-matched pair, former Turian Cabal member and Batarian mercenary, staring in morbid fascination at the would be Turian conquerors as their self-assured contempt for the defenses they had faced turned to horror-filled seconds of agony; their personal shield generators somehow having been turned into unstoppable instruments of torturous execution.

As hard as Sparatus and Flavius tried, neither could disengage their personal generators; their futile attempts to do so were abandoned as their minds sent panicked instructions to their diaphragms to continue sucking air through passageways that were rapidly constricted and crushed. Their pitiful screams of torment faded as the kinetic barriers, formed in an outline around their entire bodies, collapsed inward, crushing the life from each of them as if they had been insects crushed by a giant's foot.

As the unremitting field crushed their skulls, their eyes were squeezed from their sockets only to implode as they too were mashed; their brains were turned to frothy pulp and they ceased to feel any pain at all while the sickening crunch of carapace and bone wafted through the area, unheard over the noise of weapons fire around them. Sparatus and Flavius were long-dead before their bodies, internal supporting structures crushed into mush by their own shield generators, were slowly formed into a perfect sphere of biological waste, the few identifiable structures within being their externally worn armor plates as the pair of kinetic balls rolled slowly across the floor.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Utopia Orbit, Exodus Cluster**

It was 0312 hours the next morning when Shepard bolted upright in bed to Liara's omnitool buzzing on the nightstand. Liara, also waking, reached over and grabbed it without sitting up or opening her eyes, mumbling only a single word in answer, "T'Soni."

Offering no preamble, Riana replied, "I have Omega on the comm."

That grabbed her attention and Liara finally sat up. "We'll be right down."

Shepard launched herself from the bed and went to the closet, quickly grabbing two pairs of N7 sweats as she called out, "Good, bad, or otherwise?"

Riana didn't hesitate to answer, "Otherwise. Details when you get down here. Iregos, out," as Shepard tossed one set of the sweats to Liara before beginning to get dressed.

Shepard stood ready, waiting for Liara to join her at the base of the steps as the Asari chuckled nervously, commenting, "Even when we are only putting on sweats, you still manage to dress faster than me."

"Many years of practice, Liara." Shepard held out her hand in impatience. "Come on. Let's go find out what's happening."

They made their way to the Broker's office as quietly as possible, trying to respect other's quiet hours, given the time, but as soon as the door slid shut behind them, Liara was asking, "Riana. What happened to the link with Omega?"

"Kas and Jon had to go, but not before they told me what was going on and promised a full mission report within six hours." After relaying a quick overview of the information she had received, Riana took a deep breath and paused before finishing. "Aria was apparently shot by a sniper and remains in critical condition, but the prognosis is good. Sparatus and…"

"… Sparatus?" Shepard interrupted. "As in 'ex-Turian Councilor' Sparatus?"

"One and the same, Captain. He and General Flavius are both dead, as are most, if not all, of the invading Turian force. The people of Omega were apparently very unforgiving of a second attempt to take away their freedom. Legion is staying behind with what he considers a _small_ security team of 144 SILC troopers, along with three of the medics, until Nyreen and Bray are confident Aria will recover."

"Shit." Shepard scrubbed her face with her hands, trying to hide a yawn. "When are Kas and Bau leaving Omega?"

"Legion has the SILC collating data for the report; number of ships destroyed, how many recovered, how many combatants, how many dead and such... Not sure exactly what we're going to end up with, other than too much information for us to process, but once we get the report, Kasumi said she and Jon were going to 'sleep until they woke up' and then give us another call, whenever that may be."

Shepard sighed. "Thank you, Riana. It would appear that Aria T'Loak leads a somewhat charmed life. I hope she recovers quickly… I cannot imagine being Bray or Nyreen while the Queen is flat on her back in bed."

 _{Simply put yourself in my place, or Miranda's, during your recovery in London, Samantha. I expect Aria will be equally as demanding and impatient to get out of bed as you were.}_ Liara took Shepard's hand as she thanked Riana as well. "Come, _Siame_. We may as well return to our bed and get what sleep we can. Tomorrow…" she groaned and corrected herself, "… _Later today_ is going to be quite busy."

"I'm not _that_ bad, am I?" Shepard's forehead crinkled in dismay at Liara comparing her with Aria.

Liara simply smiled and shook her head, responding, " _That_ is a discussion for a time when I'm not so tired, Samantha. Come on. Let's go back to bed."

* * *

 **Illium Orbit, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

It had been less than an hour since Zoë had spoken with Jana Cantrell; deciding she needed to leave the system, just in case Cantrell chose to renege on her promise to call off Stafford and Warren, she was programming the ship's VI with instructions for the trip back through the relays to the Sol system when her omnitool trilled again. _Damn… didn't take long for Jana to send them a message. Wonder what she told 'em… not that it really matters… I'm breaking orbit for Sol. If they're based there, they'll probably be following me through the relays_. Zoë returned to her task. When she was done, she flopped into the pilot's seat, there to initiate an engine start and core energization. With kinetic barriers and inertial dampeners set to maximum, she allowed the VI to break orbit to head for the relay; after a detour to the newly opened temporary fuel depot, she would need to double back around Naxell, so expected to reach the relay in nine to ten hours.

She calculated the total time for the trip to Sol at about eighteen hours, _if_ the Imir and Widow relays didn't take an inordinate amount of time to realign for each subsequent jump. She hoped to be clearing Charon by the time she needed to contact Cantrell for a meeting, which she was planning to have on her ship once she was in high orbit around Earth. Thinking, _If it's anything like the space around Bekenstein, the junk in orbit will be a real hindrance to navigation, but… it will make it easier for me to conceal myself from discovery by the Alliance. Can't imagine what the hell would happen if Shepard found out I was so damned close… don't expect I would survive the encounter…_

* * *

 **Earth Orbit, Sol System, Local Cluster**

Jana Cantrell waited with more than a little trepidation as her sleek corvette slowly approached _Starlight's Rage,_ the personal transport Maya… now Zoë… had taken out of storage in Nos Aedelos on the planet Illium. She had agreed to all of Zoë's terms for a personal meeting; she would board _Starlight's Rage_ unaccompanied and unarmed, carrying only a datapad loaded with the info Jana felt that Zoë needed to see, and she had the flight crew's solemn promise to break the seals and stand off from _Starlight's Rage_ until they were contacted to retrieve her for the trip back to the surface.

Cantrell had no illusions about being able to convince Zoë that the remnants of Cerberus needed her to take the helm and lead them in a new direction. She hoped to be able to convince the 'former' assassin that the new Human-centric group known as LEAP was several orders of magnitude more radical in their philosophy than _anything_ the Illusive Man had ever dreamed of before the Reapers had transformed him into an indoctrinated puppet. Zoë had already declared her desire to not be involved in wetwork again, but at some point the organization Jana hoped to have Zoë leading would most likely need to field trained assassins in order to bring down the leadership within LEAP.

As the crewman returned from finalizing the boarding tube seal, Jana stepped into the airlock and took the few steps needed to reach _Starlight's Rage's_ entry hatch; passing her gloved hand through the haptic interface, she took a half-step back as the latches released, allowing the hatch to move inward slightly, pivot on its offset vertical axis, then move out past the external skin and forward to rest out of the way. She glanced back at the crewman before stepping past the threshold into Zoë's ship. Her progress was obviously being monitored, as the entry hatch reversed its motion from before to reseal the ship; once the latches reengaged, the inner hatch unlatched and slowly retracted into pockets in the bulkhead. Jana heard a voice she recognized say, "Hands up, turn around, step backwards through the door then take two steps to your left."

As she carefully complied with the instructions, she held her breath for the shot she felt certain would enter her back; once clear of the hatch, she moved two steps to her left and waited.

"Lean in, place your hands against the wall and spread your feet."

Jana silently complied with the order and waited; a pair of hands landed on her shoulders then roughly moved along her arms, armpits, across her back, sides and chest before dropping to check her crotch, butt and legs, inside and out, all the way to her ankles. "You said I was to come unarmed, Zoë. Did you think me so stupid as to not comply?"

Ignoring the question, the voice said, "Drop your hands and move down the passage to your left… we'll talk in the mess area."

Jana sighed, having still not seen the source of the disembodied voice. She carefully brought her arms down and turned to walk the short distance to the mess area – actually just a wide place between the cockpit and living quarters where three or four people could sit in relative comfort to eat their meals. Reaching the first table, she sat as she was directed and looked towards the voice, just in time to see the shimmer of a cloaking shield vanish to reveal the woman formerly known as Maya Brooks, right hand holding an M-11 Suppressor heavy-pistol.

Jana's mouth fell open at the unexpected sight of a pretty, dark-skinned woman with short, curly black hair. The most unusual aspect of Zoë's appearance was the ivory colored tattooing on the left side of her face – narrow, geometric shapes in a pattern from her forehead to her chin that appeared tribal in origin; she recognized the pattern would fool most facial scanners attempting to match her look to known photos of Maya Brooks. Looking pointedly at the M-11 in Zoë's hand, Jana asked, "Is that really necessary? That pat-down you gave me was pretty damned thorough, and by now, my ship should be standing off to port, where it will stay until I signal it to pick me up… or do you plan to just shoot me and shove me out the airlock?"

Zoë sat down across the table from Jana; with a mirthless chuckle, she clipped the M-11 to the hardpoint on her hip. "Sorry… I worked for the Illusive Man long enough to learn that trust, in anybody, is the first thing one loses. Even before I joined Cerberus, trust was the one thing I never allowed to color my thinking." Inclining her head slightly, she continued, "So, here we are. Convince me that returning to Earth with you will be of any benefit to me."

Jana sat silent for a few moments while she was being studied by the Illusive Man's former top agent. "First off, tell me why you finally killed Harper… you were closer to him than anybody, even me. So how is it that neither of _us_ became indoctrinated? He left me behind on Cronos Station when he departed to accompany the Citadel to Earth… Warren's report concerning his recovered body indicated there were a lot of post-mortem electrical burns all over him; Commander Shepard's account stated Jack was mentally controlling her when he made her shoot Admiral Anderson." Zoë's eyes became glassy at the mention of Shepard. _She was obviously under a great deal of stress in that control room_ , Jana thought as she asked in a softer voice, "Is it true you helped Shepard survive until help arrived?"

Zoë hadn't spent much time thinking about that day, other than to worry that all the hounds of Cerberus were after her for killing Jack. "I should have killed him sooner, Jana," she whispered. "My only regret is that I didn't vent his fucking head as soon as he began controlling Shepard." Dark eyes bored into Jana's as Zoë recalled her final days as Jack's top agent. "I told you I began looking for a way out, but it was before Thessia. My skin would crawl every time I had to be in the same space with him. And yes, I _did_ try to help Shepard. I have never seen anyone, Jana, whether Human… Turian… Batarian… _anyone_ … so fucked up and still alive! She was horribly burned… her entire left side was opened up and bleeding. So yeah, I poured some medigel into that gaping wound… all I had, hoping it would do some good. I yelled at the Asari that was looking for her before I headed into the Keeper tunnels."

"The Maya I knew would have simply left her to die… she had been tasked with taking the commander out, so could have simply walked away and it would have been done. Instead, she chose to eliminate Jack Harper for the good of the galaxy." The corners of Jana's mouth turned up slightly. "What happened to you on Thessia, Zoë? Jack was thrilled when you retrieved that Prothean data, but I saw the haunted look in your eyes when you left him just after reporting back. He was planning to implant you with Reaper tech, wasn't he?"

Zoë nodded. "He wanted a replacement for Kai Leng… said I'd be a weapon to be reckoned with. I wasn't altogether sure it was safe for me to go to sleep on that miserable station, so I locked myself in my ship."

Cantrell could see talking about Zoë's past life as a Cerberus assassin was upsetting to her, so decided to change the subject to the reason for sitting across from this woman. "Zoë, we need to relaunch Cerberus…" holding up her hand to forestall the objection she could see forming on the woman's lips, she continued, "… start over completely, with a new name _and_ a new focus. Humans will always need a group to promote Humanity… _honestly_ promote Humanity, without denigrating or assassinating its rivals, such as LEAP, which seems to be all the worst aspects of Cerberus and the old Terra Firma Party rolled into one." Slowly setting the datapad she'd been holding onto the table, she slid it across for the woman to take and waited.

After quietly looking at the information on the datapad, Zoe raised her eyes without moving her head and said, "You really think these people will give a rat's ass about anything I have to say after I killed the Illusive Man? They must really be desperate." She shoved the datapad back across the table as she stood; moving to a beverage counter towards the rear of the mess area, she said over her shoulder, "Coffee?"

Jana replied, "Sure," before responding to the previous question. "As for you being looked up to as our new leader, I can assure you that Angelique and Tim weren't sent to find you on a whim. You're the Illusive Man's hand-picked successor. All the particulars are on that datapad."

Zoë came back to the table; setting a steaming mug of coffee in front of Cantrell, she retook her seat and sipped from her own mug. "Where are you based?"

"Vancouver… south of the Frasier River. Far enough from Alliance headquarters to remain unnoticed, close enough to see the Normandy when it flies in and out." She held her coffee mug between both hands, tipping the rim to her mouth as she studied Zoë's face across the cup.

"You haven't chosen a new name yet?"

"No. Most everyone decided it should be something _you_ would agree to."

"Me? Does everyone think I'll return to lead them? That's crazy!"

"God damn it, Zoë! It's not crazy to want you back. You have the skills… the cunning… to put us back together, move us in a new direction." Pointing to the datapad, she added, "It's all right there, including our location, should you wish to set this ship down at the site. Please, look at it again." Jana set her mug down and stood from the table. "I've told you everything I can think of to convince you to come back to us, Zoë. Now… it's up to you."

Activating her omnitool, Cantrell called the corvette, telling them she was ready to leave, prompting Zoë to stand as well. Closing her omnitool, Jana offered her hand to the former assassin. "I have to say, you really look good, Zoë. Wearing regular clothes instead of armor? Your hair is beautiful, but I'm not sure _what_ to think about the facial tattoos… I gather the pattern was chosen to break up your profile?"

Zoë shook the proffered hand as she replied, "Something like that. I needed a totally new look, and this seemed the best way to mess up the facial-rec programs. Do you think I'd have fooled Warren and Stafford?"

"There's no doubt in my mind, just as I don't think for a second that our people will be unwilling to follow you."

Zoë smiled and turned to lead Cantrell forward to the airlock. As she stopped at the inner door, she startled Jana by reaching out and placing her hands on the woman's upper arms. "Thanks for making the trip up to meet with me, Cantrell. I can appreciate how difficult it was for you to trust me enough to enter this ship, unarmed and alone." Zoë chuckled as she added, "I honestly didn't expect you to do it; you must really be desperate." Zoë looked over Jana's shoulder at the sound of the docking transfer tube once more latching onto _Starlight's Rage's_ hull.

Jana's expression gave way to an embarrassed smile. "As I said, your leadership skills are sorely needed, Zoë. Take your time to look over _all_ the information on that datapad, in full, and think about what we discussed. You have my extranet address… so you can send me a note when you're ready to land; I promise you... I'll be there in person to welcome you back." With that, Cantrell backed away a step, forcing Zoë to release her arms. Turning, she entered the airlock, cycled the inner door, and left _Starlight's Rage_ behind, confident that she'd be hearing from Zoë Lawrence again, sooner, rather than later.

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

Aria grimaced at the sound of a cannon discharging close by. Something unseen hit her in the chest… something heavy! It staggered her, forced her to take a step back. Looking down at her chest, she felt amazement at the rapid change in color of her white leather vest; a blue stain was spreading concentrically from a minute hole in the material. _Goddess be damned! It's ruined!_ She brought her left hand across to her right shoulder, which had somehow ceased to function. Strange. Now the blue and white colors were merging, becoming a deeper and deeper gray. She was unable to control her own body as she half-turned, her legs giving up the battle with gravity, slowly folding at the knees, and she collapsed to the deck to lay against the barrier she had been standing behind… the last thing she heard was an anguished cry from somewhere above her.

Aria was dreaming. _This is a damned nightmare… station operations were never this fucked up. Explosions… getting closer. Weapons fire… lots of assault rifles… rapid fire, shotguns… louder, deeper… the bass accompaniment to the staccato. The Turian pirates are all around me. Kandros! Where are you? Bray! Anyone?…_

A pale shape resolved into a blue face, materializing out of the mist that swirled around her. "Liselle? "Is that really you, Liselle?"

" _Mother? Why are you here? You're supposed to be on Omega!"_

Confusion – Liselle was dead, had been dead for years. "I was in… a bunch of Turians… trying to take over the station. I don't understand… how I got here… Why am I seeing you now, after so much time has passed?"

Liselle smiled. _"You need to go back, Mother. You don't belong here… it's not your time."_

"I've missed you, Liselle. I still miss you… every day of my life. The way you died…" She watched in horror as a thin line appeared on her daughter's throat… blood began flowing out of the wound, running down the sides of her neck, soaking the linen beneath her. "Liselle! No!"

Her daughter laid there on a bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. She turned away, enraged that some fucking piece of shit had done this to her daughter. She moved away from the still form, wishing she had never come to this place, wherever _this_ was.

A sound, intermittent… in a steady cadence… was gradually intruding into her mind. It sounded like it was monitoring… something… the measured tones were sounding in time with… her own heartbeat. She could hear it… her pulse… in the blood vessels inside, right next to her auditory canals. She tried to look back, to see if Liselle was following her. Nothing but a grey-white mist. But… she could hear… something else… a voice, different, echoing somewhat, with a flanging sort of lilt… pleading.

"Aria. Wake up, damn it. You've been asleep for hours… Why won't you wake up for me?" Nyreen was slowly stroking Aria's cheek with the backs of her talons as she quietly spoke Aria's name again and again. The Talons leader seldom showed any softness, whether it was to Bray, the Talons, or even Aria herself, but she'd been scared nearly out of her mind that the Asari was going to die from her injury. If it hadn't been for the SILC medical platform and Jondum Bau, Aria would have died where she fell, a victim of a Turian sniper, who in turn became of victim of Batarian vengeance at the hands of Bray.

As Nyreen stroked Aria's cheek and held her left hand, she thought she detected something stirring. Was she…? "Aria?" she asked hopefully.

A pair of violet eyelids slowly flickered open as her eyes attempted to adjust to the light. "Where?"

"Spirits be praised! Aria!" Kandros half-stood in order to lean over the newly-rediscovered love of her life. "Aria! You've been shot… sniper round in the right side of your chest. It penetrated your lung. You lost so much blood, I was…" Nyreen paused as the Queen of Omega stared at her.

"I'm in a hospital?" What…?"

"The SILC saved you, Aria. A medical unit performed the cleanest field operation I've ever heard of to extract that bullet and stitch you up. Jondum Bau helped while Kasumi Goto found some Asari synth. They brought you here while Bray and I finished kicking the damned pirates off the station. Once they saw their leaders go down, the rest of them just kind of… gave up, I guess. They didn't have any fight left in them. The SILC killed them all, and destroyed or heavily damaged every pirate ship that came through the relay. We won, Aria… we won."

"Guess the shot in my chest explains my damned dream," Aria croaked. "Mouth's dry. Got any water?"

Nyreen grabbed the cup from the nearby table, bent the straw down and placed it so the Asari could get her lips on it. After taking a couple of small mouthfuls and swallowing, she said, "Thanks, Nyreen. Guess it was a good thing I took Shepard's offer." With a scowl she added, "Fucking Hell! That insufferable woman will figure I owe her, _again_ , for saving my station and saving my ass!" Aria let her head fall back into the pillow and closed her eyes. "I'm feeling a bit woozy. Need to go back to sleep."

Aria sensed the Turian getting up and turning to leave; cracking a slit in one eyelid, she looked at Nyreen and asked, "Where in Hell do you think you're going?" When Kandros didn't respond, Aria added, "Sit down and hold my hand, damn you. Won't be able to fall asleep otherwise."


	43. Adjustments of Attitude

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _Breá Ber'ah_ \- Combined form meaning beautiful and strange lover; Breá being a close lover somewhere between Amantia and Siame (Thessian)

CE - Council Era

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes

XO - Executive Officer

* * *

 **Adjustments of Attitude**

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol** **System**

Jana Cantrell stepped up onto the docking structure to wait beside the airlock of the small, personal transport that had just landed. As the outer airlock hatch swung to the side, she called out a welcome to the agents exiting the craft. "Angel! Tim! It's good to have you back!"

Angelique stared at Jana's smiling face as she set foot on the metal platform and stopped in front of her. "It's nice to be home again. Feels like I've been gone forever."

Tim Stafford stepped up beside Warren and Jana grabbed each of them by a forearm for a moment before turning to lead them from the platform. "It's good to have you both home safely."

Stafford remained quiet as Warren asked, "So? Are you going to tell us, or do we have to drag it out of you?"

Jana's face was an impassive mask. "Tell you what, exactly? Oh, you want to know about our elusive former assassin," Jana replied with a grin.

"Damn it, Jana! If you have any new information, spill it for crap sakes. Tim and I nearly circled the damned galaxy trying to hunt down Maya Brooks. Then, you tell us she's dead… and to be replaced by this… this… Zoë Lawrence person. So, did you meet her?"

Jana chuckled, then replied, "I'm sorry, Angel. I know it's not funny. You and Tim did a great job, but the changes she's made to her appearance would spoof any but the most sophisticated facial recognition program… She could have walked right by either of you on Illium and you wouldn't have seen her... but yes, I did meet with her… Her ship's in a Geosynced orbit right overhead."

Tim, having been quiet to this point, asked, "Her ship… it's _Starlight's Rage_ , correct?"

"Yes," Jana nodded, as she reached the pocket door that would allow them entrance to the partially destroyed building taken over by members of Cerberus. She entered the passcode and allowed the iris scanner access to her eyes, thus releasing the door locks and allowing the sectional door to retract into the bulkheads on either side of the opening. As she preceded the agents into the building, she said, "Zoë is how we need to think of her now. Maya Brooks died… Zoë's guess is from an explosion on the Citadel. Seems as good a cause of death as any."

"Did she…" Angel paused, then began again. "Did Zoë admit to killing the Illusive Man, like Shepard stated in her report?"

Jana smiled as she activated her omnitool. "Ask her yourself."

Warren's mouth fell. "She's here, in this building?

"Not yet, Angel. But I have every confidence she'll be landing outside in a week or so." Jana turned to look into Angelique's eyes. "And I truly believe the woman all of us knew as Rasa, or Maya, or Hope, doesn't exist anymore."

She shifted her attention between Warren and Stafford as she continued. "I heard it in her voice, saw it in her actions. She's changed. The assignments the Illusive Man sent her on drained the xenophobia completely from her soul. She actually referred to an Asari by that term, whereas before? She would have simply referred to them as _squids_."

"How does that square with a 'Humans-first' agenda?" Tim asked. "Seems Cerberus has lost its direction… its focus."

Wondering if Tim was going to be a problem if there was a shift of philosophy or tactics within the organization, she answered truthfully, "We're no longer Cerberus, Tim. The mind-set that created Cerberus died with the Illusive Man. His _ideals_ may outlive him, but make no mistake – our vision for the rebirth of Cerberus, in whatever form and with whatever new name we call ourselves, must change to accommodate a new paradigm." Jana took a seat at a table in the conference room in which that had ended up. "Jack Harper's agenda was for Humans to lead and rule over every other race in the galaxy, something that is categorically impossible to achieve. He was indoctrinated by the Reapers, back during the First Contact War when Ben Hislop became… something else... and Eva Coré was killed by whatever abomination Hislop was turned into." Jana looked down at the floor as she thought about those times, a mere twenty-nine or thirty years ago. "I was just a kid then," she added quietly.

Looking up at the pair before her, she brightened as she told them, "You did good work… both of you. I'm proud to have you working with us, but make no mistake – our mission has changed. Jack Harper's vision for Cerberus ran off the rails before we became aware of the existence of Sovereign... and long before we understood it was a vanguard for the entire Reaper nation."

Angelique looked at Jana with an unhappy expression. "If that's the case, then what the Hell _is_ our mission, Jana? If we're not advocating for humanity, who will?"

Cantrell looked into Warren's eyes without flinching. "We'll need to have that discussion with Zoë Lawrence when she rejoins us." Placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, she gave a little squeeze as she added, "I believe we'll continue to be advocates for humanity, Angel, but in a kinder, gentler way. And we will still need agents to do wetwork, make no mistake, but the people that will become targets of our new organization won't necessarily be aliens… at least, not as our primary focus." Jana dropped her hand back to her side, concluding, "I fear we may find ourselves having to counter the hardcore fanatics within the new organization that's formed in the remains of New York City.

Angel nodded, as did Tim. "Okay, Jana. We'll get our gear out of the ship, get cleaned up and have some dinner. It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed on Earth once again." Cocking her head before she turned to follow Tim back outside, she said, "Just one thing. I would like to be on the docks when Zoë touches down... so I can meet the person that put an end to Jack Harper."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik** **, Omega Nebula**

Nyreen moved her chair a bit closer to the bed and reached for the blue hand raised demandingly before her. She sat and caressed it gently, querying, "Why the sudden need for me to hold your hand, Aria? You were never one to care for physical contact before."

Aria responded groggily, already half asleep. "I heard someone say I nearly died out there. Maybe I _was_ dead, for a minute or two. I was in some damned place full of gray mist, or fog... and I saw Liselle, damn it. She spoke to me… asked me why I was there." Aria was whispering as she finished, voice hitching with barely contained grief. "Liselle told me to leave… to go back… that it wasn't my time to join her. Goddess…"

Aria stopped speaking as the pain meds reasserted their control on her nervous system. Nyreen noted with satisfaction the quiet rise and fall of her chest as her facial features relaxed into sleep. _Spirits! She is truly beautiful when she's not scowling at everyone and everything around her._

A noise at the door drew her attention; it was Bray, splitting his attention between Aria and Nyreen, looking at both inquisitively. "The doctors wouldn't tell me anything. How's she doing?"

Nyreen waved him in with her free hand; when he was standing beside her, she looked up and said quietly, "Her condition is still serious, Bray. She had the surgery the SILC unit said she needed to permanently fix the bleeders inside her… Her doctors were amazed, as am I, she didn't die out there; after talking to Jondum Bau, it's obvious to me she has the favor of her goddess, Athame." Shaking her head as she turned back to regard the peaceful Asari, she added, "She looks totally vulnerable right now, doesn't she? I suppose that's why she didn't want me to let go of her hand."

Bray nodded his head once, before tipping it to the left in a show of respect. "You may not want to hear this, but you are good for Aria. She respects you." He reached in, surprising the Turian by placing his hand on top of her hand, holding that of the Asari. Giving the pair of hands a small squeeze, he released her and said, "I'm glad she has you, Kandros. I think you're exactly what she needs to make her a better person.

Looking back up at the Batarian, she nodded and said, "Thank you… and how extraordinarily un-Batarian of you, Bray." She chuckled, using the lilt of her sub-harmonics to convey how she felt. "You're not going soft on us, are you?"

Bray chuckled in response, saying, "After what we did together yesterday, I don't see how you can possibly ask that question. Aria has my complete loyalty, Nyreen, but you…" He paused to think about his words for a moment before completing his statement. "… I had my doubts about you when you resurfaced as the leader of the Talons but, these past few months, you have earned my respect." Turning to leave, he said over his shoulder, "I have to get back to it, Kandros. Have to make sure none of those pirates made it into the station's general population. I'll check back later… see if the boss is awake." With a jaunty wave of his hand, he was out the door.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Annos Basin, At Large**

Samantha Traynor opened the partition between her new, shared quarters with Riana Iregos and the Shadow Broker's main office area; pleased to find the compartment dark and devoid of life, with all the terminals on standby, she hoped that she'd be able to get to the showers, get cleaned up and return to her Asari lover without encountering any crewmembers.

It was late – nearly time for the night watch to begin, so few crewmen would be stirring, except perhaps at the beverage station in the crew's mess. Samantha had overcome most of her body shyness during her time in the Alliance Navy, yet still felt uncomfortable having anyone, particularly the men, see her out of uniform. Looking down at her bare legs as she approached the main hatch, she thought to herself that wearing only a robe that just covered down to her knees was about as 'out of uniform' as she would get. Although she certainly could undress in the woman's head, she preferred the convenience of simply shucking her robe and moving into the shower; returning to Riana after completing her bath, with nothing between her body and her Asari lover but an easy to remove robe simply added to Sammi's anticipation.

After casually walking to the women's bathroom on the mid-deck, she relaxed under the luxury of a warm shower while washing and rinsing her hair with a non-scented shampoo – she had learned during her time with Riana that having scent of any kind in her hair caused the Asari some discomfort in her sinuses, no doubt an allergic reaction to the chemicals used to simulate the fragrances – Sammi had discovered she much preferred the scent of vanilla that lingered on the Asari's incredibly soft, blue skin. After washing and rinsing the rest of her body, she dried herself with the large, fluffy towel she'd pulled from the pile in the supply cabinet.

After pulling on her robe and cinching it tight around her waist, she checked her reflection in the full-length mirror. She had always thought her features were somewhat ordinary, an opinion not shared by Riana, who assured her at every opportunity that she was simply beautiful. Like most Asari, the vanguard was fascinated with Samantha's hair, playing with the strands whenever she could. She even commented on the color – what looked like a simple shade of brunette was complemented by a warm mix of subtle deep red highlights.

With a contented sigh, she gathered her supplies and left the bathroom, walking in a casual manner back to the Shadow Broker's office on the port side of the deck. Upon reaching the hatch, she immediately regretted unlocking and opening it; Captain Shepard and Dr T'Soni were huddled at the broker terminal in quiet conversation and both looked up at the sound of the hatch sections retracting. When Traynor hesitated, Shepard smiled as she waved Sammi into the room, saying, "Come on through, Specialist. This is the only path to your quarters, after all."

Traynor could feel the heat on her cheeks and was grateful that the dark coloration of her skin hid her blush (she hoped) as she started to walk past the pair. Unfortunately, Sammi had been seen by one of the people talking with Shepard and Liara as she attempted to move past them.

A cheerful, "Hi, Specialist!" came from the terminal, the voice unmistakable. Traynor paused to look at Shepard, her expressive eyes asking for permission to respond. When her captain nodded, Sammi moved to stand behind them as she answered, "Hello, Kasumi. How have you been?"

With her ever-present cowl hiding most of her face, Kasumi smiled as she replied, "Life has been good, Specialist Traynor." Her voice took on a teasing tone as she added, "I like your new casual-wear, Sammi. It all looks _sooo_ much more comfortable than that stuffy old uniform you usually wear."

Liara smiled as she replied for the now flustered specialist. "Ms Traynor is off-duty, Kasumi – she's getting ready for bed."

Kasumi latched on to this piece of information like a varren snatching a bone. "Doesn't _Riana_ live in the quarters ahead of your office, Liara?"

Liara responded with, "Yes, she does. And now, so does Specialist Traynor."

"I see," the master-thief replied with a visible smirk. "Well, say hello to Riana for me, Sammi, and tell her I said she's lucky to have you for a companion."

Traynor's face felt like it was on fire. "I will Kasumi. Nice speaking with you, as always."

Before Sammi could make good on her escape, another voice spoke up. "Traynor! It's good to know you're still on the Normandy." Miranda had been listening in from the _Aletheia_.

The specialist grabbed her temples with thumb and forefinger as she silently thought, _How did this happen?_ Pulling her hand away, she replied, "It's nice to hear your voice, Ms Lawson. How have you been?"

"We are both enjoying the fact that we survived the war together, Specialist," replied Judea Voni, hugging Miranda from behind with her chin on the Human's shoulder. "Am I to presume _you_ are doing the same, if you're sleeping with Riana?"

"Oh, for God's sake!" Sammi exclaimed quietly; her face felt so hot she was sure it was beet red. "Yes I am. Riana's… the love of my life, Jude… I can't imagine life without her… but if you'll please excuse me, I have to get some sleep."

Shepard gave her a quick wink and Liara smiled knowingly up at Traynor before they returned their attention to the monitor to give their communications specialist a chance to escape the merciless teasing. "Okay, everyone," Shepard said softly, thinking back to the first few weeks and months of her budding relationship with an extremely shy Liara. "Let's get back to business, shall we?"

Sammi whispered "Thank you, Ma'am," as she unlocked the closed partition and opened the panel just enough to squeeze inside.

Once she had reclosed the panel and engaged the privacy lock, she was startled by a sleepy "Whas'goin'on?" Riana raised her head just enough to see her recently arrived companion before burrowing back under the covers. "Where you been…" said the sleepy voice. "… It's really lonely in here without you."

Traynor removed and hung her robe in the corner, then eagerly crawled into bed beside her lover. Laying an arm over Riana's mid-section, she snuggled up to her warm body and hugged her, eliciting an immediate protest. "Your skin is cold, Sammi."

Traynor lifted her arm and started to move away, only to have Riana reach around and pull her back. "Where are you going? Come here so I can warm you up." The Asari rolled towards her lover, entwined her bare legs with Sammi's as she embraced her bodily and whispered, "Open to me, _Breá Ber'ah_. I need you."

Sammi pressed her nude body into Riana's, attempting to fill in every void as she set her cheek on a well-muscled shoulder; enjoying the touch of a gentle hand on her head and fingers playing with hair still damp from her shower, she felt the soft hint of Ri's presence at the back of her mind. She opened fully to her _amantia,_ relishing the familiar feel of the Asari's thoughts… her utter devotion. She briefly relayed highlights of the conversation that had taken place in the broker's office, most of which had been quite embarrassing for her.

Chuckling quietly at her Human's bashfulness, Riana replied _{They are simply happy for you, my love, and happy for me. You should not be embarrassed for anyone to know of our relationship. And Kasumi is correct in thinking I'm lucky to have you for a companion… I give thanks to the Goddess every day for your presence in my life, Sammi.}_

 _{That they know is not the problem, Ri. It's just that… it seems all they can think of is what we do… when we're together. Does that make sense?}_

 _{Their thoughts are their own, Sammi. What we experience together? It's likely Jude and Miranda are the only ones you talked to that truly realize what our love entails. Now, calm your mind. It is time we were asleep, Breá Ber'ah.}_

Warm fingers ran soothingly up and down her back, helping Sammi clear her mind of all else and simply enjoy the presence that was Riana. Having nightly full-body, skin-on-skin contact, Traynor often went to sleep while Riana maintained the lightest of melds, always withdrawing just as Sammi's mind lost conscious thought to a state of light sleep.

As a result of sleeping with Riana every night for the past six weeks, Sammi had become sharper, more focused, as if her mind was receiving nightly energy infusions. If Riana was aboard, she made sure Traynor took her breaks and ate her lunch every day, correctly surmising, it seemed, that the intensity of the specialist's job drained her body of energy just as surely as if she were using biotics in a fight. Riana actually reaped the benefits of her extra care of Sammi, who had continued to grow as a physical lover; more importantly, Traynor's ability to mentally join with Riana also continued to evolve. While the Human would never be able to initiate a joining, her utter joy in being able to 'know' the love Riana felt for her, even as she pushed every bit of her own love to Riana through the meld, gave Sammi an overwhelming sense of serenity at the start and finish of each day.

As Traynor melted into Riana's body, she dimly heard Liara and Shepard in the outer office as they rose, secured the terminals and returned to the loft. Sammi was nearly asleep, with Riana slowly withdrawing from her mind, when she had a final thought. _{I love you, Riana… forever.}_

* * *

 **Palaven, Trebia, Apien Crest**

The day after the Omega battle reports reached the Normandy, Garrus Vakarian found himself in the office of the Primarch. Victus stood before him, glancing over a datapad as Garrus stood by, unsure exactly why he had been called in and watching nervously as the leader of the Turian Hierarchy scanned a recently received report. Victus finally glanced up. "Garrus. Seems the idea of bringing in the SILC has already begun paying dividends. They've offered up a number of freighters and our supplies are moving much more readily... across the whole damned planet."

He handed the datapad to his chief advisor, which Garrus took, querying, "Certainly you didn't bring me in simply to tell me _that_ , Sir." He cleared his throat and continued, "I assumed you wanted to have a... chat... about me going directly to the Councilor with our issues here."

Victus surprised him by chuckling. " _That_? No. I needed that kick in the ass – and that's why I wanted you on my team, Garrus. You and me? We're a lot alike. We've both worked within the establishment and when things moved too slowly, we've also both simply said 'Fuck it,' ignored the standard conventions and did what needed to be done anyway, consequences be damned." Victus flared his mandibles in appreciation. "I need an advisor who understands my methods so we won't be constantly locking horns over my approach to things. Now, read the report on that datapad… You'll see the SILC have helped us in more ways than one."

Garrus finally glanced down at the device in his hand and started reading. He didn't get far before he looked up quickly, spearing Victus with his predatory eyes. " _Sparatus_? He's the one behind all of this? Praise the spirits the bastard's dead!" Garrus returned his attention to the datapad; after skimming through the rest of the report, he looked back up and asked, "Who was this General – Aetius Flavius? Another malcontent, unhappy with the way the war ended?"

"So it would seem. There was another high-ranking person in the mix… designated Admiral of their Fleet... Quintadim Lithnos. He is presumed dead, as his ship was blown to bits by a SILC dreadnaught." Victus indicated the datapad as he continued, "That's your copy. Hang onto it... and hang onto your friendship with Captain Shepard, Vakarian. That woman is an ally beyond measure and we need to keep it that way." As Garrus started nodding, Victus continued, "If she calls, you go... and explain it to me later. You're not a Spectre, but you're probably the closest damned thing we'll get for a long while after our recent history with both Saren and Sparatus. The reputation of the Turians has taken a bit of a hit from the Council's perspective. Your relationship with Shepard is going to help us fix that."

Garrus' mandibles twitched in irritation. "She's a friend, Sir, and a damned good one. I won't use her..."

Victus held his hand up. "Easy, Garrus. That's not how I meant it. I don't expect you to play politics and I will never ask you to curry special favors. I simply meant I trust that Human's judgment and I'm giving you leave to continue working with her at every opportunity, with no need to ask permission. As I said... if Spectre Shepard calls for help, you are free to go."

"Thank you, Sir." Garrus breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "So... to get back to the matter at hand. The SILC are carrying freight and helped eliminate a problem who _we_ let escape out into the galaxy. I don't see any mention of the Shroud facility... Have they started construction yet?"

"Shroud, as in singular? No. I have a separate report on that from Prime Legion." Victus activated his omnitool and promptly projected a three dimensional globe representing Palaven. "To give you an idea of just how bad the Reaper destruction to our atmosphere is, consider this... Tuchanka, still in the midst of a nuclear winter when we made initial contact, required a network of four Shroud facilities to make the planet livable. Every 200 years, one of those units was decommissioned and scrapped as conditions gradually improved... until only one remained active. The last unit was scheduled for decommissioning in 800 CE."

"But because of the Krogan Rebellions," Garrus growled, "... we decided to keep it active, so we could use it to distribute things like the Genophage."

"Exactly. We simply did what was necessary at the time, but that's all beside the point." Victus shrugged. "My point is that the SILC finished their atmospheric study and have decided we also need a network of four facilities... but we'll decommission the first _two_ after 200 years and the other two individually, in 100-year increments."

"What?" Garrus was shocked. "Four hundred years for Palaven to recover?"

"Honestly, yes." Victus chuckled lightly. "But it's not quite as bad as it sounds. The plan for Tuchanka was a cumulative 2,000 year plan... and they still weren't fully recovered when the last standing Shroud was destroyed. The SILC, however, have calculated that _our_ world can recover much faster from the relatively simple complications of dust and smoke versus clouds composed of nuclear radiation, so we fully anticipate that Palaven will respond faster than Tuchanka ever could, with a cumulative equivalent of only 1,200 years."

Garrus remained quiet for a moment as he took in the new information and studied the diagram projected in front of him. "So... We'll be basically recovered after all four units run for the first 200 years, but that will still be followed by another 100 years or so of maintenance with only two functioning units, to make sure Palaven is _truly_ in good health?"

"Exactly."

"And what of the Krogan?" Garrus cocked his head as he thought of the Shroud on Tuchanka laying in a pile of rubble... with Mordin Solus most likely still buried somewhere beneath. "Will the SILC also rebuild _their_ Shroud?"

"Absolutely not." Victus laughed at the expression on Garrus' face as he continued, "Urdnot Bakara declined the SILC offer, saying something about needing the physical work to keep her males out of trouble. She plans on making them do it themselves."

"Ah. Of course." Garrus found himself nodding in agreement. "I do believe Bakara is going to be an excellent partner for Wrex." He let out a little chuckle. "If Wrex isn't careful, it will be _her_ running Tuchanka instead of him!"

"After talking with her while she was on the Normandy, I truly believe she _is_ running Tuchanka…" Victus chuckled, concluding, "It's only that Wrex has yet to realize it, Garrus."

* * *

 **Lesuss Monastery, Mesana, Nimbus Cluster**

"Thank you, Rae." The newly confirmed Lesuss Monastery Headmistress, Matriarch Tela T'Sori nodded politely. "We truly do appreciate your willingness to defend our positions here, but I honestly believe we'll be fine. Now that we've had a full week to get to know one another, everyone is functioning well within the new structure; Justicar Samara's presence was, and will continue to be, essential, so I would like to keep her on for an indefinitely period of time."

Tevos smiled openly. "Of course. If she is willing to stay, I think adding her to your staff is an excellent idea. Some of those who must remain there may have had... let's simply say _unfortunate_ experiences with the Justicar who originally delivered them to the Monastery... and Samara will hopefully be able to sway their opinions of the Order as a whole. Such a shift of attitude will be essential to our plan working."

"Absolutely. If those who are ready want to have the ability to come and go from the Monastery at will, they must be prepared to go through a period of supervised release... and I am in total agreement with you when you say that supervisor positively _must_ be a Justicar."

"I am glad you agree, Tela." Tevos took a deep breath before continuing, "Does Samara have any idea when she'll head back to Thessia to address the order on this particular issue?"

Tela nodded, "Yes, but it will not be any time soon. She plans to wait for the Normandy to complete its Victory Tour, so Captain Shepard can accompany her to speak to the Order. Their strategy is for Shepard to verify the previously concealed presence of Falere and Aresia as crew members on the _Aletheia_ during the war, under the supervision of Justicar Samara, to show that it can work. The fact that Falere and Aresia voluntarily returned to the Monastery after the war will also play into their argument for the potential release of those worthy of such trust."

Nodding, Tevos responded, "Yes. I can see the validity of such an approach... but I highly doubt the Matriarchs on Thessia will be willing to wait that long, now that they know of the Lesuss Monastery's survival. They are quite displeased with my... withholding... of that information." Tevos grinned and almost laughed as she continued, "Though they cannot say I lied to them, as I simply told them the situation was contained... and, since they did not care to ask about the details, I did not provide them."

Smiling in return, Tela offered, "In defense of your actions, I welcome any inspections the Matriarchs deem necessary, without reservation. Those who remained behind here did well; the gardens are producing, the water wells are functioning perfectly, and the reconstruction following the Reaper invasion has been mostly completed. After the initial strike, the Reapers never returned, so recovery was relatively simple. I would be happy to receive anyone who cares to visit us."

"That is good news indeed... which I will be pleased to pass along to the Matriarchal Forum." Tevos turned to a knock on her door. Turning back, she sighed, "I'm afraid my next appointment has arrived, Headmistress. It was very good speaking with you and, please, should you need _anything_ , do not hesitate to contact my office."

Noting the sudden formality with which Tevos spoke, Tela assumed someone had entered the office and responded in kind. "Thank you, Councilor. I will be certain to keep you apprised of any major developments as we move forward with the recovery. Have a wonderful day."

As the call terminated and the screen went black, a voice from the side sounded genuinely hopeful. "It seems we have the support we require and are now committed to our path."

Tela turned to the heretofore silent observer. "Yes, Samara, we do... and we are. Did you honestly anticipate any other outcome from my conversation with the Councilor?"

Samara allowed a small smile to grace her lips before responding, "No, Headmistress. I did not, but it is still a welcome development to have our expectations confirmed. Our residents will be greatly encouraged when they are informed of our initial results. More than a few were concerned about the future of our champion's political career."

Tela laughed, "Oh, Goddess! They needn't be! Councilor Raesia Tevos has a very sharp mind and can swim with the most dangerous of political sharks without them ever catching even a hint of blood in the water. She is quite able to navigate this situation, particularly with the support of the likes of you and Captain Shepard. Of that, I have absolutely zero doubt."

The Justicar smiled softly. "Then let us prepare for the inspection that is undoubtedly coming."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

After the receptions she had received at the Salarian settlements within the Annos Basin, Shepard was happy to be in the Exodus Cluster and visiting a Human colony... one which they had helped to survive the war. With a gravitational force almost identical to Earth, they had opted to set the Normandy directly on the surface at an available cargo dock, rather than take a shuttle down. As they completed a final gear check before walking down the ramp, Shepard glanced over at her unusually quiet XO. "You okay, Williams?"

Her fellow Spectre looked up with a reflective smile. "Yeah. I think so." She took a deep breath and continued, "Thanks, Skipper. I admit it'll be weird coming back here, a whole new team comprising the 212..."

"Don't count on it, Ash." Shepard's voice was solemn. "You know when we went back to steal Javik from under Cerberus' nose... they had wiped out the 212 _again_. After that, with everything else going on with the war, Hackett didn't have the soldiers to spare and was forced to leave the defense of Eden Prime to the resistance movement. Liara and company provided information to them every chance we got, but the 212 no longer exists, Ash. I'm sorry."

Williams fell silent as various emotions streamed rapidly across her face until she finally shrugged. "I guess that's a good thing. I won't be comparing them to my old crew and wondering if they would have done better... seeing as they survived the Reapers, when we didn't even survive the Geth."

"Hey." Shepard stopped her gear check and grabbed Ashley's upper arm. "We didn't know about the Geth being outside the veil and were caught totally flat-footed. There's a reason surprise attacks work." She sighed and let go of Williams' arm as she continued, "But we knew about the Reapers, so if the 212 had been here, the conditions of battle wouldn't have been the same, so there would be no comparison."

"You're right. Thanks." Ashley straightened her shoulders and smiled weakly. "So, you ready to hit the dirt?"

With a nod, Shepard turned to the rest of her ground team. "Let's go, folks; it's show time!"

They lined up in a V-formation, Shepard on point with Liara and Ashley off each shoulder and Edi and Sarah Campbell bringing up the rear. "Drop the ramp, Cortez. Time to visit the people of Eden Prime."

* * *

 **Constant, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

Shepard started her descent with the rest of the team in trail before the Normandy's ramp even grounded on the tarmac. A tanned woman of approximately 50-years approached from the edge of the flight line to meet them at the midpoint of their traverse across the cargo dock, her curly black hair pinned neatly back and unaffected by the stiff, hot breeze blowing across the asphalt. She was short and thick and walked with purpose, but Shepard noticed a playful twinkle in the brown eyes of the woman surveying those who had disembarked from the Normandy as she extended her hand in welcome.

"Welcome to the capital city of Constant, Captain Shepard." Her focus shifted quickly to the Asari as she continued, "Dr T'Soni, it's a pleasure to meet you in person. I'm Mayor Camilla Walstad... and your intelligence reports are what kept us alive so we could meet with you today." She turned her head and waived a hand, introducing her companions. "This is Lieutenant Albert Capozzi, my Executive Officer, and Major Ruben Katterjohn, our Resistance Commander."

While Capozzi only nodded in recognition and stood silent, the major saluted as he said, "Pleasure to meet you, Captain." Shepard saluted in response and, as their hands dropped back to their sides, the major continued, "And, please... We're pretty informal around here. We're just a resistance cell, not an organized military, so please just call me Ruben."

"I can do that, Ruben." Smiling as her eyes moved across their welcoming trio, she continued, "And most folks who know me simply call me Shepard. No rank. No titles. Just Shepard."

He smiled and turned to Liara, sticking his hand out. "And you, Dr T'Soni... Your information saved our asses more than once. I can't begin to thank you enough for all you provided us."

"Of course." Liara took his hand, the look on his face indicating he was surprised at the strength in the scientist's grip. "It was the least we could do, seeing as we couldn't stay to help you destroy what remained of Cerberus here. It was unfortunate that our mission took us away so quickly... before we had a chance to meet in person."

"Think nothing of it, Doctor." He relaxed and glanced around their little space port. "We got the job done here... and the Normandy had much bigger fish to fry than a pesky little band of Cerberus troops. You all had Reapers to kill."

Shepard grinned, "And kill 'em we did... but it certainly took more than just Liara and me." With that, she stepped to the side and introduced the rest of her ground team before turning her focus back to Walstad. "I hope you realize our stay here is longer than our normal planet-side schedule allows and I'm sure you understand the reasons, so let's not keep Dr T'Soni waiting, shall we?"

"Understood, Captain. She has been amazingly patient with our banter." Camilla was chuckling as she turned to Liara. "You are well known as the preeminent scholar on the Protheans, Doctor. I certainly don't want to be the one to keep you from the bunker complex beneath our feet. My only regret is that you didn't have a chance to see it before Cerberus arrived." She shook her head in disgust before continuing, "Come on. I'll introduce you to Tresa Ellingwood, our resident doctor, and Tyson Launt, our engineer. They are the two responsible for the security and safety of everyone here... and you're not going anywhere without talking to Ty first. He has the keys to the catacombs."


	44. The Winds of Change

Notes:

AGL - (height) Above Ground Level

 _Cheann geallta_ \- Promised one (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **The Winds of Change**

 **Constant, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

After Walstad made the necessary introductions to her Medical Safety Chief and her Engineering Chief, she invited the Normandy party to please join her for dinner at 1800 hours in the Headquarters Mess; she then said her farewells and went on her way. An enthusiastic Engineer Launt then led the newly arrived visitors across the rough terrain; it soon became apparent that the athletic man was accustomed to clambering about the debris. "I really wish you could have seen the catacombs when we first made the discovery, Dr T'Soni. It was amazing! Even without power, the facility was simply spectacular! Our lights hardly penetrated past the first level catwalks... I'm a pretty decent climber, so I carried some portable lights up to the first tier... only to discover at least two more levels above that." He paused and pointed at the door they were headed to. "That's where we currently access the tunnels. The upper elevator you used was destroyed in the fighting, but we had previously located three separate entries, so we still have access to the facility... though none are as convenient as that lift was!"

As they continued moving, Liara started speaking, "We've seen... and been in... the Prothean Archives on Ilos. The stasis pods seemed to rise forever above us... It was truly magnificent." Liara sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, none of the stasis pods were functional when we arrived... but the facility still had limited power, giving us the opportunity to speak with the Watcher. The VI referred to itself as Vigil and was created to monitor the facility and the life signs of all the Protheans in stasis, based on programming done by the facility's lead researcher, Ksad Ishan."

Launt's green eyes lit up, his voice high pitched with his excitement. "Holy shit! There's a _working_ facility? How did I never hear of this? Probably because it's super classified?"

Liara's brow pinched in remorse. "Because we didn't have time to do anything but get the data we needed and leave. Our mission to stop Saren from releasing the Reapers upon the galaxy took priority... and by the time the Alliance got a follow-up expedition to Ilos, everything had shut down." The Asari was practically crying as she finished, "We delayed the Reapers, but lost whatever data Ilos and Vigil could have given us. We had to walk away from the find of a lifetime because of that... because of those _monsters_."

Shepard moved to Liara's side and took one of her hands, interlacing their fingers and giving a comforting squeeze. "It's still there, Liara. I'll get you back there, I promise. There might still be something worth salvaging." She gave a light tug to draw the Asari's attention and smiled. "Don't forget what I can do."

Completely misunderstanding the Captain's words, Launt laughed and commented, "I've seen the vids that followed your blossoming romance during the war. I guess it's true, then... and not just war propaganda? And, I suppose, being the galaxy's super-Spectre opens doors for Dr T'Soni that are closed to the rest of us research team schmucks, huh?" His tone was light, so it was obvious he took no offense or held any resentment.

Knowing Shepard was referring to her ability to understand the Prothean language and interface with the Beacons, Liara smirked and replied quietly, "Yes. Something like that."

Tyson's laugh was honest and full as he countered, "Just please remember Engineer Tyson Launt when it comes time to pick your team, Doctor. I would _love_ the opportunity to be your team's structural safety engineer!"

"I'm afraid I'm dedicated to my Spectre, Tyson Launt, at least for now." Liara smiled and squeezed Shepard's hand. "I have no idea when, or if, I'll actually ever return to archaeology."

"What?" His eyes opened wide and his voice reflected frustrated surprise. "But you're the galaxy's expert on the topic! Your theorems proved true and you stuck to your guns... Even when the rest of academia thought you a crazy kid! Hell! You actually had a chance to talk to and work with the only living Prothean in our lifetime!"

"Yes, I did." Liara drew a deep breath and finished, "But... then I killed him when he attempted to take Shepard's life."

"Well, shit." Launt turned and stared at the Asari. "I heard rumors about that as well, but I figured he had simply vanished into the bowels of Alliance bureaucracy in their Research or Intelligence departments. Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up bad memories." They had reached the doorway and Launt pulled out the electronic decoder to open the lock. After a long moment of silence as the decoder worked it's magic, the circumspect 34-year-old man spoke again. "You did what you had to do to protect a loved one. With the war, I think we've all been in that position a time or two, so nobody can fault you for that."

"Thank you, Mr Launt. It may not seem like much, but I appreciate your words." Liara looked at the auburn-haired female at her side as she continued quietly, "At the time, Alliance Research and Development didn't exactly agree with my decision, but I'd do anything necessary to protect Shepard, no matter the cost."

"Screw 'em," Launt growled. "Those R&D types have most likely forgotten what it's like to be in the field. It's not some fracking laboratory. You don't have the luxury of redo's out here; you get it right the first time or people die... and it's generally the _wrong_ people who suffer." The lock clicked and he turned back to them as the door popped open, his expression earnest. " _They_ sure as Hell weren't going to come out here and save the galaxy so, personally, I'm glad you were there to keep Shepard alive."

To lighten the mood, Shepard laughed and replied, "Me too. But... enough. There's a doorway that just opened and there's an out-of-practice archaeologist who wants to jump in there so badly, she's trying to crush my hand without even realizing it." She raised her eyebrows at Liara, who looked down and let go of Shepard's hand as if she had just been shocked.

"Goddess! I'm sorry, Shepard!" Liara blushed as the rest of the group laughed lightly.

Launt's face split with a wide grin. "Of course! Let me get the lights turned on and introduce you to what remains of the Archives of Eden Prime!"

* * *

As they moved downward through the archives, it became apparent the facility would be very similar to the one they had located after passing through the rediscovered Mu Relay. Even the plush growth of Eden Prime had penetrated to the depths, vines crawling through the ladders and catwalks, creating a surreal familiarity to the facility on Ilos, which now seemed like a lifetime ago. Liara felt as if she had stepped back through time as she and Tyson chatted excitedly, exchanging information, Shepard hung back, her mood much more somber; while not totally blocking the link, she certainly walled off the thoughts running through her mind.

Ashley had her own memories bouncing around in her skull and Sarah Campbell was at her side asking questions about her time on Eden Prime and what it was like to be the first Humans to encounter the Geth outside the Veil. Edi, however, was completely focused on the Captain and moved to her side, walking in measured steps to keep pace with her commander. "Shepard? If I may?"

The Human glanced up and smiled, "Sure, Edi. What do you need?"

"It is not what _I_ need... but you." Edi canted her head and continued, "Something here bothers you, and you are not one to ignore your extraordinary sense if it is something threatening... so that is not it."

Shepard gave a little huff and sighed. "No, I'm not worried about being attacked by anything. It's that I've lost a lot of good people, Edi. They didn't necessarily die here... but the people who were with me here... and coming back here for a memorial ceremony... Well... I can't help but think of them."

She glanced up at Liara to ensure the Asari was sufficiently preoccupied as to not hear her turbulent thoughts; her _cheann geallta_ was still moving quickly with Launt, completely distracted and chattering away, so Shepard continued. "My very first mission on the SSV Normandy was here."

Edi knew the history, but opted to encourage Shepard to continue by simply asking, "To pick up the Beacon that had been discovered?"

"Yes." Shepard stopped and stared at her feet. "Most of the people who came here with me that day are dead, Edi. Spectre Nihlus Kryik and Richard Jenkins died that day, and since then I've lost Kaidan Alenko... and many of the crew of the original Normandy, including David Anderson, who was commanding the Normandy back then. They're all gone."

"I can understand how that could be a difficult time to remember..." Edi glanced at the other pair working their way through the catacombs along with them. "But you also _saved_ Ashley Williams that day, did you not?"

"Yes, we did," came the soft response. Shepard glanced thoughtfully at her fellow Spectre. "At least we have that to hang onto. Thanks, Edi." They resumed walking as Shepard tried to cage her thoughts and focus on Ashley's survival. As she continued to move carefully along the debris-riddled passage, she slowly shifted her attention to Liara and the absolute joy the Asari was exuding at having the opportunity to traverse the ruins with a kindred soul; it was contagious and, after a while, Shepard eventually found herself smiling again.

* * *

 _ **Rakhana**_ **, Attican Traverse, At Large**

While the _Aletheia_ was on their mission to deliver Tolern Solus to Dekuuna and the Normandy was traversing the galaxy, the _Rakhana_ finally got to return to what the crew considered _civilized_ space and set out for Thessia. Since the end of the war, the little ship had been to Dekuuna, Omega and Nariph, where they had then provided transport for Tali on her mission to bring the Geth back to the galaxy. Since that time, they had been stuck on the far side of the galaxy, tracking and reporting the openings of the various relays as each had come back online.

As Oriana talked to Miranda and received their new assignment, she happily exclaimed, "Oh, thank God! It will be wonderful to be back in friendly territory, where we don't have to worry about pirates hiding behind every moon!"

Miranda chuckled. "Oh, it hasn't been _that_ bad, has it?"

"You have a luxury yacht compared to this little rock-hopper," sighed Oriana. "Designed for ten plus crew... and you only have what? A half dozen?"

"It was seven, and now only the four with Samara, Falere and Aresia having gone to the Lesuss Monastery." Miranda nodded in understanding, realizing that after installing the Broker equipment the _Rakhana_ was really built for only two... and was carrying four. "Perhaps you should ask Liara for some time at the Estate... for the change of scenery and a chance to spread out a bit, stretch your legs."

"That is an excellent idea, Miri! Seeing as we'll be continuing your investigation into the black market sales of the Acolyte Heavy Pistols, we should be able to conduct business just as easily from the planet... Maybe even get some assistance from the commandos." Oriana felt herself relax just at the idea of getting off the ship for a while.

"You'll have to ask Liara about that." Miranda's face suddenly picked up a shadow of concern. "Liara is none too keen on getting Aethyta involved. She doesn't want to drag her father into Broker business if it involves... _removing_... someone from the population."

"There is that." Oriana stared off into space for a moment before continuing. "I guess I'm getting ahead of myself, anyway. We may not even find any actionable intelligence before you get back in system. You won't be gone _that_ long."

Miranda shook her head as she answered, "I don't know about that. You've got at least a couple of weeks and we've been making some pretty decent progress. We've narrowed the source to somewhere in Majesa. Given the tight focus, you just might be able to discover the supply location... and if you can do that, you should be able to figure out who owns the property and maybe exactly who's in charge." Miranda's hands flew across the haptic interface and a message ping sounded aboard the _Rakhana_ _ **.**_ "There's the location of our current file. Everything we know is in that folder on the network. Good hunting, Ori... but please be careful."

"Will do, Sis. I know weapons dealers aren't normally the kindest folk... nor a very forgiving sort if you cross them." Oriana looked over her shoulder at Sella Temi standing at her back. Grinning as her focus returned to the screen, she said, "I promise to not go anywhere without my protection detail."

Sella's face was serious as she laid her hand on Oriana's shoulder. "Don't worry, Agent Lawson. We won't let anything happen to Ori; she's our saving grace. Without her, we were relegated to strictly wetwork... and even though it gave us the opportunity to kill Reapers, it still got old pretty quick. It is good to have a substantial purpose again, especially with the war over. Monitoring relays has been downright tedious."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

"Shit."

It was early morning when Shepard bolted upright in bed, a damp sheen of sweat covering her face. She glanced at Liara, who simply mumbled in her sleep and rolled over, before the captain shifted her eyes to focus on the chrono on the night stand. 0130 hours. They had walked the Prothean tunnels for hours with Engineer Launt and had collapsed into bed relatively early, pleasurably fatigued by the day's physical activity. They snuggled together and fell asleep quickly, into what Shepard had assumed would be a restful sleep; it was barely more than four hours later when her assumption was proven to be incorrect.

Relieved to have not disturbed Liara's rest, Shepard got up and walked quietly to the head, sliding the door closed, bringing the lights up just enough to see what she was doing before turning on the wash basin faucet in order to rinse off her face; as she waited for the water to get warm, she stared at the mirror and spoke to her reflection. "Well, Captain. Looks like touring the ruins of Eden Prime has reawaked the ashen forest. What the fuck are you thinking?" She sighed and washed her face before turning off the water and grabbing a towel, looking at her reflection again as she dried off. Knowing it was her reminiscing about Kaidan and Anderson that had prompted the nightmares, she wasn't quite sure what to do about it, other than hope the dreams went away once the Victory Tour schedule moved them along to their next stop. She huffed out a derisive laugh. "Since when did _hope_ become a strategy, Sam?"

She killed the light and opened the door, making her way back to the bed as quietly as she could but, as she laid down, Liara turned back to her and snuggled into her shoulder, whispering, "Are you alright, Samantha? You are closed to me..."

Shepard sighed, knowing it would be impossible to keep her dreams a secret. "I thought a lot about Kaidan and Anderson today... I think it opened a door I had assumed closed with the end of the war."

Liara sat up, leaning on her left arm as she turned so she could see Shepard's face. Her concerned blue eyes easily read the disquiet on her Promised One's features as her free hand moved to gently caress a taut cheek. "Show me, _Siame_."

Taking a deep breath, Shepard closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her mental barriers, allowing Liara a peek into the re-emergent dream that had intruded on her peaceful rest for the first time in two months... since Aethyta had helped calm her back on Earth before she was reunited with Liara.

Liara sighed, disappointed with the revelation. "Oh, Sam. I am so sorry. Why didn't you say something? I would have understood if you didn't want to go into the ruins."

"It wasn't that, Liara... I loved watching you move through the ruins; the excitement on your face and in your voice was absolutely beautiful to me." Shepard laid her own hand over the blue one resting on her cheek and smiled sadly. "It's just being here, on Eden Prime. The upcoming memorial ceremony. Everything." Her hand dropped so she could wrap an arm around her Asari lover, encouraging her to lie down with her. After a soft kiss, Liara complied and nestled into the welcoming nook of a familiar right shoulder as Shepard continued, "My hope is the dreams will stay behind, here, once we move on to our next location."

Liara's hand ran soothingly back and forth across Samantha's chest before stopping over the woman's beating heart. "This belongs to me." Blue fingers trailed up a white throat and cheek until the first two rested on Shepard's temple. "As does this." Broadening the link into a meld, Liara plunged into the captain's mind. _{Those horrors of the past no longer have a place here, whether we are on Eden Prime, Tuchanka, Earth or Thessia. We were victorious and now need to make room for our future.}_

Shepard drew a sharp breath as Liara pushed herself up to lie atop her, images flashing rapidly through her mind – the gallant Spectre Shepard saving her on Therum, the glorious vision of a triumphant, and alive, Shepard rising from the rubble of the Citadel Council chambers after defeating Saren, the commander's passionate proposal on Thessia, their joyful reunion on Illium where they discovered _Inanna_ , their defeat of the Shadow Broker, the first time they ever danced the waltz... continuing to their joyous reunion on Earth following the Reapers' destruction.

Only once the memories caught up to the present time did Shepard come to realize the thoughts had been accompanied by blue lips massaging hers with great zeal... and a fire burned in her belly, which had started sometime while the memories had swept through her. Returning the kiss with equal enthusiasm, Shepard's hands shifted from Liara's waist to slide to her lower back and into the folds, flared wide open with the Asari's swiftly building passion. The kiss continued as she managed to grunt out, "By the Gods, Liara!"

Liara's only answer was to maintain the kiss as her hands began to traverse Shepard's suddenly trembling body, one gripping onto auburn locks and the other sliding through ready, slick folds, causing the Human's hips to buck aggressively as she threw Liara over onto her back. Taking the top position and straddling the Asari, one of Shepard's hands shifted upward to wrap around the back of the Asari's neck, tucking gently into the tender spot at the base of Liara's crests.

Receiving an unspoken request through the meld, Liara released Shepard's lips and turned her head to the side, purposely baring her neck folds and moaning quietly as her _siame_ buried her tongue within, stroking deeply through the sensitive folds before latching on with her teeth. The Human continued to stimulate Liara's sensitive crests with her fingertips while alternating between nipping and stoking the neck folds with teeth and tongue, her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ murmuring in divine pleasure as she squirmed in ecstasy beneath Shepard's practiced touch.

Shepard's other hand shifted from the folds in the Asari's lower back to wrap her fingers tightly around the back of a muscular blue thigh, using it as an anchor as she undulated her hips, riding biotics-tinged blue fingers that provided an almost overwhelmingly blissful fullness.

As they continued, Liara felt her own tide rising quickly as they shared their enjoyment via the meld; the Asari released a rapid series of exquisite biotic pulses through her fingertips and Shepard plunged off the precipice, crying out her lover's name as waves of blissful ecstasy emanating from the Human pulled a ready Liara into the sea of pleasure right along with her. The passion refused to relinquish its grip on either one of them and the two climaxed powerfully together, their hearts hammering in lockstep as aftershocks of gratification repeatedly rolled over the pair for what seemed an eternity.

Shepard pushed off to collapse at the side of her _cheann geallta_ , both of them gasping for breath, breasts heaving and sweat dripping off their bodies as they lied crumpled together amidst tangled sheets. Liara quickly rolled to her side, throwing a possessive arm across Shepard's midriff as she tucked once more into her _siame_ 's shoulder, drawing deep breaths in an attempt to slow her pounding heart. With no more thoughts of nightmares in either of their minds, the meld collapsed and the twosome fell into a pleasantly tired and restful sleep.

* * *

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

The _Rakhana_ had arrived on the morning of the 23rd of August and only been at the estate for less than two days when Livos Tanni exclaimed, "By the blessings of the Goddess... Miranda Lawson was correct!"

Based solely on the tone of voice the moment Livos started to speak, Oriana immediately looked her way, stood from her own chair and moved promptly to look upon Livos' terminal. Reading quickly, she knew what the commando had found before the future leader of Liara T'Soni's Personal Guard was able to finish her statement, "Their information certainly pointed us in the right direction... and we've found the source of the Acolytes!"

"That's excellent!" Oriana positively glowed with the success she felt imminent. "So where exactly is... Costanera?"

Livos frowned. "Under normal circumstances, it's no place we would care to visit. It's one of the larger cities on the western edge of the Majesan Desert; a relatively active sea and space port, but rather close to the Cold Sea."

"What's so bad about it that makes you say that?" Oriana trusted Livos Tanni with her life and if the commando said they didn't want to go there, Ori would have to think seriously about how they should proceed, assuming the lead turned out to be valid.

"The Cold Sea is a place of death." Livos looked at her with a grim expression. "The eezo deposits there are so dense, the concentrations are toxic, even to native-born species. It would make us all very sick... and likely kill _you_ in short order."

"But how would that affect our potential investigation at Costanera?" Oriana felt an increasing level of dread creep into the back of her mind. Never had she seen Livos look so concerned.

" _Things_... have been known to happen there." Livos turned to her and met her eyes directly. "If we cross the wrong people and get caught, we will not live to tell the tale. It has never been proven, but local folklore always has some basis in truth... and there are many stories of ill-fated prospectors dying out in the desert."

Seeing the blank look on Ori's face, Livos was compelled to provide details, even though she did not want to. "Oriana. We would simply be forced into a shuttle and... _dropped off_. To cover their tracks, the murderers would provide a cheap ground vehicle filled with prospecting gear... and insufficient power or shielding. By the time we woke, assuming we were even lucky enough for that, we would not survive the trip out of the desert, no matter how fast we travelled. Should we be fortunate enough that the authorities somehow recover our bodies so they could at least notify our next of kin, there would be no investigation into our deaths. They would simply assume we were ignorant or greedy treasure seekers who didn't truly understanding the dangers of going where we shouldn't, no matter what our families or associates would say in protest."

Her white face unusually pale, Oriana asked, "How many people have vanished in the desert?"

"At least two or three supposed _prospecting groups_ every year," Livos sighed. "Perhaps a few may be legitimate, but I seriously doubt it... seeing as not a single genuine outfitter on Thessia will sell the gear to anyone who says they are going to Majesa."

"Okay." Oriana's face took on a hint of anger and a little bit more than a touch of determination. "But we can't let them get away with this, so we just make sure we don't get caught." She looked back at the display. "So how do we do this _without_ going to Costanera?"

"You are a determined one." Livos chuckled. "It may be difficult to trace from here, but we need to find the addresses of the specific shipping warehouses indicated on the manifests. Perhaps..." She made a few more entries into the network and sat back. "I am attempting to backtrack particular transit numbers to their initial shipment point; I'd normally expect to get no results, as the manifest numbers are generally falsified, and they're changed at every stop-over during shipping in order to prevent just such a trace from succeeding. However..." she shrugged and continued, "I am hoping someone in the chain of custody is lazy and didn't bother to change a tracker. If that happens enough times, the system can eventually work backward, one transit point at a time." She shut down her terminal and stood from her chair. "And if _that_ happens enough times, just maybe, we can come up with the actual origin point."

"That sounds like it could take a really long time." Oriana frowned. "Have you compared ownership of the various transit stations Miranda already identified? Perhaps they are all owned by the same person... or various shell companies or aliases that are owned by the same person?"

Livos looked at her in surprise and grinned, sitting back down at her terminal and turning everything back on. "And _that_ , Oriana Lawson, is why you are with us."

* * *

Having enjoyed a couple of relaxing days at the Estate, Allia Vasia was back aboard the _Rakhana_ and taking her turn at the Broker terminal when it pinged with an incoming notification; it contained the results of the queries Livos had entered into the system when they had first arrived. She stared in shock at the display for a few moments before deciding what she needed to do. Making her way to the sleeping quarters within the estate, she regretfully woke Livos from her short slumber.

Feeling the hand on her shoulder, the team leader glanced at the chrono on the table beside the bed; realizing it was not yet midnight and she had only been sleeping for a couple of hours, she turned quickly and sat up, throwing the sheets off and starting to rise as she spoke. "Allia. What has happened?"

"I am sorry, Livos, but please get dressed... There is a message on the terminal you need to see."

"Has something happened to Mistress Liara or the Normandy?" The concern in Livos' voice was evident.

"Oh, Goddess, no! I apologize... All are fine. We received a response to the queries you entered... and I do not care to discuss the results here."

Livos had started to get dressed, but paused and looked at the commando. "The answer is something you fear?"

"In a way, yes... but nothing you would suspect." Allia shook her head, indicating she would not give any more details. "Please, just come to the ship with me."

* * *

"Goddess be damned!" Livos grit her teeth as she read the results of the query. "Matriarch Trellani? She's one of the Defense Council Ministers, yet she would illegally sell weapons to our enemies?"

"Not necessarily..." Allia paused before continuing, "Simply owning the warehouses through which the weapons are being moved does not necessarily mean she's aware of it, nor can we assume she condones it."

"I can tell by your tone you do not believe your own words, Allia." Livos looked at her fellow commando and sighed. "The question is, how do we handle it; this is not something we can do ourselves. Removing the lead Matriarch of a republic would be difficult enough, but one who is also a Defense Minister? That will garner way too much attention. For this one, we obviously have to contact Lady T'Soni."

* * *

 **Earth Orbit, Sol System, Local Cluster**

It had taken Zoë a couple of days to work her way through all the information contained in the files she'd been given by Jana Cantrell. Once she'd read everything, she'd spent another six days reflecting on the file contents as they related to the status of humans in the galaxy.

Cantrell had explained that Zoë was needed to lead the remnants of Jack Harper's empire; Zoë had gathered from everything she'd read that there were a lot of people who still thought the Illusive Man had had it right… that humanity _needed_ to rule over all the other races in the galaxy. Fortunately, those people were in the minority – the majority that still held some allegiance to the ideas espoused by Jack Harper desired nothing more than freedom from alien interference of any kind, whether it be Turians, Asari, Krogan, Salarian, or some other race.

Zoë had never seen herself as a leader – she didn't really think she fit the mold, even after leading the mission that successfully retrieved the Prothean artifact from the Asari temple on Thessia. She had always been an operative, tasked with discovering the best way to achieve her goals. Up until she had killed Jack Harper, her goals had always been about fulfilling the man's wishes and desires… and she had almost always succeeded, a lot of times in spite of the interference by a seemingly jealous Kai Leng. Once Leng had been crushed by Commander Shepard, Harper had essentially promoted Zoë – as Rasa, or Maya Brooks – to the position of his number one agent.

Since meeting with Jana and reading the files on the datapad, she had spent her waking hours in solemn contemplation of the choices that had been laid out for her. Nothing in the documents she'd read indicated what Jana planned to do – what actions she planned to take – if she could not persuade Zoë to rejoin them on Earth. She knew that whatever path she chose to take, it would have long term, life-altering consequences… for her, _and_ the organization.

Having finished eating a small breakfast, she took a mug of coffee up to the ship's bridge, sat in the pilot's seat and carefully placed her stocking covered feet on the panel in front of her. She spent fifteen minutes staring out the forward viewport at the planet below as she sipped from her mug. Thinking of all the deaths… all the destruction she had caused through the years, her thoughts once more found their way to the temple on Thessia. That commando, eyes open and staring, had haunted her ever since that day. _Damn it! I know what I have to do!_ Making up her mind, she activated the comms system, sending a message to Jana Cantrell's personal server in Vancouver; in a matter of seconds, the connection completed and Zoë said, "Cantrell… send me the coordinates for your docks. I'm ready to break orbit."

Jana's face broke into a radiant smile. "My God, Zoë… it's been over a week! I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever hear from you again. Everyone is looking forward to having you back in our midst. Sending the coordinates now… and Zoë… welcome back to Earth… and home."

Zoë waited until the terminal trilled in response to the text-only message embedded in the carrier; she called up the numbers Jana had sent, then compared them to the location data on Jana's datapad. Noting the near-perfect match – not only from the datapad but also from the readings she had received from Warren's ship when it came to a stop and docked below – she responded with, "Got it. _Starlight's Rage_ will be at your docks in less than an hour. Lawrence out."

Zoë moved to the navigation station behind the pilot's seat; here, she input the coordinates and initialized them for the ship's VI to fly to the dock in Vancouver. Engaging the VI to perform the requested action caused it to immediately activate the mass effect core, ramp up the inertia dampeners and kinetic shields to a hundred percent, then reorient the ship, perform the de-orbit burn and maneuver _Starlight's Rage_ for reentry. Zoë moved back to the pilot's seat and strapped herself in for the short ride back to the surface.

As her ship began plowing through an increasingly dense atmosphere, the area beyond its forward kinetic barrier began to glow as it interacted with the air molecules. The VI moderated the forward velocity in order to maintain a rate of descent that would cause the least amount of heat transfer to the ablative armor mere centimeters below the kinetic shields.

Once _Starlight's Rage_ reached an altitude of 10,500 meters AGL, Zoë assumed manual control of her flight path; with VI assistance, she continued a slow descent as she also slowed her forward velocity. Turning back to the north after crossing the Gulf of Mexico, she placed a call to Alliance Approach Control, requesting a vector and altitude to her destination in Vancouver, BC. Zoë started running through the ship's approach and docking checklist as she waited for a reply. Activating her approach and position lights, she attempted without success to see anything through the heavy rain clouds currently shrouding the city as Alliance Control provided course and altitude vectors for the final leg of her approach.

Calling Jana when she was about ten minutes out, she prepared to set the ship down in the docking cradle beside Warren's unnamed vessel; _Starlight's Rage_ dropped below the cloud deck at just 2460 meters AGL. "On final approach, Cantrell. I have the docks in sight."

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Jana, Angelique and Tim all came out of the building to watch Zoë's approach and landing. Even with VI assistance, the small, patrol-sized craft such as the one Angel and Tim had flown – and the one Zoë was currently flying – required a light touch and a bit of finesse to properly settle into a ground based docking rig. Spotting her approach lights in the distance, they waited with no small amount of impatience for Zoë to arrive and dock her ship.

The ship's VI, handling the last few meters of distance and altitude, applied reverse thrust to the main engines to arrest forward momentum while engaging maneuvering thrusters in a seemingly random pattern to bring the ship into perfect position to ease into the dock. The engine noise began a rapid descent in volume as both were brought to idle simultaneous to the deployment of the stern docking clamps. As the VI secured the mass core, thrusters, main engines and auxiliary power units, the port side airlock opened to allow the lone occupant to disembark.

As Jana smiled at the Illusive Man's former assassin and welcomed her back to Earth, Warren looked intently at this woman that had led her and Tim over millions of light years, seemingly around three-quarters of the galaxy. The most obvious thing about her appearance were her facial tattoos – the ivory-colored patterns, coupled with her dark skin, eyes and short curly hair, gave her an exotic, even animalistic appearance. She was wearing a short black skirt with mid-thigh length side slits over skin-tight black leggings and knee-high black boots. Her upper body was covered with a form-fitting dark blue tank top with a scoop-neck that – while it adequately covered the majority of her bosom – flattered her body in a way that would have any male with whom Angel was acquainted dragging their knuckles and drooling in lust. A leather belt was slung around her torso just above the widest portion of her hips; attached to a hardpoint receptacle was an M-11 Suppressor heavy pistol. _Damned if I would have recognized her in those clothes, short hair and with those tattoos on her face, but the pistol…_ _ **that**_ _is trademark Maya. No matter… She looks absolutely stunning!_

Warren stepped up to Zoë with her hand out in friendship as Jana introduced her, saying, "It's nice to finally meet you, Ms Lawrence. You really had me chasing my ass out there!"

Zoë grinned at Angelique as she clasped the woman's forearm and replied, "It wasn't a specific objective on my part; I was just trying to survive until tomorrow." She nodded at Tim Stafford as she took his hand before continuing. "I just knew Cerberus would want me dead, and I had no intention of letting that happen."

Warren smiled in return… in spite of herself, she decided she liked this woman, and wanted to know her better. "Understandable. If our positions had been reversed, I believe I would have done the same damned thing."

Jana, who had stood aside to allow Angel and Tim a few moments to meet and talk to Zoë, raised her arms to indicate the building nearby and said, "We should go inside, where we can speak without fear of eavesdroppers."

Zoë responded with, "Hold on for just a minute… I have a few weapons aboard that would be extremely difficult to replace." She activated her omnitool and used it to secure the outer airlock hatch against intruders. Returning her attention to Cantrell, she said, "Okay, Jana. Lead the way."


	45. With a Grain of Salt

Notes:

 _Cheann geallta_ \- Promised one (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Leannán_ \- Lover

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Pro Veritas et Libertas_ \- For Truth and Freedom (motto of the 212, stationed on Eden Prime)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

* * *

 **With a Grain of Salt**

 **Prothean Ruins, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

While Shepard spent the morning with the mayor of Constant, Engineer Tyson Launt had skillfully and quickly guided Liara, Riana, Edi and Sarah Campbell through the portions of the ruins they had traversed so slowly the day prior. They finally emerged upon a well-lit underground cavern of vast proportions that caused Liara to draw an excited breath. "By the Goddess! This is the central repository! With power here, we could potentially speak to the Warden!"

"Sorry, Dr T'Soni." Launt's voice was plaintive as he spoke. "I know what it looks like, but we brought down portable generators and tapped them into the system to get the lights on... it's not native power that gives life to the glowing orbs you see."

"That is..." Liara's face fell as she took in his words. "... disappointing." Unable to remain somber while looking at such a marvelous discovery, a small smile crept back onto her face as she continued, "But it is still rather amazing; if I was not standing here looking at it, the enormity of the space would defy belief. I would say you were telling tall tales, Tyson."

"After I was so surprised yesterday by you having located a working Warden, you should have realized I wasn't hiding such a treasure... though I admit, I certainly wish I was that good of an actor and it was the truth." He suddenly smirked as he continued, "But I did hide _this_ from you."

He shifted the light they were standing next to and pointed it at wall off to the side, revealing a massive structural support, obviously recently constructed. "That, my dear Doctor, is hopefully a connecting room... The walls and entry needed to be reinforced before we could safely open the next vault... and my engineers just finished it last night. It would be my honor for you to open that door with me, Liara."

"But this is your site..." Liara looked at the man questioningly. "The honor should be yours."

Tyson laughed softly. "I'm just a structural safety engineer, Liara. I wouldn't know a valuable Prothean artifact from a piece of junk metal. All I've been doing is packing up everything lying around loose and all the items I _think_ are of value." He shrugged, the smirk crossing his face again as he continued, "Given my limited knowledge of the Protheans, for all I know, I've possibly packed up nothing more than someone's trash."

Liara chuckled as she responded, "And you'd be surprised just how much we can learn from the trash of other societies, Tyson... sometimes more than from what they considered treasures."

He nodded softly. "I think I can understand that... but, all that said, I'll now repeat myself. It would be my honor for you to open that door with me, Liara."

Liara smiled softly. "It will be _my_ honor, Mr Launt; I cannot begin to describe how much I wish I could have stayed in archaeology... yet, my life changed forever when I met Shepard and I cannot reconcile one path with the other. So, if I had the opportunity to do it all again, I would choose the path that led me to Shepard... every time and without hesitation."

"But you don't have to choose one or the other this time, Dr T'Soni." Tyson grinned like the Cheshire cat. "So, let's open that door!"

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Jana Cantrell led Zoë into the remnants of the partially destroyed office building she and the others had appropriated for their use; until the actual owners showed up to reclaim it – unlikely, given the amount of destruction seen by the city – it was a good base of operations for the Earthbound remnants of Jack Harper's organization, which Jana increasingly thought of as having evolved into something... better. _What, exactly, have we become? Most definitely_ _ **not**_ _Cerberus; in actuality, Jack had incorrectly applied the name. The legendary three-headed hound of ancient Greek myth was charged with_ _ **preventing**_ _the dead from leaving the underworld, not orchestrating the devastation they rained down upon the real world._

Jana waved Zoë into the conference room and asked her to sit at the head of the table while she poured each of them a mug of fresh coffee. "Thanks," Zoë said, as she took the heavy mug and sipped a bit of the rich, steamy liquid. "That's good coffee… don't know why, but I'm surprised you have such here, considering all the destruction around us."

Jana smiled as she sipped from her own mug. Setting it down in front of her, she said, "Let's talk about the future, Zoë. Where would you like to see us go – as people – as an organization?"

Dark eyes flashed as they skewered Jana's. "Nothing like getting right to the point, huh? What about everyone else? How many people are we talking about, and when do we talk to them?"

"In Vancouver? Several dozens. We were really dispersed, Zoë. The core of Jack's organization consisted of ordinary people – not those augmented troops that were constantly going after Commander Shepard. I daresay everyone wearing armor of any sort – the troopers, the nemeses, guardians, engineers – all of them are dead, since they were augmented with Reaper tech." Jana took another sip from her mug as she thought back to her own time on Minuteman Station. "Those fortunate enough to be beneath Jack's notice, such as myself, and those that were scheduled for augmentation and didn't receive it, like you, are all still among the living. We all want a chance to stand for humanity, without the rabid xenophobia that was the hallmark of everything Jack Harper stood for."

"Ordinary people were crew on _Eva's Vortex_ , Jana." Zoë paused to let her statement sink in. "Ordinary people… and every last one of them was indoctrinated. When that red wave went through the ship, they fell where they stood or sat… every. last. one."

"I didn't know, Zoë. I'm so sorry… sorry you had to be on that ship to witness their deaths," Cantrell said in a small, tight voice. "That's not something anyone should have to deal with."

Zoë's smoky, midnight brown eyes spoke volumes about her feelings from that time. "I… disposed of them, Jana." Her eyes grew misty as she recalled that day. "Collected them… all twenty-one of them… moved them to the hanger bay, placed them in a pair of cargo nets, then evacuated the air, opened the ramp and turned off the kinetic barrier… flash froze them."

The door slid open to admit Angelique Warren. "Mind if I join you?"

Jana smiled as she motioned for Warren to come in. "Pour yourself some coffee, Angel, and have a seat. Zoë was just telling me the fate of the crew of _Eva's Vortex._ "

Warren smiled at the pair as she brought her own mug to the table; taking a chair across from Jana, she steepled her fingers after taking a sip from her mug as the former assassin continued her tale.

"I was alone in the Widow system," Zoë continued. "The relay was shattered, the Citadel gone. The only other system I could travel to was Boltzmann." In a quiet, halting voice, Zoë admitted, "I dropped them into Boltzmann, Jana. Programmed the VI to jettison all of them into the star."

Cantrell and Warren each regarded Zoë Lawrence with a new-found sense of respect. Angelique murmured, "Just when I thought I'd heard everything…"

Zoë stood and leaned towards Warren as she placed the fingertips of both hands on the polished surface of the table. "Do you think I found that an easy task? Indoctrinated or not, they were Humans… just like you…" she turned her head slightly to look at Jana. "… or you. They most certainly couldn't prevent Jack Harper from indoctrinating them." The former assassin sat down heavily and leaned back in the chair. "The fate of the ship's crew was Harper's doing; I only did what was necessary for survival and my own sanity. Be glad you weren't on the Citadel with me! You didn't hear him… hear his plans! The egotistical bastard actually believed he could be a galactic emperor, with the goddamned Reapers enforcing his rule across the galaxy!"

Angelique looked the woman in the eyes and quietly said, "I'm sorry, Zoë, you are correct. I can't know what in Hell's name Jack was planning... but it sounds as if anyone that disagreed with his way of running things either found themselves on the wrong side of an airlock or under the knife getting implanted and indoctrinated."

Jana reached for and took Zoë's left hand. "I know this is difficult, Zoë. Please… your actions on the Citadel. We know you shot Jack... Can you tell us what led up to that moment?"

The two women listened to Zoë's tale with ever-increasing fascination and sympathy for what the woman then known as Maya Brooks had endured. When she had finished, Zoë's teary gaze drifted to stare, unfocused, at the table as she added in a tight voice, "I wasn't even sure I would get off the Citadel alive… didn't know if Commander Shepard would live, or if she would be capable of performing whatever task was required in order to stop the Reapers and end the madness. If that Asari had caught me bending over her there, I'd have been dead before I could even explain my innocence."

"Well, I guess we can thank Miranda Lawson for leaving Cerberus and going to work for the Shadow Broker," Warren chuckled. "She led the surgical team that saved Shepard's life. I was glad to get out of that hospital when I did… that damned woman was suspicious of me from the very first day I arrived as a physical therapist and made sure I was never completely alone in the room with the commander." She paused and made direct eye contact with Lawrence. "And, we owe you one, Zoë; Jana told me you nearly sent me and Tim back here in boxes… I wanted to thank you for not ending our lives on Illium."

Zoë inclined her head slightly before finishing her coffee; she set the mug gently on the table as she remarked, "Didn't see the need to end you… or Tim. You weren't going to catch me… not once I knew who was looking for me." Returning her attention to Jana, she asked, "So, the new organization. What will we call it? Anybody have any ideas?"

When Jana and Angel both shook their heads, she offered, "I took a bit of time to contemplate on this while I was reading through all your material... and I think we become Atlas – for we have been reborn to carry the future of Humanity upon our shoulders." Zoë stood and spread her arms wide; with fists clenched and her eyes focused off in the distance, she continued in a strong voice, "We shall step over the corpse of the three-headed hound to emerge from the gates of Hell in order to become better stewards for our race than the Illusive Man's Cerberus ever dreamed to be." After a moment, Zoë slowly lowered her arms; with a slightly embarrassed expression on her face, she slowly retook her seat, where she looked first at Cantrell, then at Warren. "Sorry if that sounded a bit over the top. I've had a lot of time to think… about Cerberus… about the errors in Jack's thinking and where he failed us."

Cantrell studied Zoë as if seeing her for the first time ever; Warren leaned back in stunned amazement. Jana was first to breach the uncomfortable silence. "My God, Zoë! That was simply…" she raised her arms slightly and dropped them as words failed her.

Warren picked up the thread with, "… amazing, correct? Damn! Zoë, I'm convinced. I'll follow you, wherever and however you say. I believe everyone will follow your lead."

Jana agreed. "Zoë, there's one thing I don't understand. You could have staged a coup at any time…"

"No!" The denial was quick, empathic. "Not while Jack was alive… his indoctrinated troops all under his command. I would have been strapped onto one of those metal tables, implanted with Reaper tech. I'd be nothing more than a distant memory now, just like the crew of _Eva's Vortex._ " She shook her head slowly, speaking softly. "I waited until the last possible second to kill him, Jana, something I regret to this day… will regret for the rest of my life, but… I had to be sure of his death."

"Why do you regret waiting so long, Zoë?" Jana felt she knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from the former assassin.

Zoë's eyes flashed in irritation as she whispered in an unnaturally flat voice, "I told you that Jack was controlling Shepard… like a marionette. I could have ended him… should… have ended him… sooner, before…" she closed her eyes tightly in a futile attempt to stem the flow of tears.

"Before…?" Jana prompted.

Zoë's voice was haunted as she attempted to force words past a constricted larynx. "Before Jack forced Shepard to shoot Admiral Anderson. Harper was pulling Shepard's strings, Jana, but it might as well have been me that killed that man. I could see it coming, yet I failed to act."

Warren reached for and grasped Zoë's right hand as she said, "You cannot blame yourself for Anderson's death, Zoë. You could not know what Harper was going to do."

Zoë's expressive eyes told both women she would never forgive herself for failing Shepard. Shoving her chair back, she stood and slowly walked towards the end of the table, brushing her fingers along Jana's shoulders as she passed behind her. "I hope that Jack Harper is the last life I'm forced to end." Reaching the end of the table, she turned to face the two women at the other end, her voice once more clear, her gaze direct. "I was only 8 or 9 years old when I made my first kill, did you know that?" Hearing no comments from either of them, Zoë continued, "Woman's name was Brooks… worked for the Shadow Broker. Some years later, after I managed to wrangle a meeting with the Illusive Man, he asked me why I wanted to join Cerberus. Told him a man I once knew had said that Cerberus stood for something, and I wanted to stand for something too."

After a brief pause, she continued, "None of it mattered to him… I was just a tool… a weapon for him to wield." Strolling back towards the head of the table, she passed behind Warren as she concluded, "Now, as a leader of Atlas, I will _finally_ be able to stand for something… an organization that will be able to do some good for Humankind."

"That's an admirable goal, Zoë, but just how do you propose we do that?"

"We still have resources, do we not? Resources that can gather intelligence?" When both women nodded, Zoë continued. "We need everything… any and all intel on this… LEAP. We need names and locations of their highest ranking members, and I want to know who in Hell ordered a hit on Liara T'Soni." Zoë had regained control over her emotions – her eyes flashed in anger as she concluded, "Shit like that gives _all_ Human-centric organizations a bad rep. I don't give a damn about them blowing up a building, but they really need to answer for any collateral deaths they caused. I've told you I don't want to do wetwork again, but…" Leaving the thought unfinished, she concluded with, "Let's get as many people together as we can – I want to meet them, learn what they're capable of.

Jana smiled as she stood to leave. "We'll get to work, Zoë."

* * *

 **Prothean Ruins, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

Liara's mouth hung open in slack-jawed amazement as the door opened to reveal a large cavern, filled with stasis pods and lights... "By the Goddess! The power is on in this room!" Her hopeful eyes shifted quickly across the sea of equipment laid out before her. "There has to be another two hundred pods in here, completely untouched after all this time. The hands of Cerberus never tainted this room..." Her voice faded off as Tyson started slowly forward.

"I don't believe it's just the lights that are on, Liara," he answered hesitantly. "The pods... they have power!"

Liara's brow markings knit. "I assumed that was simply bleed-over from you connecting generators into the facility's power systems..."

"Not a chance!" He shook his head adamantly. "We may have inadvertently powered the lights, but there's not near enough juice to power all these pods... These have to be on an independent circuit!"

"That is still somehow working?" Liara's voice took on an excited pitch and cracked as she moved forward quickly to the nearest pod. Her hand shook as she reached out to wipe the dust off the control panel. "Power is steady... and the pod is fully functional, but not displaying any life signs."

Fighting off the disappointment clawing at the edges of her mind, Liara remained hopeful as she shifted her focus to her _siame_. _{Sam? I'm sorry to bother you, but we've made an amazing discovery... and I need your assistance for a moment.}_

Shepard and Camilla Walstad were discussing the specifics of the upcoming ceremony with when the plea caught her attention. "I'm sorry, Cam... but I have a call on my private channel from Dr T'Soni. I need just a minute."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes." Shepard smiled widely. "Based on the tone of Liara's voice, I'd say better than alright."

She stepped away and placed a hand over her comm unit, giving Walstad the impression they were speaking over the network, even though Shepard never truly activated the system. Speaking aloud for Walstad's benefit as she _spoke_ through the link, she asked, "What's up, Liara? What did you find?"

After a quick explanation from the Asari, Shepard took a peek through the Asari's mind's eye to look at the discovery and guided her _leannán_ 's hand in the appropriate sequence on the keypad, first to prep the pod and then to open it. "That's amazing, Li! I'll pass the word to the mayor and you can share with us all later... For now, I need to get back to it. Looking forward to hearing all about it."

She dropped her hand from the comm as she turned back to Walstad, sending one last thought Liara's way. _{I'll understand if you don't make the ceremony... it's only two hours from now and that's an amazing discovery, Blue! Take the time to enjoy it.}_

Walstad misinterpreted the smile on Shepard's face as Liara replied. _{You will always come first, Siame. I'll be there. I promise.}_

"Must be excellent news for a smile like that, Captain." Camilla was happy for a break in the somber attitude that had filled the morning. "What have they found?" After a quick summary from Shepard, Walstad continued, "That's positively amazing! I'm glad Cerberus didn't destroy _everything_ here!"

Back in the cavern, Liara waited impatiently as the pod finished its cycle and finally opened, to reveal an empty container. Liara sighed, unsure if she was relieved or disappointed. "Well, at least no one died in this one." Looking across the huge cavern, she squared her shoulders as she continued, "But, we have a lot of pods to check."

As the group moved around the area to check the various stasis chambers, Edi remained at the first, completing an in-depth scan of the pod itself, to include the usage log within its memory core. "Liara. I have detected an anomaly within the pod's usage sequence. I do believe you need to see this."

"An anomaly? What kind of anomaly, Edi?"

Liara walked back to the pod as Edi explained, "There was a long period of inactivity... but this particular pod had been powered and apparently... _occupied_."

"What?" Liara's pace picked up significantly, barely able to refrain from running the remaining distance back to the pod. "Occupied when?"

"I need to complete a more thorough analysis of the data, to ensure it remains uncorrupted and I have not made an error in translation... but, if I am interpreting this correctly... it appears the occupant of this pod emerged in relatively recent times... sometime in the 2150s."

"Holy shit." Tyson's eyes were open wide in wonder. "Eden Prime was founded in 2152." His gaze traveled from Edi to stare at the open pod sitting before him. "That could mean our arrival triggered their rising!"

Liara stared at the engineer for a moment, struck temporarily speechless by the revelation. "But... how can that be? If that's the case, where did they all go? And... how?"

* * *

 **Constant, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

Shepard had fully expected Liara to get caught up in the ruins, so was astonished when she showed up with time to spare before the memorial ceremony. Though surprised, she didn't fail to detect the sensations of foreboding slipping through the link or the traces of concern flitting across her fiancée's face. "Liara? Everything okay?"

"Of course." Liara scowled before continuing, "And... you know that's a lie. I'm sorry, Shepard. I'm concerned about this memorial... and the return of your nightmares." She looked at the captain apologetically. "I can't help but worry about you, which is why I promised to be at your side for this, Prothean ruins be damned."

The Asari was puzzled by Shepard's smiling response until she explained, "You have no idea how great that makes me feel, Liara... Being placed above a discovery like you just made? The potential for there to be living Protheans somewhere in our midst, yet you give that up to be here with me, at a ceremony we've already done eight times... with at least another fifty looming in our future? I'm not sure I could have torn myself away, had our positions been reversed."

"Of course you would have, Samantha." Liara smiled lovingly at her Human as she linked her arm through Shepard's. "You have proven time and time again how highly you prioritize me above all else..." Her smile faded just a bit as she continued, "... sometimes, I think, to the detriment of the mission." Brightening again she added, "But you always made it work, somehow. You've always managed to protect me and still complete the mission."

"Don't take this wrong, but mission be damned, Liara." Shepard's brow knit in irritation. "Without you, there were times when I wouldn't have had the drive to go on. I would have simply laid down and died, no matter how... _unprofessional_... or undedicated that may sound. Maybe I'm being cynical, but too many of the people we helped save took us for granted – so I was never fighting for them; I was fighting for _us_... and _our_ future. That was my reason for getting back up all those times when no one believed I could... or would."

" _I_ always believed you would, Samantha." Liara's eyes glassed over with unshed tears as she looked at the love and dedication shining from the emerald green eyes of her _siame_. "I feel the same way, Shepard. I love you... more than I could ever love some Prothean relic, dig site, or... or anything else I can possibly think of. You are everything to me."

Shepard released a long, slow exhale and tipped her head until their foreheads met softy, taking in a deep, comforting breath of Thessian rose and eezo. _{I love you too, Liara. Thank you.}_

"You are most welcome, Captain." Liara pulled away and planted a quick kiss on Shepard's forehead before continuing, "Now, come on. Your fans are waiting."

" _Our_ fans are waiting, Doctor." With that, Shepard took Liara's hand and they walked side by side onto the platform, joining the Mayor of Constant on the temporary stage.

Camilla Walstad's address was both less formal and more personal than any of Hackett's speeches ever were, as she called out the names of people who had fought and died at her side as members of the resistance. She then invited the crowd to add to the list of names, several volunteering names by shouting them out so everyone could hear. As the shouts died out and no new names came forth, Shepard stepped forward and offered two more names.

"Spectre Nihlus Kryik and Corporal Richard L. Jenkins both died here... on the day Saren came to Eden Prime." As people murmured a soft prayer for the deceased, just as they had done for each of the other names spoken, Shepard continued, "This is really where it all began. Our first hint of the larger war on the horizon was here, that day. You all have borne the burdens of this war for longer than any other world in the Milky Way and have come back, time and again, to display your amazing resilience and fortitude. You have been an inspiration to us all."

Shepard glanced over her shoulder at her fellow spectre. "I was no more than a visitor here." Her eyes came back forward and traveled across the crowd. "But, I have someone on my crew who lived here... who was part of your community... and who has more right to address you than I on this day of remembrance. It is my singular honor to present... Spectre Ashley Williams."

Despite it being a memorial ceremony, people cheered loudly as Ashley nodded to the captain and stepped forward, bringing a light smile to her face as she began, "Thank you, one and all. Many of you know me... and know I have a lot of names I could add to the list, names that many of you would recognize, seeing as my squad lived among you for a couple of years before this mess started... but you also know that drawing attention to ourselves was never our way. We simply lived and worked, as part of the community, while we tried to keep you all safe out here on the frontier... and every one of them but me gave their lives in that effort." It was Ashley's turn to glance back over her shoulder as she continued, "Had it not been for the timely arrival of the Normandy, I would have soon followed the rest of the two-twelve to the grave... So, I'll simply salute them as a unit..." She suddenly snapped to attention and called out, "Pro Veritas et Libertas, 212! Your sacrifice did not go unnoticed, nor has it been forgotten."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster**

It had been an extremely long and demanding day, swinging back and forth between extreme ends of the emotional spectrum with both the discovery of a potential rebirth of the Prothean people and the memorial ceremony, so Liara was tired when she sat at the Broker's terminal to take a call from Livos Tanni. "That is bad news, indeed." Liara paused, a frown passing over her face as a memory resurfaced from the back of her mind. "Dig into the archives and check the Shadow Broker portfolio file on the Illusive Man. I do believe Matriarch Trellani was an associate of his... a lover, if my memory serves me correctly."

"I know you did not want to involve your father, Maiden T'Soni, but this involves the Matriarchy and the Defense Council..." Livos left the statement hanging as Liara started to shake her head.

"My father is too hot-headed about such things." A sad smirk appeared on her face as she continued, "Her temper is one of the reasons she and my mother separated; she is very... _vocal_... when it comes to things such as this." The smirk vanished and Liara's tone stiffened. "Besides which, she is neither the designated Reagent for House T'Soni nor a member of the Defense Council – this is a matter for Matriarch Mozia. Please send me all the evidence you can collect, about both the illegal arms sales and her connections to the Illusive man; I will pass it to Mozia, along with a formal request that she bring it before the Defense Council."

* * *

"No." The matriarch frowned as she pondered the request Lady T'Soni had just laid at her feet. "What you ask would be extremely difficult, Liara, and put me in an exceptionally awkward position with the rest of the matriarchs. They would be unable to refrain from asking where I came by the information... and then be concerned about what other information I might possess... on _them_." Mozia pursed her lips in thought before continuing, "Perhaps it would be best to contact Samara and ask her for the name of an appropriate Justicar... to whom you could then forward the information, anonymously, via the Shadow Broker network."

Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Liara dipped her head in acquiescence. "Of course, Matriarch. I did not think about how the others on the Defense Committee would take your accusations... and wonder how you came to know the information. By no means did I intend to compromise your position... House T'Soni's position... on the committee. I apologize."

Mozia smiled in gentle understanding. "Do not trouble yourself over this, Liara. Is it not why I am serving as Regent? To guide you and keep you from making bad decisions or taking rash actions while you learn what it means to be in charge of a great house?" She chuckled lightly as she continued, "I would be dismayed to think you have been paying and supporting me for these past few years and gained nothing from it." Glancing at the fuming Asari sitting beside her for a moment, Mozia returned her attention to the vid display. "We certainly can't trust your father to act accordingly; she would simply march into the committee meeting and shoot the offender, consequences be damned!"

"Yes, she probably would." No matter how gentle Mozia's rebuke, Liara's face was still warm as a result of her ill-considered request and she released a quiet sigh. "Sometimes, after spending so much time fighting at Shepard's side during the war, I fear I have become too much like my father... and not enough like my mother... from her better days, before." There was no need for her to explain what she meant, all three of them becoming a bit more somber at the reminders of both Benezia's death and the darkness that had nearly swallowed the young maiden during Shepard's two-year absence. "Thank you for helping me maintain the necessary balance, Matriarch, and protecting me from rash decisions. I know I still have much to learn."

Aethyta's gruff voice cut in, "Bullshit, Liara. You're smart and you'd figure it for yourself eventually. I've never known you to have a rash bone in your body."

At that, a hearty laugh sounded from behind Liara as Shepard came into view. "I know I missed the start of this conversation, so I am taking that statement totally out of context... but if you honestly believe Liara has never done anything rash, you don't know your daughter, Aethyta." Shepard wrapped an arm around Liara's waist and grinned as she gave her _cheann geallta_ a squeeze of hello. "All you have to think about is how Liara and I met to begin with... with her trapped within a Prothean security bubble." She gave Liara a quick kiss on the cheek, in advance apology of what she was going to say next. "Nope. Nothing at all rash about pushing buttons on a device when you have no idea what it is capable of and can't read the instructions for its operation... Nope. Nothing reckless about _that_ at all."

Liara cocked a brow marking and glanced askew at the woman. "Keep it up and that will be the last time I pull you away from certain death in a volcano, Captain."

Still laughing, Shepard responded, "I certainly hope so, Doctor T'Soni. Those were rather extenuating circumstances in which I would hope we never find ourselves again. Ever."

"And I'll second that." Aethyta's gravelly voice held a hint of humor. "I'd prefer the two of you stay safe and quit making your old dad worry about you all the time, even though it appears there may be a few entertaining stories that need to be told."

Liara immediately glared at Shepard, suddenly concerned about just what stories her _siame_ would consider telling her father. "Don't you dare."

Shepard put on her best approximation of an affronted look. "Oh, I distinctly remember an evening of you and my mother swapping stories at my expense for _hours_ , Liara T'Soni! How's it feel to suddenly be walking in my shoes, even if only for a moment?"

Liara blush rose anew and her hands covered her face as she groaned, "Oh, Goddess. I should have anticipated that would eventually come back to haunt me."

Mozia chuckled softly and interrupted. "I fear this conversation has gone considerably off track since your arrival, Shepard. I propose we end it now, before anyone is furthered embarrassed." Her attention shifted to Liara. "Assuming, of course, that you agree to contact Samara for a recommendation?"

"Yes, of course." Liara nodded in agreement. "Forget I asked... but be prepared for the consequences when it comes to the Defense Committee."

" _If_ it comes before the Defense Committee. You are assuming something I seriously doubt will occur." Seeing Liara's look of confusion, Aethyta cleared her throat and continued in a more reserved tone. "In all likelihood, the Justicars will simply... _handle_ it, in which case, the only information that will reach the committee is an announcement of Trellani's death and a summary of her crimes. Keep in mind these are not yet the reformed Justicars we hope to see in the future; these are the Justicars who just lost a majority of their order to the Reaper War... one in which Matriarch Trellani was apparently working for the other side. I very much doubt they will find any mitigating reasons that would result in them being merciful."

* * *

 **Justicar House, Attena, Thessia**

Justicar Arana read over the file provided to her by Samara. They had spoken for a very long time regarding Samara's failure to return to the Order for judgment after the Reapers had been defeated and Arana had begun to understand Samara's perspective. The Justicar had made a compelling argument regarding the conflicts between the ancient code and current Asari law, especially when she brought in Shepard's actions for the greater good.

 _"According to the Code, once Captain Shepard deigns to release me from the Third Oath of Subsumation, I will be required to kill, or at least_ _ **attempt**_ _to kill, her and her compatriots for all the murders and thefts they committed over the course of the war. The Code allows no leniency or exceptions for the good done by the crew... that they saved the entire galaxy while the people killed and stolen from were bent on the destruction of life as we know it, in an attempt to control the Reapers and dominate the galaxy."_ Samara had paused before uttering her final request. _"By our current code, Spectre Samantha Shepard and her entire crew would be judged criminals and sentenced to death. Is this honestly how you want to continue into our future, or do you desire to help create change? Our current path, focusing on sutras that are thousands of years old and out of touch with today's Asari, will result in our complete destruction – we must be willing to adapt with the times if we wish to regain our relevancy."_

All Arana had been able to do was promise to think about it as she reviewed the information on Matriarch Trellani. In this particular case, there was no gray. The matriarch had knowingly and deliberately consorted with the enemy when she had become the mistress of Jack Harper, also known as The Illusive Man. Arana was unsure when the liaison had begun, but she now understood that Trellani had aided and abetted the criminal activities of a known terrorist group, Cerberus, through the duration of the Reaper War and possibly into the present... though it was unclear if there was any connection between Cerberus and this new organization, LEAP.

There was, however, no doubt that illegally sold weapons had been found in the possession of the would-be-assassin of an Asari citizen... a war hero and the leader of a great house, Doctor Liara T'Soni... and the source of those weapons had been established as Matriarch Trellani of House S'Phessi in Majesa. The crime was compounded from simple arms smuggling to also include treason, no matter if it was viewed through the Justicar Code or current Asari law, when one added in the fact that Trellani was a member of the Asari Defense Council. That she was a member of the council responsible for the safety and security of the whole of Thessia made her crime that much more grievous. Arana shook her head as she closed the files and packed the datapad into a bag, along with some clothes and other necessities, to go speak with her Sisters at the Justicar House. _Be prepared to make peace with the Goddess, Matriarch Trellani S'Phessi, for justice_ _ **will**_ _be served._


	46. Changes in the Air

Notes:

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Tides are_ \- a Thessian reminder that one is not always in command of their own destiny

* * *

 **Changes in the Air**

 **Normandy SR-2, Utopia System, At Large**

Shepard sauntered into the Broker office, the light smile on her face making Liara wonder what the Human was up to. The Asari paused in her work and glanced at the captain, a bit of caution in her voice as she queried, "Samantha? What brings you here?"

With a light chuckle, the Spectre responded, "Just thought you might like hear about the most amazing coincidence. While you were tromping through the Prothean ruins on Eden Prime yesterday, the relay at Refuge came back on line."

Recognition lit in Liara's eyes and she relaxed, now understanding the expression on her _siame_ 's face. "Ilos is once more accessible." Her voice took on a wistful tone as she continued, "Perhaps, one day, we may have time to actually go and examine the facility... while not driving in a terrifying race for our lives, Captain."

The ending smirk on Liara's face made Shepard's quiet chuckle erupt as a hearty laugh. "There's my long lost archaeologist." She closed on Liara and drew the Asari into her arms. "I love that part of you, Liara; seeing you in the archives on Eden Prime served to remind me of that." Hugging her tightly, Shepard whispered in her ear, "I swear to you... one day, we will either return there or head off to some newly discovered site... and you will once again have a chance to practice archaeology, no longer forced to sacrifice _your_ dreams in order to have me at your side. I promise."

Liara pulled back to look with wonder into solemn green eyes. "You honestly mean that, don't you, Samantha?"

"Absolutely, _Mo_ _Cheann Geallta_." Planting a chaste kiss on a blue forehead, Shepard continued with a grin plastered on her face, "I have dreamt of the day the galaxy was safe enough for me to retire and simply follow you around to your dig sites. I look forward to being a kept woman."

It was Liara's turn to laugh. "Ha! I simply can't see you as a _kept woman_. I give it a week, at best, before you go absolutely stir crazy, needing something to do." She smirked at her lover and continued, "Besides, if you expect to remain in my employ, you have to work. You are, after all, Captain of the Guard for House T'Soni. I'm afraid I would be forced to take disciplinary action should I find you being delinquent in your duties."

"Oh?" Shepard arched her eyebrows. "You'd be that mean to the savior of the galaxy? And just what form of punishment are we speaking of?"

Liara pursed her lips in thought for a moment before responding with a wink, "I'm not sure, but I'd think of something."

* * *

 **Dekuuna, Phontes, Silean Nebula**

Tolern Solus was up to his knees in water as he spoke with the community matriarch. _Why did I not consider the wet season? What horrible timing to begin my data collection!_ The northern capital of Sereuun had been reasonably pleasant, with the necessary genetic sampling relatively easy to accomplish, especially since the cities were occupied year-round by the Council of Elders – those older Elcor, past breeding age, who no longer truly had a place in the migratory lifestyle of their family groups and now used the wisdom gained through their years of experience to represent the Elcor on the galactic stage, similar to the Matriarchal Council of the Asari.

The elder generation was the most important one for Solus to collect... before any more passed and whatever unique genetic markers they may possess were forever lost. This was the very reason Tolern had offered to help – many were already gone, victims of the Reapers when they had taken the twin capitals of Dekuuna upon their arrival in the system and the Elcor were now in serious danger of extinction. Surprisingly, the Reapers had not perverted the Elcor into any form of Husk, so Tolern was relieved that the Reapers hadn't simply destroyed the planet from space as they had in other parts of the galaxy. The only reason he could think of was that they had needed Dekuuna for its convenient location as a staging base, seeing as it was only one relay hop away from the master relay in the Serpent Nebula.

However, the DNA collection from the few elders remaining was finished swiftly and Solus had found himself traveling; most Elcor enjoyed the traditional practice of living in small, distant conclaves instead of convenient cities... each close-knit family establishing their own mobile, independent group. This required the Salarian scientists to move through the rich grasslands of the equatorial belt to locate each of the migratory family communities, weaving across Dekuuna from the wet seasonal capital of Sereuun to Malvuon, the dry season capital... all while it was continuously raining. The weather and conditions had gradually deteriorated the closer he got to Malvuon. _Had I thought this through, I would have reversed my route, starting in Malvuon and moving toward Sereuun as the weather worsened!_

The plains of the Malvuon district were lower in altitude and surrounded by high mountains, basically forming a huge bowl... a bowl that was slowly filling with water. The Elcor didn't care; they slowly made their way along the traditional migratory route until the water simply got too high to traverse. Then, and only then, would they call in a transport and climb aboard to complete the trip to the seasonal plains of the Sereuun district. Much to Tolern's dismay, modern technology made that possible, so the Elcor no longer needed to adhere strictly to the schedule driven by nature... which had made the tracking down of the various family groups extremely tedious in the flooding grasslands.

He sighed as he watched yet another group move off, knowing he still had three family groups to locate, somewhere on the vast plains surrounding them, before he could return to the drier clime of Sereuun. He studied the determined faces around him... the group of dedicated scientists and researchers who had joined him on this quest... and stood a bit straighter. Squaring his shoulders, he called out, "All right, then. Let's get moving... We've three more groups to find before we can head back and check on the status of the artificial reproduction facility's construction. The future survival of the Elcor is in our hands!"

* * *

 **Justicar House, Attena, Thessia**

It had been three long days of debate since Justicar Arana had walked though the commons to the main meeting hall, where she had sounded the bell to call her sisters together. Their duty was clear – they needed to hunt down and eliminate the Matriarch of House S'Phessi, Defense Minister Trellani, before she could precipitate any additional harm to the safety and security of the Thessian home world. The debate had revolved around exactly what path they needed to take to ensure timely justice would be done. Trellani's actions had already undermined the council, not to mention the deleterious impact to relations with the Humans but, given the order's limited numbers, caution was a critical component of whatever plan they agreed upon.

Majesa was an isolated republic of vast deserts with most of the settlements close to the coastline. Because of the size of the bay that both gave rise to and continued to support its striving seaport, Costanera, the capital city and power base of House S'Phessi, was on the slimmest ribbon of land that existed between the ocean and the Majesan Desert. As such, avenues of approach were extremely limited and made the city relatively easy to defend... and very difficult to attack.

The first option, which was their normal approach, would be to send a single Justicar to mete out justice upon the accused individual. This was quickly ruled out, given the perpetrator was both the leader of a great house and held a position of influence within one of the Thessian ruling bodies. A single Justicar, no matter how powerful, stood little chance against a united force consisting of the Majesan Republican Guard and the S'Phessi Commandos; even their entire group of six, not including Samara, would be hard pressed to succeed without a significant helping of good fortune against such a large force. None of the extremely small cluster wanted to risk the very survival of their order on such a task.

Even if those of Majesa had no idea why the Justicar (or Justicars) had arrived, if they managed to succeed on the assignment, they could not count on the fading reverence that was once held for the Justicar Order to give them a chance to escape the continent alive. The safest option would be to simply wait until Trellani returned to Serrice for the next session of the Defense Council, but that was still some time off and the time lag could potentially allow two things to occur. First, in the interim time period, Trellani could potentially continue to illegally sell the restricted weapons to off-worlders, compounding her crime, and second, it opened a window for the matriarch to discern that her illicit activity had been exposed. If that happened, ferreting her out of a Majesan stronghold would be nigh on to impossible.

Truthfully, the prevailing thought was that only one option remained; the Justicars would have to work together and perform a snatch and grab... basically, remove Trellani from Majesa without the knowledge of her supporters. Such an operation, having to take place clandestinely in the shadows, went against every fiber of their existence... which is why the debate had stagnated without resolution and they all sat around the table staring sullenly at one another.

The Grand Matriarch of the Order, Sellyna Troni, stood slowly from her chair. "Our duty is clear; that we cannot resolve this in a timely manner troubles me greatly. Under the circumstances, I feel it is my solemn duty to undertake this mission personally."

The others sitting at the table gasped collectively as Arana stood in defiance. "Such action is unprecedented! The Grand Matriarch is the guardian of The Code! You must remain... to train and mentor our newest members on their path to righteousness!"

The matriarch smiled sadly, taking no umbrage at the outspokenness of her eldest Justicar sitting amongst their small circle. "According to what you so recently reported, if Justicar Samara were here, she would hold a differing opinion... and she would be correct." Troni paused as her tired eyes looked into each of those sitting around the table. "If you haven't noticed, we _have_ no newest members, Arana. We must change... or our noble Order will die the day the last of us passes. And this mission, against one of our own great houses, may bring that death prematurely if we act too rashly and endanger the entire group in a single, failed action."

Still unsure of her own feelings on the matter, Arana sank slowly back into her chair. "I have not yet decided how I feel about Samara's unexpected words, though I will admit I felt they held merit... while, at the same time, feeling they somehow did our heritage an injustice by merely being spoken aloud."

"Change is never easy... particularly radical change... but Samara has obviously thought on this for the last few years. She has never been one to speak without due consideration of the alternatives." Her voice firming with resolve, Troni continued, "I have decided – my immediate action is necessary. Now that we are aware of the events that transpired, we cannot delay without being party to any additional crimes committed."

"And what of the Order, should you be killed?" The next in line behind Arana, Justicar Lessi, queried in earnest. "Are we expected to elevate _Samara_ to your position? One who took it upon herself to act against our Code before it is revised... assuming such a thing even comes to pass?"

"I would say yes... as I truly believe the Code does need to be revised... and she was the one with the vision to recognize the requirement and point us in the correct direction. I believe her insight may be essential to the transition." Troni smiled. "But, you are assuming she will even accept such an offer; she may very well decline."

"To remain at the monastery with her last surviving daughter," concluded Arana. "Another action against the Code... as we are all expected to forsake our personal possessions and all connection to blood when we take the Oath of Sisterhood."

"It is an injustice to Samara to revisit decisions made in the past." Troni's voice was hard. "We took her particular situation into consideration and granted her leave to maintain her family connections... and to handle Morinth. We cannot grant permission for that, and then rescind it now that it is done, simply for our own desires or convenience. We must live with the decisions we make, not change them after the fact to ease our conscience... or use it to alter who will replace me when the time comes." She looked to Arana, speaking directly to her Second as she continued, "Should my death occur, that is a conversation you will need to have between you and Samara, as you are both of equal, senior rank."

Arana closed her eyes and nodded in resigned acceptance. "Understood, Grand Matriarch. Should such an unfortunate circumstance become our future, I will honor your request and speak with Samara on the issue of succession, as well as the future of the Order."

* * *

 **Costanera, Majesa, Thessia**

"Grand Matriarch. To what do I owe the honor of a personal visit from the head of the Justicar Order?"

Justicar Sellyna's eyes were emotionless pits as she responded, "I believe you know exactly why I am here, Matriarch Trellani. Do you wish to speak here in the foyer... or would you desire our conversation to be held in your private offices?"

Trellani narrowed her eyes and studied the Justicar standing before her for a long moment before finally answering, "My offices, I suppose." Her eyes traveled around the room, noting the many commandos attempting to look like they were not listening in on the conversation. "We can speak more freely there."

As they stepped into the office and the door slid closed behind them, Trellani let out a deep sigh. "Your presence here leads me to assume my motivations don't matter... That the trade I made... guns for food... was to keep the people of my republic from starving during the war. We live in a _desert..._ and rely almost completely on trade to feed ourselves. Trade that didn't occur once the Reapers arrived. Those weapons were the _only_ thing the Eclipse would take in trade. I must admit to a lack of foresight, Syl… I honestly didn't believe we would survive the Reapers, so didn't bother contemplating the long-term consequences. I had no idea any of those mercs would survive to take the weapons off world... to have those Acolytes end up in the hands of a rogue Human terrorist group like LEAP is beyond anything imaginable in my worst dreams."

"So, you don't deny it." Sellyna paused and looked around the room... looking everywhere but at Trellani. "Goddess be damned, Tré! You _knew_ that selling the commando-restricted weapons to a mercenary group was an illegal act, yet you committed it anyway. That you are one of the Thessian Defense Ministers makes your actions all the more treasonous."

Trellani dropped her head, her voice a nearly inaudible whisper. "Do what you must do, Justicar... as I hold little remorse and would do it again under the same circumstances." She looked up, her eyes pleading. "But, before you end my life... Will you first permit me to speak with my daughter, to pass the mantle of House S'Phessi in an orderly fashion?"

Sellyna spoke softly and dipped her head in thought. "We are looking to revise our Code to be more lenient in cases such as this... and I must admit regret in this moment that I feel bound to follow my Code, even given that your motivation was to keep your people from starving. At this point, the revision of the Code is nothing more than a promise of a better future... and while I cannot grant clemency based on personal desires, neither could I ask any of the others within my Order to be responsible for taking your life. Because of your station, it is my duty... mine alone."

Trellani stepped over to her, taking one of her hands, a small, forlorn smile passing across the minister's face. "We have known one another for a long time, have we not?"

"Six hundred years, give or take." The Justicar Grand Matriarch frowned. "And I refuse to believe our friendship was supposed to end this way. The arrival of the Reapers changed us all."

"Then do what you must, so we may end this quickly."

"No." Sellyna turned away. "Call your daughter and finish your business. I... I cannot ignore such a small favor, such a reasonable request, from one I call friend." Tears threatened to flow from her eyes and her throat constricted so she moved to a large window and stared out into the gardens, remaining silent for a rather long period of time to regain control over her emotions; meanwhile, an extended argument between mother and daughter took place.

When it finally concluded and her name was called, Sellyna turned to look into the faces of a resolved matriarch and a stricken heir, whose face was puffy and her eyes streaked with blue and the remnants of tears. The younger Asari growled at the Justicar. "You call yourself my mother's friend. Saving the lives of thousands within the republic is no crime, no matter the means! In the long run, those mercs would have ended up with those weapons one way or another, no matter what my mother did."

"Calm yourself, Gaya." Trellani slid a hand gently down her daughter's arm. "At nearly 700 years of age, you are more than ready for this... and we have spoken about this before; I warned you then of the potential consequences." She looked toward the Justicar as she continued, "Though, I must admit, we doubted that my actions would be discovered so quickly... with all the post-war confusion. I certainly never anticipated one of our weapons ending up in the hands of an assassin... one who would make an attempt on the life of an Asari galactic hero serving aboard the Normandy. The tides are."

Gaya crossed her arms in disgust and turned away. "I cannot believe you are being so cavalier about this, Mother!"

"What choice do I have, daughter?" Trellani sighed tiredly. "I have lived over a thousand years and your time has come. You know where the letter of succession is and it has been legally filed with the Matriarchal Council. No one will question your inheritance."

"That is not the point... and you know it, Mother!"

"Yes, I do. But, nothing you say or do at this point will change my fate... other than to make me regret my last moments... that our last words to one another would be so riddled with strife and anger."

Gaya's frustration finally broke and she turned back, tears again streaming down her face. "Goddess! You know that's not true! I just can't bear..." She sobbed and fell silent, a pillar of heartbreak, frozen in her pain. "Just get it over with, then, so I can be rid of this moment... though I am sure its memory will haunt me for the rest of my days."

Trellani nodded and reached into a desk drawer, withdrawing a vial filled with a swirling greenish blue liquid. "I spent a rather large number of credits on this," she explained, holding it up for Sellyna to see. "Thaol. An extremely poisonous extract from a plant on Tuchanka... even for Krogan... and hardly anything can kill _them_. Tossed into a glass of strong liquor, generally either Elasa or Ryncol, it is relatively flavorless." At the look of anguish that crossed the Justicar's face, she smiled sadly and continued, "It's very quick... and supposedly only hurts for a moment. I had planned to save it, in case I became old and sickly... so I would not become a burden upon my family. I'd rather end my life this way than require you to kill me, Syl. I find _that_ whole idea... revolting... for both of us. We have been friends for too long."

With a silent nod of permission, Matriarch Trellani pulled two glasses from a small cabinet and set them on her desk, pouring a shot of Elasa in each before handing the first to her friend. She then added approximately 10 cc of the Thaol to her own glass before picking it up and speaking again to Sellyna. "Come. Let us sit on the couch for a moment and look outside, enjoying the beauty of the day and acknowledging my sacrifice was for the good of my people. I do not... and _will_ not regret my actions, no matter how incorrect the lies about a peaceful death by Thaol may turn out to be; too many lives hung on the opposite side of the scales to place greater weight upon my one."

They sat for a few moments before Sellyna reached over and stopped Trellani's hand as it started to rise. "Tré. I am so sorry. I never wanted this."

"I know, Syl, but it is too late for apologies... for either of us." With that, she held the glass up for a final toast. "May the Goddess understand my motives and embrace me within her eternity."

A quick twinge of pain crossed her face as Justicar Sellyna's hand snapped out and painfully struck the glass from her grip before it reached her lips. "Goddess forgive me, Tré, but I cannot let you do this! You are no more guilty than Commander... _Captain_ Shepard and Dr T'Soni... for all they did during the war! The Code is… too strict… uncompromisingly rigid and unforgiving! There are actions that _can_ be justified... that are better for the whole... and I believe this to be one of those! You literally extended the lives of thousands of Asari under your care! They survived because of your actions."

Sellyna rose from the couch, finishing her Elasa as she walked swiftly to Trellani's desk; setting her empty glass down, she carefully recapped the tiny vial containing the remainder of the poisonous Thaol, returned it to the desk drawer, closed it softly, then turned and leaned against the desk. "Save the remainder, Tré… for such time as you truly do become old and sickly. You will not need to employ it today, my friend."

Trellani stared at the Justicar in shocked silence as Gaya quickly sat beside her mother and embraced her. When the Matriarch was able to once again speak past an emotion-choked larynx, she asked, "What's to become of me, Sellyna? What's to become of my house… my holdings?

"We will ask that the Matriarchal Council conduct an in-depth investigation regarding the extent of the criminal enterprise in Majesa, during which, I assume they will find nothing?" She paused and glanced inquiringly at her fellow matriarch, who nodded in silent affirmation. Sellyna then continued, "My Order will then recommend to the Defense Committee that Majesa lose her seat on the committee... as punishment for the _nature_ of your crime, no matter how well-intentioned... for a length of time to be determined by the Matriarchal Council and based on their findings at the conclusion of their investigation. Furthermore, until that process is complete, it will also be necessary to ban residents of your republic from holding any public offices... and the entire continent will be placed under an embargo, where all imports and exports will be searched, with any and all forms of contraband removed until the case is resolved."

Trellani looked as if all the life had been drained from her body. Gaya held her trembling hands as her mother gazed up at her lifelong friend. "It would have been far kinder if you had allowed me to drink that tainted Elasa."

The grief she felt for Trellani's situation was quite plain as the Justicar answered, "Kinder for you, perhaps, but what of your daughter? Your commandos and staff? Once word got out, your entire house would be forfeit... and many of those whom you sacrificed yourself to save would end up as paupers. Hiring those of a house convicted of treason would not happen any time in the near future... Simply to survive, they would likely end up working for the very groups whose extortion caused the situation in the first place."

She glanced at the cabinet from which Trellani had retrieved the glasses and made a decision; walking over, she very purposely withdrew three clean ones and poured them full. She then returned to the couch and handed one to each of the Asari sitting before her. "There is even recent precedent, Tré; think of what happened with Matriarch Benezia. After the investigation showed her motives were pure, her house was released. Maiden T'Soni, who by all rights seemed to be on the same path as Gaya would have been with your death, is now leader of a great house and an Asari war hero."

"Do you honestly see that in our future, Syl? No one saw what was coming except for Benezia; her vision proved to be true and her self-sacrifice is what earned her clemency. But I do not imagine an event like what happened on Earth will be so easily swept away by the tide." The color of Trellani's face was slowly returning to normal, but her voice still wavered. "Looking back, I can easily see the results of my actions and, while Benezia had no options, I could have chosen differently."

"I think it very possible, Tré... and here is why I feel so strongly about success." After taking a small sip of Elasa, she continued, "Samara's feelings about the Code were altered by discussions she had with Captain Shepard. It was Shepard who planted the seeds of the needed revision... mostly in an attempt to protect her crew. I believe I can go back to Samara and explain what happened... using her own words about leniency for good deeds. Even if they consider the dozen or so deaths caused by the attack on Earth... You spoke of scales and balance... you saved _thousands_ with that trade. And, Gaya is likely correct about the pistol, but even if they didn't have the Acolyte, do you think that would have prevented the attack? Absolutely not!" Her face twisted in anguish. "By the Goddess! I'm the Grand Matriarch of the Justicar Order and I agree with your decision! How can they possibly hold you at fault?"

"You have never ceased to amaze me, Syl." Trellani shook her head. "At the very least, I feel I must face my accusers and explain myself, so they may judge me themselves."

"Perhaps that is not a bad idea." Sellyna began to nod slowly. "We will see. In the mean time, you will return with me to Attena and remain in one of our solitary cells. It will serve a dual purpose... a sentence of imprisonment and time for introspection for you... and, at the same time, give us the ability to shield you, and your house, until the investigation has time to run its course. But, there is risk, no matter our path."

"The investigation could still prove unfavorable and the people could demand House S'Phessi be forfeit anyway." Trellani's face somehow held a smile as she squeezed her daughter's hand. "But it is a chance... which is more than what I had mere moments ago. Thank you, Syl."

* * *

 _ **Rakhana**_ **, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

"Samara! It's good to see you! How are things on Lesuss?" Oriana smiled widely at her friend.

The Asari nodded politely and responded, "I am well, Oriana Lawson. It seems your time on my homeworld agrees with you."

"Yes, it does. After so many months jammed on this tiny ship, it's absolutely wonderful to spread out at a beachfront estate! I'm going to hate my next assignment, no matter what or where it is." Seeing the expression on the Justicar's face, she ended with a chuckle.

Samara smiled in response, but spoke earnestly. "Your voice carries humor, but I feel there is an unhappy truth to your statement. The _Rakhana_ is a small vessel, indeed. Have you yet spoken with Mistress Liara about a larger one?"

"No." Oriana wrinkled her nose. "Livos asked me the exact same thing just this morning. I believe they all dread going back out again. They've _really_ enjoyed being home. Anyway, I assume you need something? You're not exactly the 'call just to chat' type."

"You are correct. I need to confirm you received a copy of my message from Justicar Sellyna."

"Oh!" Oriana's eyes lit and she sat up in her excitement. 'God, yes! That's some news, huh?"

"Are you referring to Matriarch Trellani's imprisonment or their request for information on the source of the data you collected?"

"Yes?" Oriana tilted her head. "All of it surprised us. Number one, we expected Trellani dead... not taken back to the Justicar House... so why she's alive and in custody is very curious. Second, the evidence was actual transmissions and surveillance imagery, all of which were verifiable as unaltered. So, why do they want to know where you got it? Obviously, you can't tell them we gave it to you..."

"Hence my contact. You see my dilemma." Samara's usual calm was betrayed by an unusual tenseness in her voice. "I called and they said Trellani presented Grand Matriarch Sellyna evidence of... _mitigating circumstances_. Mitigating circumstances! No such thing exists in the Code... at least not as it stands." Her excitement finally won her over and her next words came fast and furious. "It is my belief they are considering my request for a revision of the Code... and are withholding judgment on this case until it is decided."

"That's awesome!" Oriana practically jumped from her chair. "Except... Trellani is guilty of treason, isn't she? How can there be mitigating circumstances for that?" Her expression turned to a frown. "What did we miss? Did we nearly condemn an innocent person to death?"

"No. She is undoubtedly guilty of treason. The question must lie in why she took the path she did." Samara's eyes looked directly into the screen and Oriana felt as if they were boring into her skull as the Justicar asked her next question. "When you found the sale, did you look at what they received in trade? Credits? Gear? Had they kidnapped someone, perhaps her daughter? Was it ransom?"

Oriana felt doubt begin to gnaw at her gut. "We didn't look... It was an illegal weapons sale. It was treason... so Livos didn't seem to think it was important."

"Do not fret, Oriana. The Justicars of old cared nothing for motives or other actions, so this move has come as a complete surprise. We always judged each individual act by itself and meted out appropriate judgment for the crime... and there was no reason to think this case would be any different. But Shepard opened my eyes to the wider picture and I expressed my feelings when I contacted Arana. Something happened to make them look at this situation and consider the implications of Shepard's words. I believe we need to discover exactly what transpired on Majesa to fully understand what is happening now. Can you help me?"

"Absolutely! We'll get on it right away... though, the message mentioned a directed inquiry into the event by the Matriarchal Council. Won't they be looking into that and find what you need?"

Samara smiled slyly. "Of course they will, Oriana... for you will ensure it's there to be found."

"Oh!" Oriana giggled lightly. "That's what you mean by help. You don't want the information; you want me to make sure _they_ find it during their investigation!"

"Yes. Irrefutable proof that Matriarch Trellani had good reason for her act." Samara dipped her head in farewell. "It will be the first step in convincing the Order that the changes I spoke of truly are necessary... and open the door for... _other_ things."

"I'm on it, Samara." Ori gave a quick wave of goodbye. "And, I'll send you a copy of everything relevant that I find."

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Cantrell knocked on the door, waited for a three-count, and then entered the small living space Zoë had chosen for herself. It was nothing fancy – just an outer room where she had a small desk for an extranet terminal, a side chair set next to a small table and a set of shelves. The inner room was her bedroom suite with a full bathroom – it was about as comfortable as anything available in this building; Zoë had assured Jana it suited her just fine.

Zoë was sitting at her desk, sipping from a mug of fresh coffee while browsing the 'net. Looking up, she smiled and said, "Good morning."

"It is a good morning, Zoë. I believe we'll be ready for our conference in just a few hours. I'm having Warren set it up for the large lobby downstairs – it has enough space for the number of people we're expecting to attend."

Zoë leaned back in her chair; cupping her mug in both hands, she took a sip as she regarded Jana over the rim. "What's your feeling about the people attending the meeting today? Are they simply former agents? Are they ready to go to work… to honestly work… to help people that cannot help themselves, whether on this planet or in the colonies?"

Wondering where this was going, it was several moments before Jana answered. "Honestly, some are not what I'd call 'people' persons, Zoë. There are a few, like Tim, that have expressed their distaste for doing what some are calling charity work."

Nodding quietly, as if to herself, she replied calmly. "Jana, I told you I didn't wish to be involved in wetwork again; that's not to say we, as an organization, should completely turn our back on it when it becomes necessary. I realize we will need to retain those that excelled in that vocation before the war – perhaps as a subsidiary group within our new organization. Their focus will have to be on those people – Humans – that still harbor xenophobic attitudes towards the other races of the galaxy, _not_ on those races." Zoë sat forward in her chair, her eyes alight with passion. "You see the distinction, don't you? I will not become the leader of a group of humans doing the same things as the Illusive Man… you need to believe that, and _they_ need to believe it as well, Jana."

Jana had been thinking as Zoë was speaking. "So, this group… what do we call them?"

Zoë smirked as she answered, "We simply call them Cerberus. They will be the many-headed hound that will track down and expose those that seek to dominate aliens. If exposing them doesn't work, we end them – quietly, with as little fanfare as possible. These people are causing problems for humanity's position in the galaxy; it absolutely must stop." Zoë's look and voice took on a sinister attitude. "If people in our organization wish to leave in order to join with groups like LEAP, we'll let them leave, as long as they understand they are painting a bullseye on their backs."

"Sounds a bit extreme, Zoë. Do you really think it's wise to encourage defections?"

"Jana, you brought me back to lead. I won't preside over an organization that's an exact copy of the Illusive Man's. People will know up front how I intend to lead them. They can either fall in line or get out of the way."

* * *

 **A/N:** More of the 'State of the Galaxy' report was used in this chapter, so additional thanks go out to FanFiction writer **BeneziaWillLive** for the information provided.


	47. The Ups and Downs

Notes:

 _Keelah se'lai_ \- "By the homeworld I hope to see one day" (Quarian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

Tonne - a unit of weight equivalent to 1000 kilograms

* * *

 **The Ups and Downs**

 _ **Rakhana**_ **, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

As soon as they received confirmation from Samara about what had happened in Majesa, Oriana called the Normandy and gave a full report to Liara. She finished with, "I'll continue to track down whatever leads I have on the transaction and figure out exactly what the trade consisted of, as well as following the Defense and Matriarchal Council proceedings to let you know where they are headed and what they ultimately decide. Samara also promised to forward what information she can concerning the upcoming deliberations at Attena, regarding both the discussions about the Code and for the situation surrounding Matriarch Trellani."

"Thank you again, Oriana. If there's nothing else..."

Before Liara could finish, Oriana interjected, "Actually, there is, Dr T'Soni. If you can spare a little bit more time?"

"Of course." Liara gave her an encouraging smile. "By the way, I just remembered – Miri said to say hello and hopes you are enjoying Thessia. They are totally disgusted with Dekuuna; none of them realized it was the rainy season, and she says they all feel quite waterlogged."

"Oh, that's classic." Oriana laughed softly at Liara's slightly confused expression. "Miranda Lawson _never_ fails to plan. This will be good ammunition against her for a very long time to come. Thanks, Liara!" She straightened herself in the chair and took a deep breath before continuing, "I know you had your reasons for retiring the _Aletheia_ to Thessia, which will be done as soon as the new ship is completed and outfitted, but have you given any thought to doing the same with the _Rakhana_?"

"No, I haven't." Liara's forehead pinched as she continued, "Is there something wrong with the ship that you haven't reported to me, Oriana?"

"Well, not exactly." Oriana's cheeks felt a tad bit warm as she plunged ahead, speaking very rapidly "It's just that it's... _small_... excruciatingly so, as a matter of fact. I mean... It was fine during the war. Not like we had any time to think about getting another one, much less get one into production, but it's only, honestly, built for two and we have a crew of four aboard and..."

She would have continued rambling but for Liara blurting out, "Goddess!" Oriana fell instantly silent, fearing she had annoyed the Asari beyond recovery, sure she was about to get fired based on the vehemence of Liara's declaration. Nothing could have been further from the truth as Liara smacked herself on the forehead. "How could I have been so thoughtless? That ship is a personal transport with extremely limited cargo space... which is all taken up by the communications gear!" She shook her head as she continued, "And it only has one double bed, sized for a Drell, at that! Why did you not say something sooner?"

Oriana shrugged, answering, "As I said, it was fine during the war. We were working in shifts anyway, to ensure constant coverage, so it was no big deal. I didn't even really think about it until we got based at the Estate... and remembered what it was like to have our own beds." She grinned sheepishly, "Not that sleeping with an Asari is a bad thing... particularly Sella." She giggled and her face turned a rather bright scarlet as she finished, "We have become rather close...uhm... friends with benefits."

Liara blushed as well and had to clear her throat before she could respond, "That's probably a bit more information than I needed to convince me you require a somewhat larger vessel, Oriana, though I'm happy for you... that you managed to find a way to make the best of a bad... uhm... _crowded_ situation."

Oriana chuckled and couldn't keep herself from commenting, turning Liara the deepest shade of blue she had ever seen. "Nice correction... because there is absolutely nothing _bad_ about sleeping with Sella. She's actually quite proficient; though I'm not sure when she learned how to pleasure and fill a Human female... _vessel..._ quite so completely."

At that, Liara dropped her head into her hands, whispering, "Oh, Goddess!" Picking her head back up and swallowing the lump of embarrassment in her throat, she added, "I promise to commission a new vess... _ship_... a new ship... as soon as possible. Just promise me we will never, ever speak of this conversation again!"

Oriana burst out in a full laugh, unable to contain it any longer. "I'm sorry, Liara, I couldn't resist. I swear, I'll not tell a soul... Though, I can't promise that Sella won't see it next time we meld."

"It's hopeless. Once Sella sees this, and I have no doubt whatsoever that she will, it will spread throughout the commandos like a tsunami." Liara closed her eyes and placed her first two fingers of each hand on her corresponding temples. She took a deep breath, dropped her hands and looked up. "I'll talk to Judea and see if she can find a ship that would suit your needs; one that is available for immediate purchase, Oriana. I'll have her contact you directly."

* * *

 **Rannoch, Tikkun, Perseus Veil**

Tali stood back and looked over her latest project and smiled sadly. "Well, Medica... our house is complete but it seems rather large and extravagant for just the two of us."

"Agreed, Tali, but you will not be alone forever." The SILC paused for a brief moment before continuing, "The reconstruction on Rannoch is progressing well ahead of schedule, so perhaps it is time for you to find a new project to occupy your time."

"Yes... and I've actually been thinking about that." Tali looked at her fellow Quarians standing around after having helped arrange the furniture and place the final decorations; while the SILC were excellent builders, Tali had determined they favored pure function over form and had absolutely no sense of style. "Those who are currently here have worked with us for two solid weeks. I think, perhaps, it is time to recruit additional Quarians for the SILC to upload with; I can start with this group... those who know of you, have witnessed our relationship and are unafraid."

"I agree, Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch. We will be happy to assist."

* * *

As soon as the call was picked up, Tali started speaking. "Liara. Shepard. I realize it's a bit late, but it's good to see you!" A huge smile dominated Tali's face as the comm unit revealed the unsuited Quarian, her casual robe looking extremely comfortable.

"Tali! I take it your house is done?" Liara smiled happily in return while Shepard chuckled in the background.

"Yes – and, as you can see, it is completely sanitized! Once I come in through the airlock, I can roam my private quarters completely unrestricted!"

Shepard stepped within visual range of the comm unit, also with a broad smile on her face. "You look wonderful, Tali! Last time I saw you without a suit, you were in a hospital gown, enclosed in the sealed unit at the back of the Normandy's medbay. You look _soooo_ much better this time around!"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Captain." Tali paused and her expression took on a more somber aspect. "Those were rough times... yet good... all wrapped into one. I have to tell you, the Reaper War may be over, but the good-bad combination hasn't changed much."

Instantly on alert, Shepard queried, "Why? What's going on, Tali?"

"It's hard to say. Xen and Gerrel are up to something, but they've been extremely quiet about it... for an amazingly long period of time. They meet frequently and speak in person. Nothing they do is over comms anymore except for the occasional 'I need to see you' message. They have me worried about what they're plotting."

"And the SILC aren't intercepting any relevant data?" Liara cast a concerned glance at Shepard.

"Not that I am aware of. If they had, I'm sure it would have been passed to me via Medica... and I haven't heard anything." Tali paused and then smiled as she continued, "And speaking of Medica, much of this is possible because of her assistance. She has been invaluable to me in designing the scrubbing protocols so I can even have visitors in my home – and be able to rid myself of the suit again within less than an hour of their departure... unless, of course, they bring some abnormally virulent pathogen in along with them." Tali's voice became heated as she continued, "But there is no way for _that_ to happen by accident; to bypass the sanitization scanner, it would need to be carried in a sealed, impenetrable container and purposely released."

"You're not seriously thinking someone would do such a thing, are you?" Liara frowned and her tone carried a dangerous edge.

"Like I said, Xen and Gerrel are up to something... and I simply don't trust them; neither do the SILC, so they are taking extra care and being extremely vigilant of any supplies coming to the house, as well as scouting my planned paths to anyplace I may be headed. It's ridiculous."

Shepard scowled, "It's not ridiculous if they're watching out for you. I, for one, appreciate their efforts to keep you safe."

"Yes, well... you're not the one that feels like a criminal of the state, being monitored every moment of the day." Tali chuckled lightly. "However, Medica and I have hatched a plan... and it will be quite a distraction, as well as keeping me busy the next few days."

"Oh? Do tell, Tali." Liara's eyes twinkled conspiratorially. "What have you got up your sleeve this time?"

"You know that Medica has been uploaded in my suit for over a month now... and that after two weeks of obvious improvement of my immune system, in the first part of August, Auntie Raan and Zaal'Koris did the same." Tali paused as both Shepard and Liara affirmed the Quarian's statement. She then enthusiastically continued, "Well, in the very near future, we are going to speak to those who have been helping me with the house... They are well aware of Medica, as she was a critical advisor in the construction of the scrubbers and advisor for the entry protocols, so they sort of know her and, I believe, have come to trust her... Even more significant, a few have been heard mumbling about wishing they had the opportunity to experience the same. So, we're going to give them the option of uploading runtimes of similar nature. They obviously won't receive the full extent of capabilities and trust the SILC have afforded me but, at a minimum, they will be offered the basic medical enhancement routines."

"With, I assume, the ability to expand the relationship later," Liara mused aloud. "Provided a certain level of trust is established between the host and the runtimes."

Shepard was nodding her head in agreement. "I think that's a great idea, Tali! The more Quarians receiving the immunity booster processors, the faster your general population will recover their _natural_ immunity, especially being back on Rannoch and living with the native symbiotic organisms that the Quarians used to depend on. I'd like to think it will create a positive cascade affect, much quicker than if you relied on standard evolutionary rates!"

Tali looked at her and laughed, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Shepard. Whenever I forget just how smart you really are... you go and spout something like that, totally destroying my standard perceptions of humanity."

The captain grinned, a light blush showing along the edges of her collar. "Blame Liara and Tolern Solus. I've had more lectures on biological diversity and evolutionary genetics over the past month than I care to mention. It's all their fault!"

"Oh! That's right!" Tali was completely redirected from her taunting by the reminder of the Elcor situation. "I forgot about Tolern... How is his project coming along?"

"Very well," Liara answered. "He's already completed the Elder collection. Sadly, there weren't many left to collect from, so it went rather quickly. Now, we get daily dispatches of how much he hates the weather... but, the data is looking promising and the growth-tank facilities are nearing completion. Soon, he'll have to begin focusing on egg donors, to begin the gene modifications and artificial fertilization procedures. It's all very exciting, to think he'll be successful at saving an otherwise doomed race!"

"That's excellent. So what about you? You've heard all there is to tell about what I've been up to." Tali could tell the couple before her was tired. "How is the Victory Tour going?"

"Liara just spent a glorious five days wandering the Prothean ruins on Eden Prime, along with all the speeches and appearances we needed to put in. We're both ready for a break."

"Which we won't be getting." Liara's voice reflected her displeasure. "We're on our way now to Asgard – first stop, Terra Nova."

"Which is a mess," Shepard growled. "The Reaper presence was light but it didn't take much effort for them to puncture the bio-domes, which means a lot of people ended up dying of exposure because of the heat. The Reapers harvested about a quarter of the population... roughly 1 million... Then, another one-and-a-half million died from dehydration; their organs simply shut down from lack of water."

"Keelah! I am sorry I asked!" Tali frowned. "I promise you, no such thing will be happening here when you arrive, and I'll make sure your schedule is free enough to give you some decent downtime so you can take a deep breath before heading out again." She saw a look cross Liara's face that gave her cause for concern, so quickly queried, "When are you scheduled to be here?"

"We are a solid four months from making the Far Rim and the Veil, Tali." Liara sighed. "Charoum is our first scheduled stop after a very brief holiday break for the Human Christmas and New year celebrations."

Before anyone could comment any further, Joker interrupted, "Sorry, Captain, but you're needed on the Bridge. We're about five minutes away from dropping out of FTL in the Asgard system."

"Roger that, Jeff. On my way." She turned and planted a gentle kiss on the top of Liara's head and then looked back to the comm screen. "Been great chatting, Tali, but duty calls."

"Of course, Shepard. Take care of yourself out there; I expect you in one piece when you arrive here. Keelah se'lai." She waived as the Captain turned away and remained silent until she heard the door swish closed after Shepard had left for the Bridge. "What's going on, Liara? You both look happy... but really, really tired. And I sense the exhaustion isn't all from climbing about in Prothean ruins. That alone should have been invigorating."

"You always were the perceptive one, Tali'Zorah." Liara went on to provide more details about the five wonderful days on Eden Prime studying the Prothean Ruins with Chief Engineer Tyson Launt, before turning to the less favorable topic. "You know Eden Prime has a lot of history that comes along with it... and going there was heralded by a return of Shepard's nightmares..."

"Oh no!" Tali sat up straight in her chair and leaned in toward the screen. "How bad?"

"It's not... yet. But we had hoped that they would recede again once we left Eden Prime; unfortunately, our time on Zion proved that was not to be the case." Liara shook her head. "I am trying to keep her distracted with other things, but am unsure how long that will help. If they become more frequent, I may have to take more direct measures."

"The last time you did that, didn't you just end up sharing the dreams? Then, _neither_ of you got any rest!" Tali's eyes lit up. "What about Sha'ira? Could you not get her to meet you somewhere along the route? Any Asari colonies mixed in along the way?"

"That's a good thought." Liara activated her omnitool and studied the display. "Most are toward the end of the tour, but Asteria is scheduled as one of our stops near the end of November. I will focus on that and contact Sha'ira. Thank you, Tali!"

As the connection to the Normandy ended and Liara's visage faded from the screen, Tali frowned as she thought of Shepard and Liara's near-term future, hoping they would be able to stop the dreams before they became too disruptive. She finally let out a sigh and turned, speaking into the air, "Well, Medica... seems no one we care about is adverse to the plan, so let's go visit Auntie Raan and get our newest project started, shall we?"

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Zoë walked onto the small, raised platform at one end of the rather large lobby area and stood with her hands clasped behind her back, booted feet half-a-meter apart. She looked out on the crowd of people as they milled about, some in small groups quietly talking, others seated in one of the many chairs scattered about the space.

She was wearing clothes of the same style as those she had on when she had arrived back from her little jaunt around the galaxy; she had added her black, mid-thigh length overcoat with a deep cowl which she had over her head. The lights above cast a deep shadow over her face, preventing anyone from getting a good look at more than her mouth and a bit of her cheeks; the ivory-colored tattoos on the lower portion of her left cheek only served to deepen the mystery of just who this woman actually was. It was expected that everyone in attendance had seen the vids of 'Maya's' face after she'd taken a shot at Commander Shepard and ended the life of Donnel Udina on the Citadel… Jana had felt that anything they did to deepen the mystery surrounding Zoë's presence, at least for this introduction, would work to her advantage.

As people gradually noticed the silent figure standing under the spotlights at the edge of the platform, they broke from their small groups and either sat in the remaining empty chairs or moved to stand at the sides of the large space. As a hush descended on the area, the people watched and waited, their faces all turned to scrutinize this mysterious stranger in their midst. When the quiet became so heavy it seemed as if it would break the portion of the building that still stood undamaged, Zoë spoke in a near-whisper that surprisingly carried through the entire area. "Greetings… and welcome... to this first official meeting of Atlas."

She paused to let her words sink in before continuing in a slightly louder tone, not quite a whisper, not quite regular speech. "You've been asked here today in order to learn where this reformed organization is going. I was asked to come here in order to lead you to a better tomorrow, without the rabid species xenophobia that was the raison d'être for Jack Harper's vision for Humanity." She paused once again before continuing with, "Harper is dead, as is Cerberus. I killed him before…" She was interrupted by multiple voices, some shouting passionately. Those that had remained silent had quietly forced the vocal few to quiet down, in order to hear what this mysterious woman had to say.

As if she hadn't been interrupted, Zoë picked up the tale. "… killed him before he could end the life of Commander Samantha Shepard." Reaching up with both hands, she carefully pulled the cowl back from her head, revealing her face for all to see. "I am Zoë Lawrence. The woman many of you knew as Maya Brooks, or simply Rasa, is also dead, having become victim of an explosion on the Citadel as she was attempting to get away from Harper's poisonous influence." She waited as a new chorus of loud denials made their way among those gathered before her.

When silence once again reigned, Zoë's voice rang out clear and strong. "I am here today to tell you Harper's philosophy is not our way forward and, if you disagree, you are free to leave at any time. Neither I nor Cantrell will make any attempt to hinder your freedom of choice, in any manner… but… do _not_ confuse our graciousness today with a future tolerance for xenophobia! Anybody that leaves us in order to join any extremist Human-centric organization, especially LEAP, will be effectively painting one of our targets on their backs, and you may rest assured… our paths _will_ cross in the future, and we will eliminate you… With. Extreme. Prejudice." The buzzing sounds of many whispered and heated conversations could be heard all around her; hands still clasped behind her back, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other before catching herself and firming her stance to wait them out.

A few walked out before their discussions gradually came to an end and the small sea of remaining faces looked back up at her expectantly. She glanced around as she continued, "A great many of you have experience with clandestine snooping, either physically or electronically… that is a skill we will certainly need to exploit for the foreseeable future, as the people looking to prop up Humanity at the expense of our Turian or Salarian or Asari neighbors will become our targets. Once we expose them to the light of public opinion and ridicule, I firmly believe their influence will rapidly fade and die." Zoë smirked as she added, "It is patently obvious that all of you consider me to be quite naïve about this; I spent a lot of time as Jack Harper's number one agent and assassin, so let there be no doubt about my understanding of the state of the world now – just know that we have _other_ methods to handle those who remain intransigent. What have we always done with people that won't listen to reason… who simply refuse to see the error of their ways?"

"Terminate them!" came several shouts from the back.

"Exactly," Zoë responded with a tight smile. "Atlas will not be completely unlike LEAP in that regard… We will undoubtedly have a need for a select few members who can excel at this craft but I don't expect many, if any… of you here today are experienced at wetwork… at least, not at the level of expertise which I will demand. To that end, I am willing to personally school any with both the aptitude and interest in perfecting the skills needed to get into a place undetected, find and eliminate the mark, then successfully leave without being seen. I don't expect us to need many such operatives, as _unlike_ the Illusive Man, I prefer to use assassination only as a last resort... not for convenience. As such, I will select only the best of you for such assignments... for obvious reasons, we cannot afford to be caught and identified. You need to look no further than the death of the LEAP assassin to understand why."

The crowd had fallen completely silent and Zoë had started to see a few scattered nods of agreement. Encouraged, she continued, "Now, it is highly probable that the latest example of xenophobia we've witnessed – the attempted assassination of the Asari known as Dr Liara T'Soni at an event near Alliance headquarters – was done simply because her death would have caused no end of mental anguish for Commander Shepard and possibly delayed pursuit."

For the first time since she'd started speaking, Zoë slowly paced back and forth along the edge of the platform; coming to a stop at her original spot, she continued, "I submit to everyone here that T'Soni's death was not the primary objective. She was simply a xenophobe's target of opportunity, chosen to increase the likelihood of the assassin's escape."

Bringing a gloved hand up in front of her chest, she slowly made a fist as she continued, "The primary target was a single prisoner – a Human named Josiah Pickett, a major in the Alliance Marines. They said he was being held for divulging classified information; our speculation – so far unconfirmed – is that he was working for LEAP." Unclenching her fist, she let her arm fall to her side as she continued, "The explosion that collapsed the detention wing of the newly renovated headquarters buried Pickett under tonnes of debris; unfortunately, the blast also resulted in the deaths of eleven completely innocent people, nine of them members of the military police force."

Zoë resumed her pacing; she paused at the side of the platform to continue speaking. "All indications are the destruction and murders were carried out by one person – the individual who also took the shot that nearly killed T'Soni." Zoë's eyes flashed in anger as she paced back across the platform and said with a deadly intensity, "This indiscriminate assassination was simply a means to an end for this group, this League of Earth Alliance Patriots. It's the kind of shit Jack Harper used to do all the time – he was never concerned about collateral damage." Zoë lowered her voice to a harsh growl. "I don't give a damn how difficult the target might be, I am not going to tolerate collateral deaths… for any reason! All of you need to understand…" she paused as her midnight brown eyes sought out and captured those of several in the crowd; the last person captured in her intent gaze was Tim Stafford. "There is always a better... _cleaner_... way to proceed than one that costs the lives of innocents."

As the sounds of unhappy murmuring came to her ears, she looked sharply in the direction of the dissenter but was unable to determine the source. "It sounds as if some of you don't agree with me." Raising her arm, she pointed to the main entrance and intoned, "There's the Goddamned door. As I said, anyone that doesn't agree with me is welcome to leave." Zoë waited to see what would happen, and the quiet grumbling quickly faded away. Nodding her head once, she concluded, "Now, there's a lot of work to do. We still have a great many of the resources that were available to Jack Harper. The first chore for our new organization will be identifying the LEAP planners… the reckless cowards responsible for the operation that needlessly killed so many people – people just like us, doing a job that needed to be done." Zoë looked out over the crowd of people. "Let's find the names and locations of these bastards! It's time for us to get to work!"

A cheer went up from those assembled in front of her. The happy babble of excited conversations slowly died away as people filtered out of the large room; Jana walked up to Zoë and placed an arm around her waist. "I think you just may have won them over, Zoë. Even Tim Stafford was smiling when he left."

Zoë let out a heavy sigh as she looked into the eyes of Harper's former confidant. "We'll soon see, Jana. If Atlas is to have any chance at succeeding… in fulfilling our vision of its future, we simply _have_ to distance ourselves from the ideals espoused by the Illusive Man. We need some kind of favorable publicity, something that will not only set us apart from the now dead Cerberus, but will show we are diametrically opposed to the ideals promoted by LEAP." Shaking her head slightly, she concluded with, "We have a long way to go."

As Jana turned to leave, Zoë called her back. "Hold up for a minute, Cantrell… I have an essential task for you... one you cannot delegate." Once she had Jana's complete attention again, Zoë continued quietly, "I need you to personally review the surveillance footage of the crowd... both to identify those that left in the middle, and to identify the grumblers near the end. I promised those that left they could be painting targets on their backs, and someone – maybe several of the someones – that stayed to the end disagrees with the new approach but are too damned cowardly to say so to my face; that makes them dangerous." Raising her arms to indicate the building around them, she continued, "This place needs to be our safe haven and we can't afford to have anyone selling us out. More importantly, I don't want one of us getting a knife in the dark right here in our home base."

Jana smirked. "Understood, Zoë. I'll identify and then have someone talk to them... vet them on the sly... feel 'em out. If they're a threat, consider them gone."

* * *

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

Nyreen Kandros opened the door and quietly eased herself into Aria's private apartment; it had been nearly a week since the Asari had been quietly moved here from the hospital as she continued to heal from the Turian inflicted gunshot that had very nearly taken her life. To say she was continuously on edge and grumpy would have been gross understatement. Nyreen seemed to be the only person that could keep her foul mood from erupting into angry biotic attacks on anything or anyone that crossed her. As the Turian silently stepped into the queen's bedroom, Aria acknowledged Nyreen's presence with a whispered, "Kandros."

Nyreen reached for and gently took the blue hand that rose up to meet her. "If you weren't asleep, you really put on a good act, T'Loak. How did you know it was me? I didn't make a sound."

The tiniest of smiles tipped the corners of Aria's mouth as she cracked the eyelids of one sparkling blue eye and peered at Nyreen. "Few people are permitted to attend me here in my private domain… you have been accorded an exceedingly rare privilege. As for knowing it's you…" Aria chuckled lightly before continuing. "Your approach is remarkably silent, but I have an extremely sensitive nose. Your odor is quite pleasant, and unique among all the Turians I have encountered. It precedes you wherever you go."

Nyreen wasn't sure if she should be pleased or embarrassed by this revelation. "If that is a complement, then thank you," she said dryly. "If it is a commentary on my personal hygiene, I wish you had mentioned it sooner so I could take steps to correct it." She stopped talking as the blue hand drew her down close enough for Aria's other hand to caress a mandible and cheek while applying soft lips to the Turian's mouth. Copper colored eyes studied the Asari as she drew back slightly. "It pleases me greatly that you survived your injury, Aria. How do you feel this morning?"

"How do you think I feel, Kandros?" came the mock-grumpy reply. "I need to get out of this bed, get dressed and go to Afterlife. The people on this rock _need_ to see me… know I survived the mis-guided attempt by Sparatus and his rabble to take this station… _my_ fucking station! I need people to know I am still in control here, damn it!"

Nyreen had heard all of Aria's complaints before, but today would be different. "Okay, then. Let's get you up."

Aria opened both eyes wide in surprise. "You're not simply fucking with me, are you? I can get out of this bed, get dressed and go to Afterlife?"

Nyreen dropped and spread her mandibles, an indication of amusement. "You can, but with some restrictions." Aria's facial expressions cycled rapidly between hopeful joy, miserable unhappiness and a truly grumpy scowl; Nyreen continued in spite of the Asari's hard stare. "The doctor wants you to wear a sling… keep your forearm supported." A soft knock at the door interrupted the Turian's explanation of the limitations Aria would have to endure. Kandros moved to answer the knock; it was the private nurse assigned to Aria's care.

Nyreen waved the nurse into the apartment and followed her back to Aria's room after securing the door. The by now impatient Asari scowled even harder at the nurse, saying, "What the fuck, Nyreen? Another exam?"

"Actually, she's here to disconnect you from the drainage tube you've been wearing," came the snarky answer. "You're going to have to begin peeing on your own again."

Aria waited as the nurse silently used an omnitool to download the current data from the attached monitor, then removed the catheter, coiled the length of tubing, before taking it and the collection container back out of the apartment with her. Once they were alone again, Aria chuckled lightly as she raised her left hand for Nyreen. "Let's get going, Kandros. I want to see how much damage that miserable excuse for a leader did to my station."

Nyreen grasped the forearm as Aria grasped hers – she pulled gently to assist the Asari in sitting up the rest of the way; Aria carefully swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a few moments. Nyreen let go of the arm she was holding in order to bend down and wrap both arms around Aria's back. With her mouth next to Aria's ear, she whispered, "Okay then… here we go," as she pulled the Asari towards her, sliding her bodily from the bed until she was leaning against the edge with her feet on the floor. Loosening her grip on Aria, she increased the space between them as she brought her arms back, returning to a gentle hold on a blue arm. "Still feeling okay?"

Aria nodded once. Truth be told, she felt a bit queasy, but didn't want to be ordered back into bed; this was the first time her feet had supported her weight since she had been shot. _Damned if I'm going back to bed now... not until I've at least_ _ **seen**_ _Afterlife_. "Help me get dressed, Nyreen… I'll be fine once I'm back in my element."

Nyreen nodded as she pulled the medical gown off Aria's shoulders and tossed it on the bed. "I know you hate being dependent on anyone, for anything, so let's see you get your clothes on, T'Loak."

Aria glared at the former Cabal member as she responded, "Save me a few steps… hand my clothes to me."

When Nyreen complied, Aria first pulled on her panties – with minimal use of her right hand and arm – then thrust her long legs into her dark blue pants and pulled them up, with some assistance from Nyreen. "You don't want to work that shoulder too much, Area, so just let me…" Nyreen eased Aria's arms into the open-sided upper garment, a touch of lust in her copper-colored eyes as she brought the garment together and latched the three buckles across the center of her chest. "I'm usually uncovering your chest… it's a lot more difficult for me to be covering it up," came the snarky comment.

Aria rolled her eyes as she said, "Just get on with it, Kandros. I know you enjoy fondling me, but that can wait until tonight."

Nyreen moved to the Asari's side, reached between her legs and grabbed the tail end of the leather backplate – this she secured to the bottom of the front plate before attaching the front-to-back connecting straps, two to each side, that rode her waist right above her hipbones. Saying, "This might hurt a bit," Nyreen pulled the detachable right sleeve up her arm and secured it to the upper vest, then repeated the action on the left side. "Here's your gloves." Handing these to the Asari, Nyreen turned to pick up the one item she had been forced to replace. Holding it up for inspection, she said, "Here's your new vest. Between the SILC medical unit cutting it off of your shoulder and all the blood stains, we couldn't fix your old one."

Aria smiled as Nyreen helped her slip it on; after assisting with her knee-high boots, she was done. Standing again, Aria studied her reflection in the full-length mirror. Holding her right arm bent at the elbow, forearm across her midriff, she turned this way and that, saying, "Okay. Just like I've never been hurt. Let's go."

Before Aria could protest, the Turian added one more article – a sling in which to place her right arm; she then opened her omnitool and sent a brief message as she said, "Just a few moments, Aria. I'm calling Bray. He'll accompany us to Afterlife."


	48. Awakenings

Notes:

ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival

FTL - Faster than Light travel

 _I_ _onúin álainn_ \- beautiful beloved (Irish/Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Awakenings**

 **Eden Prime, Exodus Cluster, Year: 2150**

Lead scientist Arick Vythan stared down at the group before him. "The power for both our exterior sensors and to the system supporting Warden Vitale failed following a neutron purge yet, somehow, we have still been awakened. As far as I can tell, we are the only section that remained viable... planet-wide." He blinked slowly and continued, "The pods in this section, and _just_ this section, began going off-line and opening about a week ago; more importantly, when we initial few looked to the stars, we quickly realized the timing of our awakening is less than ideal. We have survived in stasis for over 50,000 years… I believe it is a safe assumption that we are near the beginning of the next harvest."

As the crowd murmured anxiously at the news, their Chief of Security stepped forward. The expression on the face of Lenes Arim was dour as he began speaking. "The secondary system... not the one that was supposed to detect the departure of the synthetics – but that which detected the pause and reinitialization of intergalactic travel – is what initiated the revival sequence. The logs indicate it sensed the activation of the relay, followed quickly by the arrival of what was, thankfully, _not_ the advanced machines that drove us into hiding... but a crude probe... which may not have been detected at all, had it not been followed by a small, non-Prothean scouting ship which landed on the planet's surface."

The crowd of mostly scientists gasped and the one who was designated as the administrative leader for their new colony growled out, "Control yourselves! Now is not the time for hysterics." Jorè Lentos moved swiftly to the front and turned to the crowd. "Our path forward is clear. If we are the only 200 to have survived on this planet, we must gather ourselves... and then raise and activate the Beacon. The primitives who have found this vibrant environment will likely not be long gone so, in the interim, we must load all of our supplies onto the _New Hope_ and prepare for departure as quickly as possible. If no Prothean ships come to recover us, we must all be prepared to deactivate and hide the Beacon and depart this world before the primitives arrive en masse."

"You would have us run from these primitives?" Arim growled, "Where is your honor?"

Lentos scoffed, "My _honor_ is in leading our Prothean colony to recovery... which cannot be done if the primitives show up by the thousands and capture or kill us all before we have a chance to live! Before we went into stasis, we all agreed to this plan in order to ensure the Prothean race survived the synthetic machines. We can't do that if we are the only 200! We need to find more of us or we will _all_ be dead... our race completely extinct... within 50 generations due to genome inbreeding depression, loss of genetic diversity and accumulation of deleterious mutations." He paused and took a breath, continuing in a more somber tone. "This does not even take into account that we have been awakened very near the time nexus of the next harvest."

The first female, Aelia Dethan, stepped forward and glared at Arim. "I agree with Lentos. Our primary directive is survival... not war for the sake of Prothean pride. Your fight for your so-called _honor_ will doom our civilization to dust and cannot be allowed. Of the 200, only twenty are soldiers; would you have me carrying a rifle?"

Arim laughed menacingly. "No, I would not... because it has become apparent to me you would likely shoot me in the back, rather than fight our enemies."

"Enough!" Lentos' angry voice rose above the chatter of the crowd. "Where is your control? Have you all regressed and become children during your sleep? We are Prothean!" He stared at Arim as he continued, "And it is not your place to dictate our future; that is _my_ responsibility and one I will not cede to you! Is that understood, _Commander_ Arim?"

"Perfectly," scowled Arim. "But do not come whimpering to me for protection, for you will not receive it... ever."

"Arim!" Dethan moved close and stared him in the face from mere centimeters away. "Watch your tone and do your duty or I will declare you banned from breeding. Your temperament does not appear to be a trait worthy of rights of inheritance."

"You wouldn't. We are too few." Arim sneered, "You need me and my kind to accomplish that which you are unwilling to do."

"We don't need problems, which is what you are becoming," Dethan took a step back and turned away in dismissal as she finished, "So silence yourself before I make good on my promise." Facing the crowd again, Dethan's eyes moved slowly across all those who could possibly be the last of the Prothean Empire. "Now. We all have jobs to do. Gather your personal belongings and move them to the _New Hope_. We will begin preparations for departure immediately."

She turned back to Arim. "And you. Take your soldiers and set the Beacon... as well as a relay detection system and a watch. If the relay activates, shut the Beacon down for the duration of any extra-planetary activity, as it is imperative we remain undetected. Is that clear?" Answered by a silent grimace, she repeated, "I asked you a question, Commander. Is that clear?"

Expression grim, Arim growled 'yes' in response before turning away; in a voice full of loathing, he loudly ordered, "Those who remain proud Prothean soldiers... with me. We have a Beacon to set. Empire willing, there are more of us... the better of us... still out there to save us from ourselves!"

After he stomped off in disgust, Dethan muttered under her breath, "I hope he and his ilk don't become a problem." Turning to Lentos, she queried, "Jorè? Where is our destination?"

His smile was reserved as he answered softly, "Honestly, I do not know. Everything was put into place by a special team and the navigation system of the _New Hope_ was preprogrammed. That same team, to the last member, then committed a mass, ritual suicide to prevent that information from ever being discovered. The secret bunker site location was then lost to everyone in that time to prevent the machines from getting the information... only to be revealed when the ship navigation system is activated and we finally reach our destination."

* * *

 **Justicar House, Attena, Thessia**

A week passed before the Matriarchal Council rendered a decision... if one could call it that. Their announcement was that they would _not_ render a decision on the guilt or innocence of Matriarch Trellani; rather, they tossed the entire investigation squarely back into the lap of the Justicar Order. The Council did, however, uphold the other recommendations and citizens of Majesa lost all representation within Asari governance. The suspension did not apply solely to government positions – it also meant that if Thessia held a planetary vote of any kind, the _citizens_ of Majesa had no say in the outcome.

To her credit, Gaya S'Phessi kept no secrets and, immediately following her mother's departure with the Justicar, made a public announcement to all the residents of Majesa, telling the story of their Matriarch's sacrifice. She cried at the resultant outpouring of support for Trellani and her family. It was truly no surprise but Gaya was touched by the affirmation of her beliefs that her mother was a beloved Asari, devoted to those in her care; all who survived the war had benefitted from her benevolence... and the food that had been acquired through the illicit trade. There were none who claimed otherwise.

As news reached the Justicar House, Sellyna found it difficult to maintain her poise, throwing a glass across her office to shatter on the far wall. "Goddess be damned! It is no small miracle that they can make any decision at all! Those that sit are supposed to represent Thessia! Instead, they dwell on personal advancement and won't take on any discussion they feel will compromise their influence!"

Arana fought to contain a smile, not unnoticed by the Grand Matriarch, who glared at her for a moment before allowing herself a quick, little laugh. "Oh dear. I suppose that's not fair, is it? Seeing as the dispatch mentions a split decision... Do you happen to know what the final vote actually was?"

Arana dipped her head, "I do; it was only 2-5. Matriarch Mozia, representing Armali, voted in favor of taking on the investigation, as well as Matriarch Cheleya of the Kendra Ocean. Both have reasons to sympathize with Trellani and wanted to remove her from our hands where, I believe, they are convinced she will go to the Goddess." Arana shook her head in irritation. "All the others wanted nothing to do with a decision that could result in the death of a fellow matriarch and scattered like a shoal of frightened maanru as soon as the vote was completed. They were quite content to simply take our recommendations and declare how the situation is best left for the Justicars to resolve."

"I suppose it is all for the best," Sellyna uttered with a sigh. "Though, it means we need to sit for some serious discussion regarding the restructuring of the Order and the guidelines under which we will operate."

"I believe it will not be as difficult as you think." The Grand Matriarch gave her an inquiring glance, so Arana continued, "We have an existing structure; why would we not simply adopt the Asari Code of Law as our baseline and work from there?"

"Work from there?" Sellyna tilted her head and asked, "What exceptions or additions would you recommend that will keep us relevant as an independent body and not simply have us become an extension of Asari Law Enforcement?"

Arana shrugged, "The biggest difference is obvious. We would maintain the authority to enact capitol punishment... but limit it to only extreme cases. I imagine determining how to set those limits will be the majority of our discussion."

"That seems as good a place to start as any; we could utilize the case of Matriarch Trellani S'Phessi as a beginning discussion and see where it may lead." Sellyna nodded. "And, seeing as the Matriarchal Council chooses to force our hand, please recall Samara... Since this was all her idea, she needs to be present for this entire discussion. Tell her to pack for the duration."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Arcturus Stream, At Large**

Another week passed without any word from Samara or the Justicar Order... They had apparently sequestered themselves and Liara was beginning to get worried. She was so focused on the reports she was reading, she did not realize Samantha had entered the office until the captain leaned over her back and kissed her gently on the cheek. "How's my favorite Shadow Broker doing?"

"Mmmm. Better now." Liara rolled her shoulders and groaned lightly as she dropped her head to stretch her neck, which Shepard took as an invitation to begin a light massage, careful not to lift the folds on the back of the Asari's neck. "Goddess... that feels good."

"That's because you've been at this for hours... and you're about to miss dinner. Which is why I'm here." Shepard dropped her hands and her tone became serious. "Save whatever you're doing, because you _are_ coming to dinner with me. No ifs, ands or buts. I'm hungry, and the Mess is only open another twenty minutes."

"Shepard, don't exaggerate; it cannot possibly be after 1930 hours already." Liara rolled her eyes and glanced at her chrono, freezing momentarily when she saw the numbers. "By the Goddess. Where did the time go?"

With a laugh, Shepard asked, "So... What has you so enthralled?"

"Enthralled is not exactly the word I would use." Liara closed down the screen and stood, turning to fold herself into her _siame_ 's welcoming embrace. "Concerned is more like it." As Shepard's hands roved down the Asari's back working out the worst of her kinks, Liara sighed softly. "That feels good; I'll give you an hour to stop."

"After dinner, T'Soni... You're mine. No more computer time." Shepard stepped away and took one of the Asari's hands and gave a gentle tug toward the door. Pinpointing the focus of Liara's anxiety through the link, Shepard gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "You shouldn't be... worried, that is. I know it seems like a long time but you have to remember they are revising a 5,000-sutra code. That is not going to be quick... and Matriarch Trellani is perfectly safe in the meantime."

"I know." Liara exhaled heavily. "But I am still unsure how I feel about that; she sold weapons to the group that made the attempt on my life!"

"The attempt was made at long range with a sniper rifle, _Ionúin álainn_ , and if that Acolyte hadn't been in Briggs possession, she would have had something else. Had she been in possession of an M-5 Phalanx, would you then hold the Alliance responsible?" Shepard grinned as she asked the question, knowing it was an easy argument.

"Of course not." Liara gave her a withering glance as she said, "Point made." She then smirked and added, "You're being difficult simply because I made you late to dinner."

"That is not true and you know it, Doctor." As they picked from the few still available choices for their dinners and placed the selections on their trays, Shepard inquired, "So, can you tell me what you know out here, or does it have to wait until we get somewhere more secure?"

"I honestly don't have much to tell. That's what is so frustrating." Liara used her chin to point in the direction of the back corner table. The Mess was relatively empty, but she still liked to have semi-private conversations with her Promised as they ate, without the whole ship listening in on their personal lives... or anything else they chose to discuss. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the same side of the table and facing outward so they could see anyone who might approach while they ate, Liara began speaking softly. "Oriana has been researching the supposed rendezvous by Trellani with the Illusive Man. There is verifiable proof that she never left Thessia to make _any_ of them; yet, at the same time, there is evidence of them getting together."

"That makes no sense." Shepard's brow pinched. "Why would TIM's profile be falsified?"

"It's not just his profile. It's travel logs and passenger manifests that conflict with one another, where it is physically impossible for Trellani to have been in two places at the same time... Unless, as we are beginning to think, the manifests aren't _wrong_... it's because someone else was pretending to be Trellani." Liara watched Shepard's eyes light with curiosity.

"Whoa. That would certainly put a twist on things. But, who would gain from that? It seems like an awful lot of work... horribly _unpleasant_ work, if you ask me... sleeping with an egotistical prick like TIM." Shepard shuddered at the thought. "Whatever they needed from him must have been extremely important to subject themselves to that son-of-a-bitch."

"I don't know about that." Liara chuckled at the look of incredulity that crossed Samantha's face before the Asari continued with a wink, "Many people are drawn to others of power. It's... exciting... intoxicating. It can also be extremely addictive... and power comes in so many forms, it is hard to determine what their motives may have been."

"But, if you can figure it out, or at least make a good guess, that will give you direction for your search... instead of looking blindly in the dark." Shepard shoved another piece of whatever it was they were eating into her mouth before dropping her fork in the dish and pushing it away. "Yuck. I have no idea what that was supposed to be, but that's what we get for eating so late... the indefinable left-overs." She wrinkled her nose as she looked at Liara. "Let's not do that again anytime soon, shall we?"

"Agreed. And, while I realize you're out of practice, I do remember that you can cook. Perhaps next time, we'll pull something out of the private stores and you can cook for us." She smiled at the thought and started piling their dishes together. "Come on, my captain." Liara picked up the trays as she stood. "We still have fruit in our room... the last of what is left over from our stop on Terra Nova."

Shepard smiled. "Good timing. We should be able to restock tomorrow when we get to Benning. There has to be a fruit market _somewhere_ in Joughin."

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

At their initial meeting after her appearance at the Vancouver BC headquarters in August, Zoë had given everyone fair warning that leaving the newly transformed group in order to join with _any_ other association having a view of the galaxy at large similar to the racist extremism of Cerberus, particularly the group known as LEAP, would be painting a target on their backs. She had also tasked Jana Cantrell with identifying those who were most vehemently opposed to the changes she wanted to impart; first, to ensure the safety and security of her new organization headquarters and those who resided within, and second, to identify potential future threats to their preferred _peaceful_ operations under the new organization that would be known as Atlas.

After viewing video footage captured of the crowd during Zoë's address, Jana had identified ex-Cerberus member Wendell Coffey as the one who had been most vociferous in his opposition to the new direction Zoë intended to lead the former Humans-First, anti-alien organization. Personally, she had liked Dell, but he had a small number of followers... all of whom had left with him in open rebellion against Zoë's proposal to reorganize the Humans-First group. After an extended and occasionally heated discussion with both Jana and Angelique Warren, Zoë had reluctantly agreed to travel to New York City, where she would track Coffey down to determine his motivations and planned future actions - which she sincerely hoped did not involve violent action against allies of the Systems Alliance.

Tim Stafford had immediately volunteered to assist her on the assignment, with the promise of lessons from her in the art of blending into the background before and after the hit. After telling him she hoped killing Coffey wouldn't be required, Zoë promptly assigned Stafford the essential preparatory work for the job ahead of them, all of which needed to be accomplished prior to their departure from Vancouver. Knowing some innocent target's life was on the line, Tim got to work immediately and completed his initial research from deep within Atlas' headquarters. He easily discovered that Wendell had taken less than three days to arrive in New York, and another day to be welcomed as one of LEAP's newest members, along with two of the people that had accompanied him when he left in the middle of Zoë's speech, Joanna McKinney and Carson Wheeler. Without delay, Tim sought Zoë out in order to pass on the bad news.

"I'm sorry, Ms Lawrence, but I have audio recordings and message traffic to prove it. We'll have to relocate the headquarters – the bastard told them _everything_. His team has also been told to expect an initiation mission within the week... they said... to test their _loyalty_ , seeing as they walked away from us so quickly. LEAP wants to make sure they aren't Atlas spies."

Lawrence had been completely honest about her desires to never do wetwork again, but she hadn't been able to train anyone yet to the level necessary for the upcoming mission. So... grudgingly... Zoë and Tim Stafford had flown a shuttlecraft to New York City with the understanding that if she decided to terminate him, she would do it in such a way as to leave no doubt about the source of the hit; perhaps it would serve as a notice to others who erroneously thought her warning to be a bluff.

Zoë, with Tim in tow, had shadowed Coffey to an older neighborhood in what had been the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The destruction wrought by the Reaper assault on the city had not been complete; a lot of older neighborhoods – even those within sight of the financial centers across the East River in Manhattan – had been somewhat damaged, but not leveled like the numerous skyscrapers. The people responsible for founding LEAP had _appropriated_ the three top floors of an old, abandoned apartment building for their temporary headquarters; as there were another twenty-seven floors below, all devoid of inhabitants, the leadership had apparently decided the available space made for a convenient, centralized location.

Zoë had entered an abandoned hotel two streets to the west; it was nearly as tall, had decent roof access, and a clear view from its northeast corner of the upper portion of the western side of the tower LEAP had taken over. After settling into the room she intended to use, she sent Tim to relocate their rented aircar to the roof above them; with its nose facing west, they'd be able to fly across the East River as soon as she'd made her point about turncoats.

Unlike the two-member team from Atlas, the people of LEAP were certainly not hiding from anyone; even at night, there were lights aplenty blazing away from every window on the top three floors. Zoë had made sure Tim understood that there was to be no advertisement of their location – she felt having the aircar on the roof was enough of a giveaway that someone was in residence within this old hotel.

Once set up, the pair visited the lobby of the new LEAP headquarters, learning when they arrived that LEAP's leadership had installed several power generators in the sub-basement so the building was independent of the city's barely functional power grid. Zoë needed to discover where Coffey was staying, along with McKinney and Wheeler; to that end, Tim was going to ride the elevator up to the main office, ostensibly to inquire about joining LEAP. Zoë, with her cloaking generator hiding her from view, would accompany him. Once there, she intended to covertly hack an office terminal for data while Stafford spoke with their recruiters; it was felt that if any of their three targets caught sight of Tim, they would vouch for his 'former' employment with Cerberus, and his apparent defection from Atlas.

Stafford was a bit nervous, but steadied up when Zoë faced him, grabbed his shoulders with both hands and said, "You can do this, Tim. These people are so rabidly anti-alien, they will welcome _any_ potential recruit to their cause. They _want_ to believe you're sincerely interested in joining them, _and_ you worked for Cerberus!" Zoë gave his shoulders a squeeze and released him, saying, "Let that work to your advantage. You can refer to me by every kind of nasty name you can think of, if it'll help sell your story. And if they want to know where you're staying, just say you're in a nearby hotel. Don't worry about being followed when you leave… whoever they send won't be following for long."

Once out of view of people in the lobby, Zoë activated her cloaking generator and silently accompanied Stafford into the elevator. On the way up, the car stopped at the 28th floor to take on several people, one of which just happened to be Joanna McKinney. Fortunately, despite looking right at Tim, she didn't seem to recognize him; Zoë thought it was because Tim's presence in this place was so out of context he was effectively invisible. When the car reached the 30th floor, everyone walked off, including a cloaked Zoë Lawrence, who quietly made her way to one of several unoccupied cubicles to activate and hack into a locked-out data terminal.

Glancing over the divider, she was happy to see that Tim was sitting beside the desk of a woman apparently assigned as a recruiter. Zoë made a mental note to ask Tim if he had been swayed by whatever the very attractive woman had said – she was openly flirting with him as she spoke, having even gone so far as to unbutton an extra top button of her silk blouse in order to display a bit more cleavage. _Some things never change,_ she thought with a grim smile.

The terminal displayed a veritable treasure-trove of information – names of the principals and their lieutenants, where everyone was staying, who was providing their funding and… _Hello!_ The name of the incredibly ballsy bastard that had ordered the elimination of Alliance Major Josiah Pickett, with the proviso that collateral deaths were of no concern. He had given that task to one Kathryn Briggs, a fresh recruit originally from the destroyed city of San Francisco; she had spent enough time in the Alliance Marines to have learned how to place and detonate explosives, and she'd earned rifle expert badges during each year of her three-year enlistment. Her xenophobic attitude concerning alien races had been rewarded with a less-than-honorable discharge from the Alliance Marines. _That's why she was picked,_ Zoë thought. _She could set and detonate the explosives, then kill T'Soni from long-range to help cover her escape._ Zoë mentally shook her head in disbelief. _Didn't they realize that anyone killing a person so close to Commander Shepard would not be allowed to leave with their own life intact?_

She continued to think about Briggs and her handler. _So, we have another target… one that should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Damn! I had really hoped to be done with wetwork! Have to get Tim, one or two others trained… fast._ All of this raced through her mind as she copied several terabytes of data onto an OSD she'd brought for that purpose. Watching the area around her, she saw a couple of people having some sort of discussion as one of them pointed to the terminal on her desk. _Time for me to leave,_ she thought as she completed accessing LEAP's database; she ejected and pocketed the OSD, then logged out of the purloined terminal after eliminating its ability to back-trace her intrusion.

Activating her personal comm, she whispered to Tim that she was ready to leave, as she cautiously made her way back to the elevator. Stafford smiled at the recruiter sitting across the desk from him and said, "You know, this is a lot more involved than I realized so I need some time to think about all this." He stood slowly and stuck out his hand, grinning broadly as he continued, "I have to get some of my affairs in order first, but I'm pretty damned sure you're going to be seeing me again. Thanks for your time." As he walked away from the smiling woman and stepped back into the elevator, Tim's grin faded, knowing what he truly believed in and what his future now held. _Yeah. You're gonna fucking see me again... as soon as Zoë teaches me everything I need to know to remove you and your ilk quietly and methodically from the face of the planet!_

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Vetus, At Large**

The trip to Benning had been hard on both Shepard and Liara – reminding them both that Shepard had been in recovery from her near-death on Tuchanka and Liara had been restricted to the Normandy due to her exhibiting symptoms similar to eezo-shock. It was the only world where they had _both_ missed the ground mission. It was after that mission when Garrus had pressed Balal Osoba's dog tags into her hand and sent the Asari to her knees with an extremely strong memory response regarding her finding Shepard's tags in the snowy wastes of Alchera.

The memories of all those experiences flowed freely through the link between them, so she and Samantha had talked long into the night before they actually set foot on Benning for the memorial service. Fortunately, the ceremony proceeded without incident, as did the follow-on shopping and restocking of fresh foods for the Normandy's stores before moving on to their next location - the Jon Grissom Academy.

They had dropped out of FTL and were now on final approach as Liara smiled softly and wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist. They were standing on the Bridge so, invariably, Joker couldn't keep himself from chuckling quietly as he saw the reflection of Shepard's somewhat embarrassed expression on the forward viewscreen. His soft laughter stopped immediately when he heard Liara's whispered words, obviously spoken aloud for Jeff's awareness. "You don't need to worry, Shepard. She's the same Kahlee you have always known; you know from your conversation before you ever even left the hospital that she doesn't blame you... and what happened at the memorial on Earth was out of your control."

"I know, Li... but thanks." Shepard's bearing shifted to one of resolve. "I suppose it doesn't hurt to be reminded of that." She drew in a deep breath and blew it out as Joker called out an update.

"Roger, Grissom Control. Proceeding to Docking Bay Charlie Two. ETA three minutes."

Unfolding her left arm and removing her dress coat that had been hanging over it, Shepard sighed, "Guess it's time to put this on and stand ready at the airlock."

"Please, allow me." Taking it from her, Liara gave the jacket a brief shake and smiled lovingly as she held it open. "You always look good in this uniform, Captain Shepard... and I am honored to stand by your side."

A small huff of laughter escaped from the captain as she slipped her arms into the sleeves of the offered garment. "Thanks, Liara." Buttoning the front while they walked to the main hatch, Shepard glanced at her _i_ _onúin álainn_ and beamed. "You know it doesn't matter what I wear. The best thing I can do to improve my appearance is to have you hanging on my arm... _especially_ when you wear one of the Asari gowns you received from Sha'ira."

* * *

 **Jon Grissom Academy, Vetus, Petra Nebula**

Shepard and Liara were both smiling as the hatch opened to reveal Kahlee Sanders standing on the dock waiting for them, an equally welcoming smile spreading across her face as soon as she saw them. Despite her personal love for the young woman standing before her, Kahlee remained completely professional and snapped a sharp salute. "Captain Shepard. Welcome back to the Jon Grissom Academy."

"Lieutenant Commander, it's good to see you again."

"Fuck all that formal shit!" A rough female voice sounded from the side that immediately had Shepard laughing.

"Good to see you too, Jack." Shepard dropped her salute and cast a wary eye at the psychotic biotic. "I gather I'm not going to be greeted with a swinging fist this time... and I thought you weren't supposed to swear?"

Jack laughed, "Yeah, well. There's no students here, so I can say whatever the f..." She paused at the withering glance aimed in her direction by the acting Dean. "Oh, fine. Yes, I promised... but this is a special occasion!"

Kahlee shook her head as she approached Shepard and pulled her into a warm hug, smirking as she spoke. "She's right. Screw the formal crap. It truly is good to see you, Samantha." She held on tightly for a few moments before finally relinquishing her grip and stepping back, offering her hand to Liara. "You as well, Dr T'Soni."

Liara rolled her eyes and pulled the woman into a quick embrace. "Please, Kahlee. Call me Liara." She let go much faster than Sander's hug with Shepard as she continued, "You are as much a part of my family as Hannah and Karin... assuming you are comfortable with such familiarity."

"Are you kidding?" Kay laughed lightly. "I became quite accustomed to..." she hesitated only slightly before pushing on, "...David... bringing friends or students home for dinner without any warning. Any and all who were willing to fight together for the cause were family to us... and are still family to me." Her smile returned, though not quite as bright as before. "You're engaged to our Sam so, if you're okay with it, I see no reason to not accept the friendship you are offering."

"So, Shep. What the fu...dge are you going to do here for three whole days?" Jack looked honestly curious as she continued, "According to the schedule I saw, you're not leaving for Elysium until Sunday night."

"Well... It's been a month since we had time off at Eden Prime, so we're taking a few days here to visit with you and Kahlee." Shepard smiled softly. "And the students, if that's okay, Jack?"

"Nobody told me it was a holiday... I have classes to give... and my kids are _busy_!" She laughed and continued, "But I suppose... for the saviors of the galaxy and the two other most kick-ass biotics in the Milky Way, I can make an exception."

"The 22nd is Alban Elfed." Shepard chuckled at the biotic's blank expression. "The fall equinox? Druid harvest festival?" She paused again and shook her head. "I assume you're free for dinner on Saturday night – we brought some fresh stock from Joughin on Benning."

That brought a sparkle to Jack's eyes and she nodded. "Now that sounds like an offer I can't, or at least _shouldn't_ , refuse." She glanced at her chrono and winced, moaning, "Damn. I'm late," before looking back up and smiling at the captain. "Just send me a quick message as to the when and where, Shepard, and I'll see you then."

As Jack ran off to get to her class, Kahlee watched her go, but explained, "As you know, most of the staff left at the start of the war and returned to their homes. Unfortunately, most suffered the same fate as many other Alliance officers at remote outposts... killed in the fighting, with too few soldiers trying to defend their too many civilian neighbors." She sighed heavily. "What I'm trying to say is that Jack has an entirely new group of students... and we are so short of instructors that Seanne and Reiley Bellarmine, along with Jason Prangley, are now her assistant instructors here."

Her brow furrowed and she looked up into Samantha's face. I remember _your_ childhood experiences and I'm wondering if you have any suggestions..." Her eyes shifted to Liara as she continued, "... or you, Liara, for potential Asari instructors?" Her eyes shifted back. "I think the exposure you had at such a relatively young age helped in your acceptance of the many species you encountered in your years of service."

"You're probably right." Shepard shrugged. "I would have to agree that all my time spent with Arlyna and Niria certainly gave me a new perspective; taught me to see them simply as friends, not necessarily Asari."

"Exactly." Kahlee nodded in accord. "As Humans, we've struggled with our biotics training... and I believe it is largely because we're too damned proud to ask for help from a group of people who are _born_ that way... to the Asari, the development and use of biotics is as natural as breathing. Why do we not take advantage of that?"

"You don't have to convince me, Aunt Kay." She gave Liara a quick glance before turning back and continuing, "Feel free to use my name if you need to, to get Alliance buy-in. And, when you succeed, we'll be happy to help you select and vet instructors."

"Now." Liara smiled as she spoke, "We have a ship full of people ready to stretch their legs and see the sights... and I, for one, am ready to sit down and simply relax for a change."

Kahlee slid in between them and wrapped an arm around each of their waists. "Then make the call, Captain, and release your crew, so we can go to my quarters for a drink and to discuss plans for Saturday night's _Alban Elfed_ feast!"


	49. Just Deserts

Notes:

 _Keelah se'lai_ \- "By the homeworld I hope to see one day" (Quarian)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

Malyk - A feline animal native to Thessia. Among the possible fur colors is green (Source: CDN)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Just Deserts**

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

Tim Stafford walked nonchalantly out through the front door of the old apartment building –abandoned at the beginning of the Reaper War and now home to LEAP – and turned east in order to walk around the block. Zoë Lawrence – having shadowed Tim in and out of LEAP's headquarters – was still cloaked and following at a distance that would allow her to detect and observe anyone tailing him; her foresight was rewarded when she saw a woman that had been loitering in an alley adjacent to the rear of the building begin walking purposely to follow as soon as Tim passed by.

"Just keep walking… but you have a female on your six, Stafford," Zoë warned through their personal comms. "I'll intercept her as soon as I'm certain there are no other eyes watching you." Tim acknowledged Zoë's warning by placing his hand over his mouth to cough while continuing to walk at his casual pace; Zoë maintained her distance from both people as she visually searched all around Tim's location for anyone else showing any interest in the agent. Noting that the unknown woman was now cupping her ear while moving her mouth, Zoë instantly knew there was at least one more person involved… question was, what the Hell to do about it.

By this time, Tim had walked along an entire block, crossed a street and was walking in the next block; when she saw no one nearby displaying any interest in Stafford or the woman, Zoë decided to open this woman's eyes. Carefully dodging the few other people out walking in the late summer sunshine, the cloaked Atlas assassin moved in right behind Stafford's 'tail.' Just as she drew abreast of another alley, Lawrence entered a command into her omnitool, whispered, "Now, Tim," then made her move. The woman squeaked in surprise as a pair of strong hands grabbed her arm and the collar of her jacket and guided her to the right, to be forcefully and painfully pinned against a rough brick wall. Attempting to twist out of Zoë's grasp, she swore, "Don't know who the fuck you are, but you're dead if you don't let me go."

Tim came running into the alley to see Zoë decloaking while spinning the woman about to face her. With the weight of her body and legs hard against her victim and her tattooed face mere centimeters from that of the defiant woman, she smirked, "I don't think so, Ms McKinney. I believe it will be you coming to a bad end today."

Joanna McKinney's eyes went wide in fear as she recognized the new face of Atlas; the sinister look in Zoë's eyes told her all she needed to know about what was to come. She began calling Carson's name, apparently believing her own comms were still operational. Zoë shifted her grip slightly; grasping the soft, white skin of Joanna's throat in her bare hand, she squeezed slightly, partially cutting off the air Joanna needed for speech, causing her to gasp, "Zoë! You can't do this!" Struggling to breathe, she squirmed in an attempt to get out from under the muscular body pinning her to the unforgiving brick behind her; tears came to her eyes as she began pleading in a ragged voice, "Zoë, please!

Noticing movement out of the corner of her eye, Zoë looked in time to see Stafford viciously punch Carson Wheeler in the face as he came into the alley at a dead run; the rogue Cerberus agent would have fallen over backwards except for Tim grabbing and pulling the front of his jacket. Stafford twisted the pistol from Carson's grasp before forcing him to sit near McKinney; looking out towards the street, he noticed with grim satisfaction that the few people walking by the alley's entrance were apparently turning a blind eye to events within its dusky confines. _Typical New Yorkers,_ Tim thought as he nodded for Lawrence to continue.

Returning her attention to Joanna, Lawrence frowned in an annoyed expression of contempt. "You were both warned this would be your reward," Zoë purred softly. "I don't understand why you're so surprised."

Joanna rasped out past the constricting hand, "You said Atlas would no longer be involved in assassinations … that you would be a kinder, gentler organization."

"You didn't stay long enough to hear everything I said, Ms McKinney; since you and Wheeler decided to leave with Wendell Coffey, you must have also decided that no one from the kinder, gentler Atlas would follow you here." Zoë applied a bit more pressure to the throat she was caressing, causing the tears in Joanna's fearful eyes to begin running down her face. "All three of you have totally fucked over everyone that remained with me in Vancouver, Ms McKinney, and when you recover from the beating, maybe you can convince LEAP's self-righteous leadership there will be nothing but an empty building when whatever asshole they assign arrives to blow it up." With that, Zoë released her grip on Joanna's throat and backed away one step, causing the woman to sag forward and begin coughing.

"You think you're so damned smart!" Carson Wheeler spit his words past a cut lip." You're nothing but a goddamned sorry excuse for a mercenary bitch, and LEAP will eliminate you and all your followers!" Zoë looked at Stafford, saying, "Tim? Take notes!" As Tim watched in fascination, Zoë balled up a fist and hit Joanna full in the face, knocking her to the pavement; the sound of the impact caused Tim to wince in surprise. Carson cried out in protest, saying "What the fuck?" Zoë returned her attention to Wheeler, kicking him full in his lower abdomen as he attempted to get to his feet; this caused him to cry out as he fell back to the pavement to writhe around in pain the likes of which he had never suffered before.

Zoë wasn't done – she straddled the woman's hips, grabbed Joanna by the front of her shirt and jerked her partway up towards her; as the unfortunate woman clamped her hands around Zoë's wrists, she felt as if her head was going to explode from Zoë's vicious head-butt. "Learned that move by observing Krogan males, but since you're such a damned xenophobe, I doubt you can truly appreciate the effort it took me to perfect it!" Zoë dropped Joanna back to the pavement; standing, she pulled her cowl up over her head and wordlessly turned towards the street.

To make sure Wheeler had received her message, Zoë drew back her foot and kicked him in his side, just above his hipbone, as she passed him by. Carson's anguished howl cut through the still air of the alley, not unlike that of a severely wounded Vorcha, to which Zoë commented, "If that doesn't have you pissin' red, I didn't kick you hard enough."

An amazed Tim Stafford followed her, asking, "Was all that really necessary?"

Zoë glanced at Stafford as the two of them strode down the street and away from the scene of their attack. "Neither of them has ever had to face an enemy firsthand… they've always worked in support – research, accommodations, that sort of thing." Looking down at the gun Tim had shoved in his waistband, she added, "I'm surprised Wheeler didn't shoot himself with that thing when you took it from him." Shaking her head, she huffed, "If we expect these people to pay attention to us, we have to get their attention, which is what I just did. Coffey will realize his mistake as soon as those two manage to drag themselves back to LEAP's headquarters. Lyle Bradshaw is gonna realize his mistake as well."

"Who in Hell is Lyle Bradshaw?" asked Tim.

"He's the brainless son-of-a-bitch that sent Kathryn Briggs to kill Josiah Pickett by collapsing an entire wing of a building, and he's responsible for ordering the hit on T'Soni." She looked around, checking the people in the street. Seeing no threats to Tim or herself, she finished with, "Let's get some food. I need to put together a plan for eliminating Bradshaw in full view of everyone around him… I want him to know his death is imminent just before I drop the hammer."

* * *

Zoë had set up inside the corner apartment on the top floor; she had an excellent view of the entire upper portion of the LEAP tower, and knew from studying sections of the data she had purloined from their servers that the 28th floor conference room – a converted entertainment suite for the luxury apartment it had once been a part of – was visible through three windows side-by-side in the middle of the tower's west face.

A moisture-laden breeze gently came in through the glassless window, there to kiss Zoë's tattooed cheek; she welcomed the touch of cold as she pressed her right cheek against the cool metal of the rifle's receiver. Ominous clouds had gathered over the city, with the welcome promise of an evening thunderstorm to relieve the oppressive heat of a New York summer afternoon.

She had substituted an M-92 Mantis for the M-13 Raptor she normally favored, feeling the additional punch of the Mantis would outweigh its slow reload time. Zoe had the M-92's bipod legs perched on a heavy wooden table Tim had found in one of the other rooms in this abandoned place; its scope was set for a 547 meter shot, and the AP-enhanced ammunition she was using would insure an accurate trajectory, despite having to travel through a plate of shatter-resistant glass. Lying prone on the table, she was patiently watching and waiting as she peered through the scope; most professional assassins liked to use a laser designator to ensure accuracy, but Zoë, as Maya Brooks, had never used one; it was a dead giveaway – she really loved the irony of that expression – to whomever was being targeted. However, for this hit, she had attached a helium-neon laser designator to her optical scope, as she wanted her target and those around him to _know_ beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was dead mere seconds before the round went through his head.

Tim had joined her, sitting in a chair to the side of and behind her; he was employing a precision spotting scope to watch the people in the conference room and inform Zoë of anything he felt she needed to know. They did not have to wait very long for things to get interesting.

"Looks like McKinney and Wheeler were just shown into the room," reported Stafford. "Hell of a bruise on Joanna's forehead… she doesn't appear happy to be there… neither does Carson. They both look pretty beat."

Zoë was watching them through her rifle scope… Joanna was talking to a man with his back to the window. Concentrating on Joanna's lips, she could just make out… "Okay, she's talking to Bradshaw. He must be pretty far up the food chain, and Joanna doesn't appear to be enjoying this meeting." Zoë continued to watch for several moments more before adding, "There's _my_ name, mixed in with a lot of vulgar adjectives." She glanced back at Tim for a moment before returning her eye to the scope. "Do you think I'm an ugly fucking whore, Tim?"

Stafford chuckled at that, replying, "I can think of several descriptions for you, Ms Lawrence, but I don't believe you to be a fucking whore, and I certainly don't think of you as ugly." Zoë made a mental note of the _way_ in which Stafford had replied as he added, "However, I _do_ have to concur with your assessment concerning Joanna, and Carson appears to be backing her up; it looks as if they're both attempting to explain how they got their asses kicked this afternoon." Stafford paused, then, "Shit! There's Wendell Coffey! Can you see him?"

"I can," whispered Zoë, doing nothing that would interfere with her aim. "Looks like we're about ready. I'm tapping Bradshaw first… I expect if I hit anyone else before I tag him, he'll have enough presence of mind to hit the deck, and I'll have missed my chance."

"What about Wheeler and McKinney?"

"Neither is worth a bullet. They'll freeze in place when I splatter Bradshaw's head all over the room. Might go either way with Coffey… if he freezes, I'll tap him as well."

Stafford had thought that he knew this woman, but this trip had truly opened his eyes; he recognized now that Zoë Lawrence was a stone-cold killer, just as Maya Brooks had been when working for Jack Harper. "Have you always been like this, Zoë? I mean, you don't display even a hint of compassion for these people. Do you have any feelings of… I don't know... regret, for all the lives you have taken?"

Zoë sighed. Never taking her eye from the scope, she whispered, "Tim, I told Cantrell and Warren I didn't wish to do wetwork again, yet… here I am. I'm absolutely the best assassin ever, precisely because I never let emotions color my thinking. I'm a surgeon, using precision to eliminate those that pose a threat to everyone around them. _Anyone_ can be a Kathryn Briggs or a Lyle Bradshaw." Having seen Bradshaw stand, Zoë steadied up as she said, "Here we go. Send the message." She had entered a text in Tim's omnitool, addressed to both of the extranet addresses belonging to Wheeler and McKinney.

Zoë set the cross-hairs in her scope dead on Bradshaw's head and followed. She could see Joanna at the edge of her field of view, see her open her omnitool, could see the gradually increasing look of horror on her face as she read aloud, _'Tell Bradshaw – you don't need to sacrifice a dozen innocents to eliminate one target!'_ Joanna looked up at Bradshaw just as Zoë blipped the laser designator, its pinpoint green signature dancing across the glass for a two-count before she lovingly caressed the trigger of the M-92, causing the heavy rifle to buck and kick the right shoulder of the woman wielding it. Trusting Tim to report the outcome of the shot, she jacked the heatsink and steadied up on her next target.

"Bradshaw's down," Tim reported. "Head exploded like a ripe melon, splattered shit all over the room… _and_ all over Coffey, McKinney and Wendell. Looks like McKinney is screaming her fool head off."

Zoë steadied up on Coffey, who was seemingly paralyzed by the sight of Bradshaw's brains decorating everything and everyone around him. Just as he finally overcame his shock and began to move, Zoë's right index finger twitched ever so slightly against a hair-trigger; the bark of the rifle's second report in under five seconds – a seeming eternity to Stafford – sounded deafening in the confined space. Tim watched through his scope in total amazement as an AP-enhanced round made a tiny hole in the plate glass, entered Wendell Coffey's head on one side, spun him slightly and exited it an explosion of grey matter, blood and bits of bone.

Zoë rose from the table and stood, hands on the table's edge, stretching her back and thighs for a moment before picking up the heavy rifle with one hand. As she began collapsing the sections to pack it away, she told Tim, "Send the last message and let's get the Hell out of here. I hate this fuckin' city."

Stafford sent Zoë's message, this time addressed to the Alliance News Network through a proxy server in order to prevent it from being back-traced.

 _TO: Alliance News Network_

 _FROM: Unknown Sender_

 _SUBJECT: LEAP – the League of Earth Alliance Patriots_

 _Today, LEAP has two less people working for their cause: Lyle Bradshaw and Wendell Coffey. Lyle Bradshaw was eliminated as punishment for high crimes against the Systems Alliance, to wit: ordering the partial destruction of the Alliance Headquarters building in Vancouver BC for the solitary purpose of assassinating Major Josiah Pickett, an imprisoned LEAP sympathizer. They apparently considered him a high security risk, so eliminated him with extreme prejudice; in so doing, eleven innocent people died as 'acceptable collateral damage.' Additionally, Bradshaw also ordered the unsuccessful assassination of high-ranking Asari diplomat and war hero, Doctor Liara T'Soni._

 _Wendell Coffey was_ _a member of a now-defunct terrorist group formerly known as Cerberus, where he sometimes proved to be even too xenophobic for **that** group, having drawn unwelcome attention from the authorities for unprovoked physical attacks on various aliens before the Reaper War. Coffey was visiting their New York headquarters to get his 'initiation mission', much like a prospective gang member; speculation is he was applying to LEAP because he was at a loss for what to do after the sudden death of Cerberus director Jack Harper, also known as the Illusive Man._

 _Beware. LEAP is a wolf in sheep's clothing; they embody all the worst aspects of Cerberus magnified a hundred-fold. What follows is an excerpt from their tyrannical and xenophobic manifesto:_

 _"The League of Earth Alliance Patriots – hereinafter referred to as LEAP – is a **Humans-first** organization whose members all share in the conviction that the Human race is vastly superior to all others in the galaxy, be they Turians, Asari, Salarians or Krogan. With the Human-led destruction of the threat posed by the Reapers, it is readily apparent that we must bear the heavy burden of leading the galaxy out of the ruins of the war. It is a burden we grudgingly take on, as the refusal of the Citadel Council to listen… to believe…or to join us… when Commander Shepard made her original impassioned plea for assistance, has brought near ruination to not just our home planet, but the entire Milky Way. Such inept management is proof positive they are incapable of making the decisions required of competent leadership. To this end, LEAP vows that not only will Humanity take the lead in post-war rebuilding, but that Humanity will also take its rightful place at the head of a **new** Galactic Council… a council that **will** follow Humanity's guidance as we strive to both protect ourselves and keep the lesser races from their own self-destruction."_

* * *

 **Justicar House, Attena, Thessia**

Sellyna had finally lost her patience and her tone was angry as she spoke. "We have returned to this exact same argument _repeatedly_ over the last two weeks! Why are you being so damned intransigent?"

Justicar Lessi's eyes widened in surprise for only a barely perceptible moment before she regained her composure and answered the Grand Matriarch's question in a determined voice. "Because it is who we _are_. You are asking us, no... _demanding_ that we make this change after thousands of years of tradition! The Code has been the central force in _our_ lives for centuries... and yet you think we can simply throw it all away? It is not as simple as that!"

"I have not demanded anything... and I agree that this issue is most definitely _not_ simple. And, while I have not yet expressed my specific personal opinion at any point during this entire discussion... I will now; I honestly believe it is a necessary change." Sellyna took a deep breath and sighed. "It is a choice of severe consequences, no matter how we decide. We are a mere six, seven if we permit Samara to return as a full sister at the conclusion of these proceedings. My greatest fear is that we refuse to adapt to the changing times and will cease to exist... _entirely_. I ask you, which would be the greater tragedy?"

Lessi tilted her head in honest confusion and replied, "Giving up on the values I have held for nearly 500 years is unacceptable to me. I will not compromise _my_ Code, simply for the Order to... _survive_. It is not enough; what we do must have meaning!"

"Goddess be damned, Lessi!" Matriarch Arana shook her head in disgust, her patience equally frazzled as that of Sellyna. "So the lives of all the Asari peacekeepers and police have no purpose? The Asari Code of Law is meaningless? Think about what you are saying! That is the exact problem we are speaking about. We have marginalized the Justicar Order to the point of irrelevancy. People no longer see us as 'Just.' We are above the law and have become too powerful... The majority of our people no longer simply _respect_ us, because we are seen as objects of myth... of folklore. As a result, they are divided to extremes... they either revere us or fear us!"

As Arana fell silent, Neria added, "And fear of the Justicars has never proven to be an effective method of crime control. You must realize that... else when the Order was at full strength, there would have been much less crime. We have never been a widely effective deterrent, so we must learn to do things differently." She sighed softly before continuing, "Which, I realize, is much easier said than done."

"All of which has been discussed repeatedly." Samara's voice arose for the first time in several hours. "I believe the time has come for us to call a vote. The opinions have not changed in the last two days and I trust we are at a decision point, where additional discussion will no longer alter any of our positions."

All three of the surviving junior Justicars, Neria, Moana and Ralyna, all nodded in agreement. Seeing their gestures, Arana squared her shoulders. "Then I second the motion."

Lessi slowly stood, her expression riddled with defeat. "There is no need. I know you are all in agreement, so I know the concept of change will carry the vote... and the Justicars will no longer be the organization to which I swore my loyalty. Therefore, I concede and I ask that you vote, instead, upon releasing me from my Justicar Oath."

A shocked silence fell, remaining until Grand Matriarch Sellyna cleared her throat. "Such a request is unprecedented... but these are unprecedented times. Is this truly the path you desire, Justicar Lessi?"

"It is, Grand Matriarch. I ask for your leave to continue on the traditional Justicar path." Lessi smiled sadly. "I understand this may put us at odds in the future... and I will hold no malice toward any of you should it also result in my end. I am 647 years old and the Code has been my life blood. I will not forsake it now, no matter the consequences."

Sellyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them and looking Lessi straight in the eye. "I grant you that leave, Lessi... on one set of conditions. No Justicar, present or future, will be responsible for taking your life, nor will you ever take one of ours. That said, your Justicar status will be rescinded and, should Asari justice see you as a criminal, neither will we come to your defense." She paused and glanced around the table, giving anyone who desired the opportunity to speak in disagreement. Hearing none, Sellyna looked back at Lessi. "Do you accept these terms?"

Lessi bowed deeply in respect, returning upright as she responded, "I do, Matriarch." She glanced around the table at her fellow Justicars. "We traveled long together, Sisters, and it is with heavy heart that I leave you, but I am compelled to follow my conscience. I wish you luck in your transition... and that you go with the Goddess."

Those who had known Lessi the longest had tears streaming down their cheeks as the former Justicar turned and walked solemnly from the room, her head held high. After a few moments of total silence, Sellyna rose slowly from her seat. "I believe we need to take a break and consider what has just happened. Think on this and on the Asari Code of Law, for that will largely be our new guidance. I do not believe it requires much additional discussion nor any grand declaration to the Asari people. Our primary purpose has not changed. We six will delineate the details and find our way forward as we go... I imagine our transformation will be gradual and that the public will eventually realize we were changed by the war, much like they were."

Samara stood as the Grand Matriarch concluded. "And what of me... and Matriarch Trellani?"

"I honestly do not believe you need to ask that question." Sellyna paused and shook her head. "Yet you deem you must, because you desire the answer be spoken aloud... and we have held you in suspense long enough." Looking around the table, she smiled. "I believe I speak for all when I say you were both justified in your actions and that we will hold no ill-will toward you. Unless any of you disagree, I will make our announcement to the Council of Matriarchs and Trellani will be freed."

Hearing no protests from the others, Arana nodded. "Then we are in agreement; I will write the dispatch and give Trellani the welcome news. And Samara?"

"Is not a prisoner, for any reason, but needs to remain with us for a short time yet." Sellyna looked at Samara as she continued, "We still have her position on the Ardat Yakshi and the Lesuss Monastery to discuss."

* * *

 **Jon Grissom Academy, Vetus, Petra Nebula**

"Now, Jack... I know I told you that Alban Elfed was today, but if we were all back in Wicklow, it would actually be approximately twenty-five minutes _after_ midnight... so, technically, on the 23d." Shepard chuckled at the roll of the biotic's eyes. "But Liara and I have no intention of being up all night, so we're celebrating a few hours early."

"Getting old, Shepard?" Jack scoffed, "A little early in your life to be unable to stay up past midnight, isn't it?"

Before the captain could reply, Karin Chakwas patted her stomach and commented, "An _Alban Elfed_ Saturday night feast is definitely better than a midnight snack!"

Jack flashed her a grin. "Well, I suppose I have to admit you've got me there, Doc. What the Hell would we even eat at midnight? A sandwich, maybe... and a few cookies and a glass of warm milk for the old lady and her blue babe over there."

As Karin gave her a playful glare and stated, "Best be careful who you're calling old, Jacqueline, or we might have words," Shepard's expression grew somber.

"Even if the two people we knew here survived, I realize a lot of your friends and associates didn't. It just didn't seem right to be enjoying the festival the same morning as the memorial ceremony..." The captain didn't finish her thought, simply trailing off into silence.

"You're a real buzz-kill, Shepard. You know that?" Jack huffed and shook her head. "On that note, thanks for letting me join you, but I'm out; gonna let you have your family time to do whatever it is that you do. I'll see you in the morning on the Commons for the ceremony."

Kahlee noted the downturn in Shepard's mood and spoke softly. "Sam... Tomorrow's ceremony will not tell a story of loss... but of survival. That we are even here to celebrate this year's Alban Elfed is a testament to your sacrifices. This is the reckoning of the year... the reward for your labor and your reverence of _life_. This is the fulfilled promise of your defeat of the Reapers... the sacrifices made so that we may all live on." She reached across the table and grasped Shepard's hand in loving support. "I realize these are dark times... with these damned memorial ceremonies constantly reminding you of all those lost. But you must also remember that the light will come again in the spring... a dawn of a new age _without_ the Reapers. One we get to see and enjoy, largely due to you."

"Thanks, Aunt Kay." Shepard drew a deep breath and blew it out, the tenseness vanishing from her face. "I guess I need to be reminded of all that once in a while, but you're right. All I see are the deaths... and sometimes, I simply can't seem to shake the guilt that I should have been more convincing... faster... a better warrior... _something_... so more people could have survived to enjoy the aftermath."

"And that is utter foolishness, Sam." Kahlee looked at the captain over her glass of wine. "You couldn't have tried any harder. I know you. You _always_ give your best effort... and I also know, between Liara and Karin here, that you have died _twice_ to get us as far as you did and, somehow, by the grace of the Gods, you were given back to us. They're not done with you yet, Sam, so..." Sanders raised her glass in a toast, waiting for the others to join her before finishing, "... here's to you bucking up and soldiering on until that day comes, Captain Shepard."

Shepard smiled and replied, "Hear, hear," before tipping her glass up and downing its remains.

"Now that's an idea certainly worthy of toasting." Liara offered Shepard a quick wink before downing her glass of Elasa. Placing her glass gently back on the table, she looked to Sanders. "I can't imagine eating another bite. Let me help you clean up and then we can all relax and chat in the living room?"

Kay stood and stretched, "Sounds like a lovely idea, Liara. Thank you for the offer."

As they moved into the kitchen and began to wash dishes, Karin and Shepard shuttled back and forth between there and the dining room, bringing additional dishes and clearing the food from the table. As they did so, Liara took the opportunity to tell Kay about the return of Shepard's nightmares. "Nothing bad yet, and I pray to the Goddess it stays that way."

"Well, I'll do what I can... mobilize the forces, so to speak." Kay continued quietly, "I'll keep in touch with Admiral Hackett, though I'm sure he already gets an earful from Karin, every chance she gets."

She fell silent as Shepard ducked in and out again and Liara chuckled. "You do realize we're linked and Sam _knows_ we are talking about her, don't you?"

Kay stopped for a moment and stared at her. "I did... but I thought you could block her out when necessary?"

"Oh, I can... but I won't in this case. She needs to know that we are _all_ here for her." Liara paused only briefly before adding, "Especially you."

"Because no matter what I say, she can't imagine that I don't blame her for David's death." Kahlee shook her head in frustration. "Thank you, Liara. I love that girl like my own and I'm glad she has you to watch out for her. You have no idea what comfort that gives me."

Liara's eyes met a pair of loving emerald greens as Shepard came into the kitchen yet one more time, knowing exactly what the two at the sink were discussing. Shepard stepped up behind Sanders and wrapped her arms around the woman as she spoke in a soft voice. "Oh, I'm sure she has a pretty good idea, Aunt Kay, because she knows how I felt about Uncle Dave... how I feel about you... and that the feelings are all reciprocal."

Kay grabbed a towel and dried her hands, turning within Shepard's embrace to return the hug in full measure. "That they are, child. That they are."

* * *

 **Afterlife, Omega Station, Sahrabarik**

Aria was beginning to feel caged in and restless. It had been a full three weeks since her initial return to Afterlife after Sparatus' attack and though she hid it well, Nyreen still hovered over her like a mother Malyk with a young kitten. Much to the dismay of the club's dancers and Aria's personal servers, so much coddling made the Queen of Omega extremely irritable and impatient. Bray found it necessary to offer a few of them extra pay to keep them on the staff; knowing it would be his head if he let the best ones leave Aria's employ, he never skimped on his offers. That, however, did little to improve Aria's mood... particularly when a quick chat between him and Nyreen brought word of a potential uprising to her ears.

"Kandros!" Aria growled the name of her security chief who, as of late, never seemed to be far from her side. "What in the blazes did you just say about the Kenzo District?"

"Eavesdropping on those closest to you isn't polite, Aria." Nyreen turned to her and crossed her arms in irritation. "Though, given the circumstances, this is something you need to be aware of... and it's happening much faster than I like."

"So spit it out! Or are you trying to kill me with the fucking suspense of it all?" Aria's eyes narrowed in focus, demonstrating just how bored and irritable she truly was.

"It's a damned Krogan. Blood Pack Captain Nekantt Greng, previously of clan Gatatog. He's controlled the Kenzo District for some time now and apparently thinks it's time to take Omega from her usurper queen. Give the station back to the Krogan, like it was under the Patriarch."

"Him and whose army?" Aria sat forward, Nyreen's words garnering her full attention. "Gryll?"

"I don't think so." Nyreen dropped her arms as she shook her head. "His deal with you was still firm... unless someone convinced him you were giving away control of the Blood Pack to Greng." Nyreen glanced at her omnitool and growled at Bray, "But that doesn't matter right now; seems Greng is on his way here to challenge you. Why do Krogan need to be so damned suicidal?"

Bray immediately put out the alert and teams started to mobilize, hoping to divert Greng before he reached Afterlife. As he started making the calls, Nyreen looked at Aria. "We need to get you to your apartment. The loft is too open; we can't protect you here."

Aria's fists clenched as she slowly stood from her leather couch. "What the fuck are you talking about? You think I'm backing down from this fight and _hiding_ , while the rest of you defend my rule?" Her voice began rising in volume in lockstep with her increasing anger. "The day _that_ happens is the day I'm no longer fit to rule Omega... and I would _deserve_ to have it ripped from my grasp, just as I took it from the Patriarch!" Her angry voice was now at full volume and her body was emitting wisps of barely contained blue power by the time she finished her sentence.

Refusing to back down, the Turian security chief began, "Aria. You just barely got back..."

She didn't get far before Aria cut her off with a growl. "Shut the fuck up, Kandros! Barely back, my blue ass! I've been back for almost a month... and I'm bored stiff!" Her lips curled up into a snarl as she continued, "I welcome the spice of a change of pace."

As Nyreen went to respond, Aria stared at her, ice blue eyes as cold as polar glaciers. "Don't say it, Kandros... Don't even _think_ it! I _am_ Omega... and I will defend my right to rule here. No question and without hesitation. So, don't you dare defy me; not on this."

"Don't be such a bitch, Aria. We're just concerned for you." Bray walked over to break up the lovers' spat before it got too serious. Kandros was the best thing to happen to Aria since he had known her and he was willing to sacrifice himself to make sure some bullheaded Krogan didn't mess it up. "We haven't exactly been in any bar brawls lately, so we don't precisely know how your biotics will hold up." He dared to laugh at the expression on the Asari's face. "Don't want to have to save your blue ass a second time so soon after the last."

His grin was infectious and, after a brief pause of surprise, Aria laughed and the ethereal wisps of biotic power seeming to evaporate into thin air. "Fine. I swear to the Goddess that you two will end up being the death of me... from the sheer monotony… the utter boredom of my daily life!" Her laughter disappeared as quickly as it had started and her face turned into a blank slate, devoid of emotion. "Now. With that settled, what in Hell does this Krogan think he's doing?"


	50. Delusions and Disappointments

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

CAT6 – 'Category 6'; term used for soldiers dishonorably discharged from Systems Alliance

 _C_ _odladh gan aislingdona_ \- sleep without nightmares (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

OSD - Optical Storage Device

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SMG - Sub-Machine Gun

* * *

 **Delusions and Disappointments**

 **Afterlife, Omega Station, Sahrabarik**

Aria brought up her omnitool and made a quick entry on the interface. As the image of a face began to coalesce in the projection above it she snarled, "Gryll. Greng is stupid enough to move on me. Are you part of this?"

Having a leadership role of any kind was extremely unusual for a Vorcha; a position such as Gryll enjoyed as leader of the Blood Pack on Omega was more prestigious than anything he had ever dared to imagine, and he had no desire to lose the support of one such as the Queen of Omega. "Absolutely not, Aria. You think I'm crazy?"

"Of course I do, but that's beside the point; I'm just glad you're not stupid on top of it." Aria's expression changed to a menacing grin. "So, call up the troops and be prepared to attack Greng from the rear once he engages us in Afterlife. Your superior forces ought to do fine at his back while we keep him and his band of warriors occupied, even if he is a Krogan Captain."

"Agreed, Aria." Gryll's face held a toothy grin. "He will fall, just like the Patriarch did 200 years ago. I hope this will assure my son, Fryck, will take my place as pack leader when I die?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Gryll." Aria scowled at the Vorcha for a long moment before continuing, "His fate is his own, but as long as he's loyal and doesn't get greedy, he will have the chance to lead the Blood Pack on Omega... just like you." Aria glanced up as the sound of gunfire wafted in from the commons outside of Afterlife's main entrance. "Seems Greng has arrived. Get your ass up here, Gryll."

"As fast as we can get there from the wards, Aria." Gryll nodded. "Very quickly, indeed."

While Aria had been talking with the Vorcha, Bray had given Grizz the rundown on everything that was happening and they had immediately deployed a full contingent of security forces – who were now moving quickly to various covered positions within the nightclub. As the front entry was blasted open and Greng stalked in past the mangled doors, Aria stepped up to the railing of her elevated observation post and glared down at the brazen Krogan. In a voice as smooth as the finest silk, she queried, "Captain Greng. If you need something, you could simply come ask. Should I assume, based on your manner of entry and the damage done to the front lobby of Afterlife, that you are not coming to me with a... _peaceful_... request?"

Greng sneered as an evil chuckle emerged from deep in his throat. "No one has ever called you unobservant, T'Loak, but the Omega Blood Pack has grown tired of being ruled by a conniving pirate and a sniveling worm of a Vorcha. We're here to take the station back for the Patriarch."

"Seriously? You think me that naive?" Aria laughed. "The Patriarch is _retired_ , Greng. He's been living a life of luxury for more than 200 years. Your pitiful pack of assassins couldn't even get past his tiny Krantt of three; a small Human female, a Turian, and a skinny little Salarian, yet you call yourself a Krogan." Aria scoffed, "The Patriarch is ten times the Krogan you will ever be, Greng, even if you were to live an extra five centuries. You insult his title every time you say it, and you have shit for brains if you think I would actually believe your weak claims to be working for him." Aria snorted derisively. "You're a pathetic excuse for a Krogan, Greng. That's why you're only a Captain... and _not_ the chosen leader of the Omega Blood Pack."

The Krogan's face turned darker and darker with anger as he listened to her insults. "We'll see just how weak I am!" he said, in a voice that sounded like steel being scraped over ground glass. "You have no army of machines to save your blue ass this time, Pretender!" A lot of things happened at once as Greng pulled up his Graal shotgun and pulled the trigger while shouting, "Kill her!"

Within the nightclub, the concealed security troops immediately revealed themselves as they tossed multiple full belts of grenades into the middle of the Krogan pack; in the same instant, Aria and Nyreen erected a joint biotic barrier to deflect the many assault rifle rounds and the single Graal spike that hurtled toward them at Greng's command. Before the thrown grenades had even exploded, Grizz and his team began to unload their weapons into the small mass of a dozen Krogan, dropping a quarter of them to their knees with the first volley. While the follow-on explosions ensured none of those three would regenerate to rise again, the mass of grenades also inflicted significant shrapnel injuries to the remaining nine.

Activating her personal shield as she dropped her support to the barrier, Aria launched an amazingly powerful Heavy Reave in the hope of immediately taking Greng out of the fight; unfortunately, one of his Lieutenants stepped in front of his captain and unintentionally intercepted the Pirate Queen's biotic attack. As he fell dead at Greng's feet, a flood of Vorcha began to pour into the club through the destroyed remnants of the front entry. Eight Krogan still remained on their feet as the mêlée ramped up in intensity, the Vorcha swarming through the Krogan pack like small, angry bees. For every _one_ a Krogan swatted away, three replaced it and the tide began to gradually turn.

With the influx of the Vorcha, Aria was forced to swap out her Wraith shotgun for her more accurate SMG, which she utilized with her normal expertise... intermixed with a steady flood of biotics. Lifting her enemies and shaking them in her biotic grip dislodged many of the clinging Vorcha, the rest leaving on their own once she began firing her weapon at the dangling Krogan. The Vorcha were ferocious fighters and, once the invading renegades sustained injuries sufficient enough to overwhelm their regeneration capabilities, the Krogan began to fall.

Aria nearly stumbled as her unreserved use of biotics rapidly drained her physical strength – only a month since suffering a near fatal gunshot wound, it was readily apparent to the Asari that her recovery wasn't nearly as complete as she had been boasting. Fortunately, Nyreen and Bray were otherwise engaged with the battle. leaving Aria to hope they hadn't seen her struggle to maintain her footing. She quietly leaned against a pole in an attempt to appear nonchalant, just as Gryll personally leapt upon Greng from the side and buried a knife under the leading edge of the captain's frontal plate.

As the Krogan captain bellowed in enraged dread, Gryll unhesitatingly grasped the leading edge of the plate at Greng's forehead, twisted the knife and pulled; the bony plate separated from Greng's head with a moist pop, exposing the soft skin of his inner skull. Wasting no time, Gryll bent his arm, exposing the natural bone-spikes extending past his elbow; using the weight of his body, he half-fell – elbow spikes first – driving them through the soft tissue and deep into Greng's brain.

Surprised by Gryll's brazen display, Aria stepped forward to the railing once more to point her SMG at Greng, but there was no need. The Krogan seemed to freeze in place for several moments while his wildly thrashing arms suddenly fell to his sides, followed by his entire body shuddering violently as the nervous system was cut off from his brain. He took one staggering step back as his red, reptilian eyes rolled back in his head and he toppled over backwards, dead.

As the big Krogan captain crashed to the floor, Gryll leapt clear to land in a three-point stance, Greng's blood dripping down his arm to the floor of the club and mixing with that of all the other dead fighters. The cost to repel the attempted coup had been high – killing all twelve of the Krogan usurpers had cost the lives of eight of Grizz's twenty-four men, along with two dozen of the nearly fifty Vorcha that had accompanied Gryll. Aria lowered and holstered her SMG as the Vorcha leader stood and looked to meet her eyes.

She surveyed the scattered bodies and nodded before looking back to the Vorcha Blood Pack leader. "Once again you have fulfilled your promises, Gryll. You already lead the Omega Blood Pack, so I must think of another reward. Additional rations perhaps, or more credits?"

Gryll showed his teeth in an ingratiating, yet knowing smile, responding with, "Or, perhaps, both?"

"Yes." Aria waved her hand around, indicating the extensive damage. "Help clean up this mess and you'll have them both; I'll cover the required expenses to recruit replacements and feed them during their training... as well as arm and armor them." She saw the gleam in the Vorcha's eyes as she continued, "And, of course, a personal bonus for your loyalty and quick response. I assume 100,000 credits will be sufficient?"

"Ah, yes, Aria." Gryll dipped his head in thanks. "Quite sufficient to express the level of your gratitude for my assistance in this matter. I will be pleased to continue in your service."

"Good to know." Aria turned away and glanced at Bray. "Get that mess cleaned up. It's disgusting, so I'm going to my quarters. Let me know when you've finished so I can return and actually enjoy my club again without the stench of dead Krogan offending my nose." She rolled her eyes and sauntered into her private elevator, vanishing behind its closing doors.

"Kandros."

"I'm on it, Bray." Nyreen tossed her datapad to the Batarian. "Here's what I've got so far. I'll go check on her... If you don't hear from me soon, you'll know it's nothing I can't handle."

"Roger that." Bray's voice was low enough the Turian knew his words were only for her. "Take care of her, Nyreen. You're the only one who can."

Nyreen chuckled, "Now that's a scary thought."

Bray nodded. "Yeah... but not as scary as the alternative."

* * *

The doors opened and Nyreen squinted into the darkened room. "Aria?"

Hearing no reply, she moved quickly through the empty room and checked the bath… also empty. She saw a faint glow under the doorway that led into the master suite and tapped the red access panel. When she got no response, she typed in the override code Aria had provided her and slipped into the room, moving quickly toward the figure slumped in a corner lounge chair, repeating her initial query. "Aria?"

Purple eyelids eased open to reveal a pair of formerly brilliant blue eyes somewhat dulled by fatigue; Aria slowly focused on the Turian who knelt at her side. "Aria. Are you alright?" Nyreen's concern for the Asari was palpable. "You put on one hell of a biotics display out there, but you seem completely exhausted..."

The Asari squeezed her eyes closed again and groaned, "I feel like my head is stuffed full of Pyjak fur. I'm so damned tired I can't think straight."

"You eat any eezo cubes when you came down here?" Seeing the tired shake of the head, Nyreen stood and went to a side cabinet, here to extract a small container. "We'll have to remember to refresh your personal supply. You're down to less than a dozen." Walking back to the chair, Nyreen extracted a single cube and placed it gently against purple lips.

Aria opened her mouth and slipped her tongue around the cube, drawing it in and sighing in relief as the eezo cube dissolved and slid into her system. "Damn it," she whispered. "I thought for sure I was well on the way to recovery. I got tired way too quickly... Maybe Greng was right about me."

"Don't be such a Pyjak – he's dead, and you're not. Of course he wasn't right." Nyreen chuckled. "It's only been a month since you very nearly died, Aria; you have to give yourself more time to heal."

Aria pushed herself into an upright position, perching on the edge of her chair and slumping over as she rested her elbows on her knees. "I'm just so fucking weak, Kandros. If anyone finds that out, Greng won't be the last of our worries!"

"You don't need to worry about _that_." Nyreen stood and offered Aria an arm to lean on as she slowly got to her feet. "Appearances are everything, and the display you just put on already has people talking. That Heavy Reave you launched took down a Krogan Lieutenant as if he was a babe without shields. They won't forget _that_ for some time."

Aria's face held a strained smile as she began moving away from the chair, with Nyreen helping to steady the Asari as they walked slowly to the bed. Once there, the Turian turned her lover so they were face-to-face and began to slowly release the fasteners on Aria's white leather jacket.

"Your dexterity with those talons still amazes me." The Asari chuckled softly. "You have no idea how many courtesans have had trouble getting them undone... with their supposedly oh-so-nimble fingers... but you have never had a problem."

Nyreen shrugged as she finished the last one, then reached around to slowly slide the garment off Aria's shoulders and down her arms. "That's because I recognize them for what they are," she whispered, the sub-harmonics in her voice conveying a touch of smugness. "Your paramours expect regular clasps... not armoring fasteners. They assume your jackets are simply a fashion statement and fail to realize most have a dual capacity as a custom alloy-weave armor, enhanced with proprietary Kassa Fabrication technologies."

Aria's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Just how much, exactly, do you know about my jackets?"

Nyreen's mandibles quivered with humor and her voice flanged with a mix of pride and teasing as she began to unbutton Aria's black leathers. "You mean like the fact that your rather decorative chest pieces are actually interlocking ceramic plates with a tungsten alloy weave? How about the abdominal plates possessing hidden auxiliary shield emitters? Or that the inner layer of your trademark double collar is actually kinetic padding with internal lightweight ablative ceramic chips to help deflect small-arms fire?"

She took a deep breath to continue but Aria waved a hand in surrender. "Alright, alright. Do I even want to know how you discovered all that?"

"I recognized the fastening hardware right away as products of Kassa Fabrication... and once I thought about it, the color combination made a whole lot more sense. It's actually not very subtle... a very distinctive red and black with gray highlights? I assume it was easy enough for you to get them to add your white for some 'Omega' personalization; Spirits forbid you wear colors available to just anyone."

She pushed down on Aria's pants until they cleared her shapely purple hips and buttocks. "Sit." Surprisingly, the Asari obeyed without a single word of protest as she waited for Nyreen to continue. "Once I figured that out, I took a closer look at a few sets... and it was relatively easy to discern which technologies you asked them to include. If my opinion matters, I think you made some excellent suggestions."

Nyreen slowly peeled the Asari's pants down past her ankles and Omega's queen smiled and lay back on the bed, scooting away from the edge as she queried, "Will you join me?"

"In a bit, Aria." She ran a talon teasingly down between the soft, ripe bounty of sensuous bosoms as she continued, "But, at the moment, I have things to finish up with Bray and you need to rest. You know damned well that neither of those things will happen if I stay with you."

"Fine," she replied with a mock grumpy tone. Aria slid further up on the bed and pulled the covers down, arranging her pillow and climbing in between the sheets. "I'm actually too tired to argue… too tired even to have my favorite Turian slide in here with me… naked."

"That's extremely unlike you." Concern flitted through Nyreen's eyes. "I'll try to be back soon to check on you... probably give you another eezo cube and maybe bring some fruit."

Aria laughed softly. "Make sure it's in liquid form, preferably fermented, and it will be perfect." A yawn escaped and her violet eyes closed despite her best efforts. "See you soon."

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Zoë Lawrence, accompanied by Tim Stafford, had travelled to New York City in order to provide a practical demonstration in applied retribution, both to the leadership of LEAP and to the people who remained loyal to Atlas. An unintended consequence of that cross-continent trip was multiple requests to return to Atlas from a number of those who had stormed out of Zoë's initial meeting with the group in Vancouver.

Flying the shuttle as if were an ungainly F-61, Tim Stafford brought the craft in low and fast over the south fork of the Fraser River, throwing up a great cloud of water spray and vapor as he applied nearly full power to the forward thrusters before banking around in a hard turn to the North, where he floated in over the cracked and broken pavement to settle down beside the newly 'acquired' building – the new home of Atlas headquarters. As Tim shut power down to the small craft's eezo core and its auxiliary power units, he heard the side hatches lift in anticipation.

Zoë stuck her head around the partition and grinned at him, saying, "Damn good to be back. Looks like the troops were busy – found a new building for us, moved a lot of the equipment. Can't wait to see the inside. I've been told there's even room inside for our ships."

Tim's smile was not as wide. "Not so sure having a place at the eastern border of the old airport is such a good thing," he observed while continuing to shut down the shuttle's systems. "Makes us easier to pinpoint as a target." He sighed as he flipped the last 'switch' on the haptic interface. _It is good to be back on the west coast._ Rising from his seat, he moved around the partition, grabbed his travel bag as Zoë picked up her rifle case and shoulder pack, then stepped out onto the pavement with her as Jana Cantrell and Angelique Warren came walking out to welcome them home.

Jana approached Stafford first, shaking his hand as she greeted him; turning to Zoë while Angel greeted Tim, she grasped her free hand in both of hers and said, "Zoë, it's wonderful to have you and Tim safely back with us. It would appear you had a successful journey."

Zoë's expression was hard to read, but there was definitely a cloud over her tattooed features. "From a certain perspective, I suppose one could say we succeeded." She nodded at Warren, then returned her gaze to Cantrell, saying, "I'm tired and hungry, Jana. I'd like to see my new quarters, maybe take a shower, change clothes, and have a meal. We can discuss the mission while I eat." Reaching into a pocket on her travel bag, she retrieved an OSD; handing it to Cantrell, she added, "Here's all the data I could download from LEAP's server in the limited time I had. It's how I discovered the shit-for-brains mastermind behind the explosion and the attempt on Liara T'Soni's life. I expect there are a lot of other names and locations on there."

Jana's smile broadened as she quickly replied, "Excellent, Ms Lawrence! Now, come with me. I think you'll be pleased with your new home. Everything's been moved from the old place… we just need you to retrieve your ship." Hooking an arm through Zoë's, she began walking towards the building. Zoë could faintly hear Tim speaking with Angelique about their trip in glowing terms – most of which seemed to revolve around Zoë's achievements with her rifle. With a heavy sigh, she thought, _I need to have a serious talk with him… try to make him understand what those so-called achievements cost me... and what they'll cost_ _ **him**_ _if he takes the job over._

As soon as Jana had shown Zoë to her new quarters, she quickly left, impatient to begin an in-depth analysis of what she believed would prove to be a treasure trove of data brought back by their new leader. She actually hummed a happy little nonsense tune as she moved swiftly through the hallways toward her office. _Certainly not the Cerberus of old! It's definitely going to be different with a woman like Zoë running this group._

* * *

After thoroughly washing her hair and every centimeter of her dark skin, Zoë stood chin on chest directly under the shower head; leaning against the cool tiles with her arms straight out in front of her, she studied how the warm water streamed down the front of her torso after its flow split to run down past her ears and cascade across her shoulders, only to spill down across and between her breasts, before flowing downwards across toned abs. Although she could not actually observe the phenomenon, she enjoyed the physical sensations as it ran from behind her neck to glide off her shoulder blades, there to trace the rippling musculature of her back before sliding over her butt in a torrent to flow in undulating waves down the backs of her thighs, finally gathering in a shallow pool at her feet. She eased the foot blocking the drain sideways for a few moments, allowing the accumulated run-off to flow away, before blocking it once again.

Reluctantly turning the water off, she grabbed her towel and began drying herself, head-to-toe as she studied her reflection in the full-length mirror beside the basin. After being abandoned as a young child, no one else had ever seen her totally nude. Thinking about that... along with Tim Stafford's comments about her certainly not being ugly... brought on a touch of regret mixed with melancholy and loneliness.

 _I've never been with a man… or a woman, for that matter. It's obvious by the way people look at me that they think I'm attractive, but how am I supposed to trust them? Trust their motives? The only people who have ever offered an admiring word of any kind did so because they needed me to do something for them. I haven't trusted anyone, for anything, for a really long time... and for damned good reasons!_

She stared herself in the eye and asked her reflection, "And what if Tim honestly likes me? How in Hell am I supposed to trust him for any sort of intimacy? But, on the flip side, what if he's no different and simply wants to persuade me to train him to be a better killer?"

There was no answer from her reflected image. _Guess I'll never know... and the last thing I need to do is create the agent of my own destruction_. She snorted _,_ "Don't be stupid; you take that chance and you're simply letting someone get close enough to kill you in your sleep." Shaking her head in annoyance, she hung the towel on its bar and walked into her bedroom to get dressed.

* * *

Zoë was having a second cup of coffee when Tim Stafford sidled up beside her and asked, "Mind if I join you?"

Zoë motioned with a hand while nodding and saying, "Sit. I need to talk with you."

Tim took a seat across from her and sipped from his own mug as Zoë finished up the last bit of baked potato on her plate. He waited expectantly as she gently shoved her plate away and took another sip from her mug, studying him intently from underneath her brows.

Heaving a heavy sigh, she said in a quiet voice, "Tim, our mission to New York… I need your analysis of what we did well… and what we did wrong… because you may be taking my place on similar missions in the future. I cannot imagine LEAP will simply pull up stakes and disappear just because I eliminated a pair of cretins."

Tim could feel his cheeks coloring slightly; quickly lowering his eyes, he studied his coffee mug for several moments. Looking up once more, he found a pair of coal-black eyes intently studying him, waiting for him to speak. Finding his voice, he said, "I believe the operation served two purposes, Ms Lawrence. You took down a man… a planner who was obviously in 'upper management,' seeing as he had the authority to order a cross-continent execution and the attempted assassination of Liara T'Soni. You also demonstrated, beyond any doubt, that Atlas means what it says about turncoats. I truly thought you were going to kill Joanna McKinney and Carson Wheeler. What you did to them instead was… brutal… perhaps even sadistic."

Zoë interjected, "Sadistic? Hardly… and what would you call your fist intercepting Carson's mouth when you relieved him of his weapon?" she asked rhetorically, softening her query with a slight smile. "Wheeler and McKinney are followers, pure and simple… and dead agents can tell no tales. They never had to do field work as members of Cerberus, so my goal was two-fold; first, to open their eyes to the dangers they'll encounter in the real world once they join LEAP. Second, _if_ they return and still decide to join, they will undoubtedly tell everyone of their violent personal encounter with the new head of Atlas. LEAP's membership will now _fully_ understand they are being actively monitored by someone who is willing to step outside the law to do something about their activities." Taking another sip of coffee, she waved a hand, saying, "Sorry… Please continue."

Thinking about their trip, Tim said, "The interview process is pretty thorough. They ask a lot of questions about loyalties, to Humankind and to aliens. I got the distinct impression they are looking for only the most hard-core, rabidly pro-Human recruits they can find, with emphasis on former-military, especially those with CAT6 records.

"Did that recruiter's flirting make you think about moving to New York?" Zoë asked with smirk.

Stafford's cheeks reddened again. "You noticed that, eh?" With a self-deprecating chuckle, he reflected, "She must have thought I'd be influenced by the amount of cleavage she was showing. Maybe if she had completely unbuttoned her blouse, given me a really good view?" He chuckled again. "I expect she is doing exactly what the leadership expects of her… didn't work so well with me, but it must be a successful ploy some of the time."

Zoë leaned forward in her chair to cross her arms and place them on the table's edge. "Thoughts on the assassinations?"

"Well, it was obvious you work alone… having me beside you watching through a scope was part of the training, right? You had your escape route all set – just a short run to the roof, get in the X3M and fly off to the west – my only concern now is that they'll be a lot more careful about how exposed their people are. They acted as if being 28-floors up made them immune to what you just did. All in all, a successful assignment."

Zoë nodded her head, saying, "I concur. That I was able to download info from their server files is a real plus… and they won't even know they've been hacked until we start showing up at people's doorsteps."

Bringing up one hand, she rested her chin on her knuckles while boring a hole in him with her eyes. "What you said – before I took the first shot – about me not being ugly? Care to expound on that?"

 _There it is! I knew the instant I said that she would hang onto it like a varren worrying a bone!_ Stafford smiled as he replied, "I was merely being truthful, Ms Lawrence… didn't even have to think about my reply. In the month I've been around you, I've gained an appreciation for the depth of your knowledge and your willingness to apply force when needed."

"I am aware that you've grown to respect my abilities, maybe even… " she raised a hand to quiet the protest she could see beginning to form on his lips. "… maybe even think of me as a friend. And I get it. You chased me around three-quarters of the galaxy, and now you've had an opportunity – an exceedingly _rare_ … opportunity – to accompany me on a mission. Unless I've misjudged you terribly, in which case I apologize up front, you might just be thinking you'd like to get to know me better."

Embarrassed at being so easily read by this still mysterious woman, Stafford quickly replied, "It's not like you think, Ms Lawrence… not at all. It's just… well, yes, I _do_ respect you… your knowledge, your skills. You've led an interesting life…"

"It's _Zoë_ ," she interrupted. "And I'm not sure I'd use _that_ term to describe what I've been doing for over a quarter century. I did what needed doing in New York, Tim. I've always completed my assignments, even when I didn't care to do so." She took a sip from her mug before continuing. "So, before this goes too far, let me be perfectly clear – we have a job to do and personal attachments, be it romantic in nature or simple admiration, have no place in our lives. Not right now."

She finished her coffee before concluding, "I can count on one hand the number of people that have ever _actually_ respected me. Rather sad commentary on my life, don't you think?" She paused for several moments as she studied her hand, slender fingers wrapped around the coffee mug. When she resumed talking, it was to whisper, "You seem to be a good man, Tim, and I'm pretty sure you have the potential to be a great assassin, or I wouldn't have selected you to accompany me. That said, this relationship… our relationship… must remain strictly professional. I'm your teacher... your mentor... and any distractions could quite possibly end up with one of us dead. Maybe both."

Standing to leave, Tim thought he could see a trace of regret in the dark eyes studying him as he assimilated everything he had just learned. "Understood, Ms Lawrence. I'm looking forward to the continued training." Tim nodded his head, turned and left the room quickly, hoping she hadn't witnessed the disappointment in his own eyes as easily as he had seen the regret in hers.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Harsa Relay, Kite's Nest**

"What in Hell do _you_ want, Shepard? Have you called to see exactly how miserable we are?" Balak growled. "And I must say, you're pretty fucking bold to even emerge from the relay here; you're lucky what's left of our fleet didn't blow the Normandy into space dust."

"Thanks... I guess. I assume you know the Normandy is on the Council-directed Victory Tour." Shepard sighed, "And I know perfectly well I'm not welcome on Khar'shan, but you and your fleet helped us win the war so I didn't think it right to skip saying thank you... and reiterate how very sorry I am about how everything turned out for the Batarian people, General."

"Stow your pathetic attempt at sympathy, Spectre... We neither need nor want it... because it doesn't help us. Nothing you say or do will help us!" Balak scoffed, "My people have been absolutely, totally fucked, Shepard… by the Reapers, _and_ the Galactic Council! Our world has been permanently tainted by the Reapers – nothing grows and nobody wants to return here. Those few who did return after the war are killing each other every day, fighting for scraps. We're worse off than the Krogan after the Rebellions... and we're doing it to ourselves. There's nothing like the Genophage to blame; there's only you... and our dead politicians... And, as much as I hate to admit it, we both know you only did what you had to do... so that only leaves the politicians... and there's absolutely no satisfaction in hating those who are already dead.

Shepard raised her eyebrows in surprise and responded, "I know we have our differences, Balak, but when the time came, you did what you needed to do as well and, for that, you have my gratitude. Thank you."

"Yeah... and you see how much good it did us? I did too damned little, too fucking late." Balak sneered as he continued, "But just so you know, if it ever comes down to it, I'll kill you quick. I respect you enough that I won't let 'em torture you... I'll give you a clean death." He didn't let Shepard respond; his hand hovered over his communications console as he said his last words, "Now get the Hell out of Batarian space before I change my mind!" and the screen went black.

* * *

"Goddess." Liara sat up in bed, breathing heavily and looking around, somewhat disoriented. It lasted only a moment before she swallowed and blew out a long slow breath to calm herself, trying to slow the thoughts racing through her mind. She and Samantha had enjoyed a welcome break at Grissom Academy, but it wasn't nearly enough time to truly unwind before they were flying right back into the thick of things. In the past six days, they had stopped at Elysium and were now enroute to Noveria.

Elysium was a world of too many memories; Hannah had been stationed there when she had received word of David Shepard's death. Then, after Sam had enlisted, she ended up on Elysium for shore leave... just in time for the Skyllian Blitz, where she had lost every single member of her squad. It also had indirect consequences; while beating up on the top Terminus Pirate, Elanos Haliat, Samantha had gained a dangerous enemy... who later stepped back into her life in an attempt to exact his revenge on her. It had worked, in a way… stopping Haliat on Agebinium had resulted in the death of Samantha's squad biotic, John Hills, which totally destroyed a relationship she had with the man's sister, Nikki, and had thrown Shepard into a nearly two-year funk. It was only after meeting Liara that the downhill slide of Samantha's life turned around.

Here in the present time, after suffering three days on the planet of Elysium, they were now enroute to Noveria, which held another set of haunting memories of its own. The day before they arrived at the frozen planet in 2183 was the day of Kaidan Alenko's memorial service. Liara looked over at the Human woman in bed beside her, sweat beading her brow from the nightmare in which she was still trapped. That night before Noveria had been the first time Shepard had promised herself... when _both_ had finally admitted they were in love with the other.

That magnificent moment had been put to the test the very next day, following the death of Liara's mother. Shepard had stood by Liara – to include visiting Councilor Tevos, arguing to clear Benezia's name and to secure Liara's inheritance. Now, all of those memories, from Elysium to Noveria, ravaged their sleep and yet again opened the door for the return of the Ashen Forest to Shepard's dreams.

All these memories and thoughts passed through her mind in a flash as Liara shook herself and leaned over, touching their foreheads together and laying her palm softly against the captain's cheek. She closed her eyes and concentrated, pulling Shepard's attention from the darkness of the forest to the light of her love. _{Samantha? It's just a bad dream... I'm here beside you. Wake and come back to me, Siame.}_

Liara repeated her request, enhanced with a soft kiss on mumbling lips, and Samantha jerked awake with a gasp. It was Shepard's turn to blink in confusion and draw a deep, calming breath as the Asari reached over and gently stroked her cheek. "It's alright, Love. We're in the loft and I'm right here. It appears we are both having nightmares tonight."

"You too?" Shepard frowned. "Are we dream-sharing again?"

"No." Liara placed her lips against Shepard's and they kissed gently, more of a reassurance of the other's presence than anything. "I was dreaming of my mother... of Noveria."

"Gods be damned." Shepard wrapped her arms around Liara and drew the Asari close. "I am so sorry, _A Grá._ I wish we didn't have to go back there; I know those memories aren't pleasant."

"No worse than yours of Elysium, Samantha." Liara smiled softly. "We simply need to get past this damned Victory Tour and things will be better."

"I wish I could be so confident." Shepard kissed her on the cheek, only to have Liara turn her head so their lips met in tender passion. "Does it help to tell you I'm not looking forward to Noveria any more than you? At least we can suffer through it together."

Liara sighed and snuggled into her favorite nook – Samantha's shoulder – as she threw a leg over her promised one's hips and massaged Shepard's chest with a loving hand. "I love you, Samantha Shepard, and I know that you love me. That is all we will ever need."

"You're right." Shepard released a quiet, contented sigh. "No matter what happens, I have you... and that's all that matters." She paused and finished, "I love you too, Blue. _C_ _odladh gan aislingdona_."

"Hmmm. No nightmares... That would be a good thing." Liara gave her another quick kiss before nestling in and closing her eyes. "Tomorrow morning will come soon enough without any more disturbances. Sleep well, my love."

As she drifted off to sleep, Liara was wondering just how she was going to help Shepard avoid the ashen forest if she, herself, was suffering nightmares of her own. _Somehow. Somehow we'll get it done. We have no choice._

* * *

 **A/N:** More of the 'State of the Galaxy' report was used in this chapter (Batarian decline to the point of no recovery), so additional thanks go out to FanFiction writer **BeneziaWillLive** for the information provided.


	51. Back to the Grind

Notes:

ANN - Alliance News Network

 _Keelah_ \- "By the homeworld"; used as an exclamation of frustration or anger (Quarian)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Back to the Grind**

 **Normandy SR-2, Horse Head Nebula, At Large**

While enroute to Noveria, Riana had been idly perusing the daily summary reports sourced from the various news feeds that she had been unable to get to during the past few days. The most prolific was the Alliance News Network, and while ANN was generally a reliable source of hard news, it also contained some articles that could be classified as tabloid news, items that could be readily sensationalized in order to boost ratings. As such, Riana tended to look at everything from ANN with a skeptical eye. The current week's summary didn't seem that much different than any of the others she had seen before; she was about to lock the terminal on standby and go find Sammi so they could have lunch together when a headline caught her attention. She re-read it to ensure she had seen it correctly: 'NEW HUMAN'S-FIRST ORGANIZATION LOSES TWO MEMBERS UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES'

 _Can't say I feel like that is much of a loss to humanity. A few less LEAP members in this galaxy is fine by me._ She hurriedly scanned through the brief report, noting the investigation leading to the story was seemingly prompted by an anonymous message recently sent to ANN. As Riana read through the very short piece, exactly which background event it pertained to suddenly dawned on the Asari. _Goddess! This is the group that ordered the destruction of the Vancouver headquarters and the attack on my mistress!_ She noted with a sense of grim satisfaction that the person responsible for ordering the attack on Liara had been eliminated… and, at the same time, she was disgusted by the insight it provided into LEAP's xenophobic thought processes.

The story clearly lacked what Riana considered critical information; it contained neither the identities of the person or persons responsible for the assassination of LEAP's two members nor the original source of the information. _They could very likely be one and the same. The real question is whether it is an individual or a group... and, either way, what is their objective? Are they any better than LEAP?_

While normally skeptical of 'anonymous' news, Riana still took note of the names the story provided – Lyle Bradshaw and Wendell Coffey. Unsure it if would do any good, Riana decided it couldn't hurt to look through the data files they had on Cerberus; looking into Coffey's background as a former member just might yield some names... names of former associates who may have followed him to LEAP. The more members they could identify, the more active tracers they could have on message traffic... and the greater their chances of intercepting critical data on any major operations that were in the works. She entered the new name queries into the Shadow Broker system and locked the terminal on standby before leaving the office. She would find Sammi and have lunch... as soon as she finished speaking to her captain and her mistress.

* * *

"Just what we need," Shepard growled and shook her head in disgust. "A Human version of the Justicars, running around and eliminating people they see as criminals... sans any type of legitimate trial or judicial procedure."

"Shepard." Liara's tone was admonishing as she glanced at the captain before looking back at Riana. "And there is absolutely no way to determine the source or validity of the message?"

"No, Mistress. Unfortunately, the data is already a week old." Riana sighed sadly. "I put tracers out and have entered a few new key word queries into the system, but it will take time to get results. I am sorry, but I have no immediate answers for you."

"Then there is nothing to be done about it yet, so no sense worrying over it." Liara looked at Shepard again, her Human's mind riddled with conflicting emotions of anger and frustration. "We will be on Noveria soon and have... other... issues to be concerned with."

Shepard's eyes met hers as the captain responded, "Sorry. You're right." She reached over and took Liara's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "We'll get through this visit and then check the feeds to see what Riana's searches have found for us. Nothing to do until we have actionable intelligence, so we'll keep our attention focused on the current mission."

Liara took a deep breath and turned back to her First. "Thank you, Riana... and, please, keep us posted if you get any responses to the queries."

* * *

 **Port Hanshan, Pax, Horse Head Nebula**

"Captain Shepard. Doctor T'Soni. It is so good to see you again. Welcome back to Port Hanshan."

When they first met in 2183, Lorik Qui'in was the Turian manager of the Synthetic Insights Noveria branch. While there, Shepard and her crew had assisted on an internal affairs investigation into corruption by then current administrator, Rannadril Anoleis; by the time it was over, Anoleis had been arrested and Qui'in had been offered the position of Administrator in charge of Port Hanshan. A consummate businessman, Qui'in had immediately accepted the job.

When the Normandy made her Victory Tour stop , Shepard and Liara were quite pleased to see that Qui'in was still the executive board representative at Port Hanshan; he had always carried himself in a polite, refined manner and, when no one else had been very forthcoming, Qui'in had been a trustworthy source of information regarding both the lockdown at Peak 15 and the arrival of Matriarch Benezia.

"Good to see you, too, Lorik." Shepard smiled and took the offered hand in welcome. "How have things been here?"

"Not too bad, surprisingly. The initial alliance of Saren with the Reaper Sovereign, along with Cerberus' allying with the Reapers helped us tremendously, keeping the machines at bay for most of the war. By the time the facilities on Noveria would have made the target list, you had the Reapers much too concerned about _your_ activities for them to backtrack to a small research and development facilities such as ours." His attention shifted to Liara as he continued, "And I haven't had the opportunity to speak with you personally, Doctor T'Soni, so allow me to now offer my belated condolences on the loss of your esteemed mother. No matter the circumstances, a parent's death is always difficult. I am so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Liara nodded in acceptance and took a deep breath before continuing, "It was... difficult, as there was scant opportunity to mourn with all that was happening. I have since come to terms with the reality of it, but that does not make the loss any easier to accept."

"No, I imagine not." Qui'in's attention shifted between the two. "Along those lines, I assume you are both tired of all the memorials you have been required to attend on this tour, so..." He paused and consulted his omnitool. "... I have taken the liberty of _not_ scheduling a ceremony here, of any kind. Instead, I have made reservations for the entire crew of the Normandy to take a break at Hanshan Heaven, our equatorial resort. There is a private space port at the location and you'll have exclusive use of the resort for your three days here... as my _personal_ guests. Should you or any of your crew need anything, simply ask and it will be provided."

"Lorik. That's very kind of you, but..."

"Not another word, Captain." Qui'in smiled and shook his head. "I've already done it... and the Executive Board was extremely enthused by the idea and offered to pick up the tab. I, and three of the board members who happen to be onsite, will join you in a welcome dinner this evening."

While Shepard stood in stunned silence, Liara smiled and responded, "Thank you, Lorik. It truly is beyond any of our expectations, so we'll leave you to your work... and look forward to seeing you this evening at dinner. It is an extremely gracious offer, one that would be rude to refuse."

"Gracious, yes, but also practical." Qui'in chuckled. "Given what I consider to be untenable galactic conditions, constantly lamenting the deaths of people you didn't know and honoring some who don't deserve it is a waste of your time and emotional energy... which could be better utilized by rebuilding for the future, rather than reliving the past for pure political expediency."

Shepard's eyes widened at the Turian's bold statement as she replied, "For obvious reasons, I'll not comment on that observation, Lorik. But, on behalf of the crew of the Normandy, thank you for the use of your resort facilities. It will be a very welcome break, indeed. We'll see you at dinner, later this evening; I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

 **Hanshan Heaven, Pax, Horse Head Nebula**

"Goddess, Samantha. This room is spectacular!" Liara looked around the space they had been given for the duration of their visit. "This puts even the T'Soni Estate to shame."

Laughing, Shepard dropped their bag from her shoulder and stepped up behind Liara, wrapping her arms around the Asari. "That's because this particular suite is designed to cater to very important people with very short vacations... and not to be lived in constantly, so the resort can skip the normal necessities." She paused to kiss Liara softly on the back of her neck, sending a shiver down the Asari's spine as she finished, "While not very practical, I'll agree it is beautiful, but still not as stunning as you."

Blushing slightly at the captain's comment, Liara responded quietly, "With opulence like this, who cares about practical?" She turned in Sam's arms and queried, "So... What time is dinner?"

As Shepard began to answer the rhetorical question, she was silenced by eager blue lips on her own, pushing the words she was going to say straight out of her mind without so much as a second thought. She groaned as she sensed Liara's desire ripple through the link, accompanied by the heat of the Asari's body pressing tightly to her own as blue hands found her posterior and pulled their hips tightly together. _{Not the point, Samantha.}_

 _{I gathered that, Blue.}_ As their lips separated, Shepard whispered quietly, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

Liara's husky laugh sent a shiver of anticipation through the Spectre as the Asari answered, "Not nearly enough, but I forgive you because we have both been terribly busy... and it's not like I've said it much to you lately, either." Her eyes softened and she raised a blue hand to tuck in a wisp of auburn hair before tenderly cupping Shepard's cheek. "I love you, _Siame_."

The emotions that poured through the link soothed jangled nerves and Liara felt the human relax under her expert touch, both physically and psychologically, as Shepard responded softly, "I love you too, _Mo cheann geallta_."

Liara smiled coyly and looped her arms around Shepard's shoulders as she raised a bent knee alongside the woman's hip in a silent ask. Samantha smiled as she wrapped a hand under Liara's leg, the Asari hopping up easily and wrapping both legs around Shepard's waist. They kissed as her _siame_ turned slowly and headed toward the bedroom they hadn't even seen yet.

* * *

 _ **Neema**_ **, Quarian Fleet, Rannoch Orbit**

Daro'Xen smiled as she entered Gerrel's office aboard the _Neema_. "Han, I have good news!" She waited for the hatch to close completely before finishing, "It's time for me to be going."

"Just you?" Gerrel turned to her, questioningly. "I thought we were in this together?"

"Oh, we are, my dearest Han" Xen smirked, "But this is a research mission, in a peaceful galaxy... so, I have no need of an escort and will take only the _Moreh_... unless, perhaps, you wish to send a small, _loyal_ , frigate along as an escort for an admiral of the fleet."

"Depends on where you're going and what you're planning." Gerrel frowned. "Please don't be so secretive, Daro. If we're in this together, I would like to know what risks you are taking on our behalf."

"Relax." Xen walked over to him and ran a hand across his shoulders. "I'm heading out to Dholen. It's time to check on the data Tali'Zorah collected concerning Haestrom... and possibly check out some of the monitoring stations, both there and at Charoum." Her voice turned sarcastic as she finished, "We are all allies now, so the Geth have no reason to interfere with our _peaceful_ research and data collection."

Gerrel's eyes narrowed as he asked, "What are you really looking for? Exactly what data do you plan to collect?"

"Such a cynic, to think I have ulterior motives... a wise cynic, however, because you know me too well." Xen chuckled before her voice turned hard. "I'm going to isolate one of the stations and download as many samples of the modified runtime codes as I can, focusing first on the defensive systems... just in case I'm interrupted. Given time and an isolated environment without connectivity to the Consensus, I'm confident we can crack it. If we are successful, we'll have one of two things... We have either a rogue Geth under our control that we can use as a spy or, at the very least, we'll know how to shut them all down. If we're fast enough, the thing doesn't self-destruct and we can convince it that helping us is in its best interests, perhaps we'll be able to get even more than that."

"That's insanity! Have you forgotten the Alarei?" Gerrel stood from his desk and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. "Their programming is too complex... You'll never get the data you need before other units respond to figure out why the station went offline!"

"We won't be staying long enough for them to catch us." Xen shrugged off his hands and took a step back. "We're going to download the data to a portable drive before shorting and destroying the terminal. We'll then leave the area, keeping the collection in isolation with only a single interface terminal." She snorted derisively. "One that's not capable of connecting to a network in any way. Have some faith, Han! I'll not make _that_ mistake."

Gerrel stared at her in silence for a few moments before shaking his head in defeat. "Alright. It seems you are determined to do this... but I will not let you take the _Moreh_ \- she is identified too easily as yours and you'll need deniability. So, you'll get your frigate." He paused briefly, thinking about what ship he would send. "I will send you out with the gunship _Yaska_. She's a good ship – both Rael and I served aboard her early in our careers, so she'll serve as a reminder of me, as the one you have waiting on your return... and for Rael, as the one whose mistakes you dare not repeat. You'll rendezvous with the best ship in the fleet for this mission... the envoy frigate, _Oribi_ ; her stealth design will serve you better than any other ship in the flotilla."

"Most excellent! Thank you, Han." Xen smiled. "It is good to see you understand the potential value of my work. I have great faith that we will be successful."

Gerrel huffed, "Faith in your work? That's a given – you're brilliant. But I also have faith in you... personally... and I want you back home safely." He sighed and shook his head. "You're one of my closest allies, Daro..."

"Stop right there. Don't say it, Han. Not yet." Xen's voice was unusually quiet. "We have a long way to go before we can speak of anything... more... of a different type of association."

"Give me a few days to make the ship arrangements; I'll let you know when everything is ready. Then, Ancestors willing, I'll see you home again – safe and sound." Gerrel smiled and pulled Xen in for a hug. She did not resist, hugging him tightly in return.

"Yes, Han." She smiled as she pulled back. "Ancestors willing." She waved and walked out as Admiral Gerrel wondered if and when he would ever see Daro'Xen vas Moreh again. He waited until she was gone and the hatch closed behind her to whisper to the empty office, "May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quadrants of the stars."

* * *

 **Hanshan Heaven, Pax, Horse Head** **Nebula**

Liara's smile as she answered the call on her omnitool vanished as soon as she saw the expression on her Quarian friend's face. "Tali! What's the matter?"

"She's gone!"

Tali looked stricken and Liara immediately made a wrong assumption. "Raan? Has something happened to the Admiral?"

"Keelah, Liara! No... sorry... I'm a bit flustered." Tali was wringing her hands nervously as she spoke. "It's Xen. She had a private conference with Gerrel a few days ago... and today? She vanished! According to Medica, Xen took a gunship to rendezvous with the _Oribi._ Shortly after boarding, the _Oribi_ activated stealth mode and simply... disappeared! I have no idea where she's headed, but I'm sure it can't possibly be good!"

"The _Oribi_? What ship is that?" Shepard had stepped up behind Liara to ask the question.

"Hello, Captain. Good to see you... I only wish it was under better circumstances." Tali frowned. "To answer your question... It's the stealth diplomatic frigate that met you in Dholen."

"Isn't that part of the Heavy Fleet?" Liara was now frowning. "Have you spoken with Admiral Gerrel about it?"

"Of course," Tali huffed. "But he isn't exactly forthcoming. All he's saying is that she's on some research trip to the Dholen system, supposedly following up on the data the majority of my team died for during its collection."

"Supposedly?" Shepard raised an eyebrow in question. "So you don't believe him?"

"Would you?" Tali almost laughed at the expression that appeared on Shepard's face.

"No, I suppose not." Shepard sighed and offered Tali a small smile. "So, you have any ideas as to what the truth may be?

"Unfortunately not. That's why I'm calling. All I know is she wouldn't risk her own life for a simple data verification mission. She's after something else." Knowing they were chatting over an unsecure connection, Tali was very careful. "I was hoping your Spectre intelligence sources may be able to turn something up. I'd like to believe that's all Xen is honestly doing, but I simply cannot. I'm sure that whatever it is, it has less to do with Dholen and more to do with the SILC."

"Understood, Tali." Shepard nodded. "I'll contact my sources and see what we can dig up. If Xen and Gerrel are stonewalling the majority of the Admirals, whatever is going on deserves our attention."

Liara nodded in agreement before smiling and asking, "So, other than that, how are things going with the SILC uploads?"

"Absolutely wonderful!" Tali's mood shifted a full 180° as her thoughts moved to the health improvements her friends had experienced. "Auntie Raan and Zaal'Koris are doing incredibly well... and once the majority of the work crew on my house joined in, the idea started spreading like crazy. I'd say that at this point, roughly 40% of the Quarian population on Rannoch has accepted some level of assistance." Tali was practically jumping for joy. "It's phenomenal... and growing faster than I ever anticipated!"

"What great news!" Shepard's face lit with a huge smile. "So, any prognosis on when or if you'll ever be able to live on Rannoch without a suit?" She stopped and laughed. "And you know that I mean _outside_ of the controlled environment in your home."

"The SILC say it's achievable, but the timeframe is impossible to calculate. There are too many variables." Tali shrugged happily. "But, simply knowing it's in our future makes all the difference. We have a homeworld and we have hope. What else is there to ask for?"

"Alright. I'm sorry, Tali, but we have to go. Shepard and I have a meeting in a few minutes, but thank you for the update. We'll look into Xen's activities and keep you apprised of what we find. We'll talk again soon." Liara waited patiently as Shepard said her goodbyes and then disconnected the call.

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

The intervening weeks since Tim Stafford had accompanied Zoë Lawrence to New York City found her ramping up her efforts to impart an understanding of her covert infiltration methods and assassination skills, not only to Stafford, but to several of the other men and women that had displayed an aptitude for her line of work. She had just concluded a long afternoon by having dinner in the common area and was strolling back towards her quarters when Jana Cantrell, her face set in a worried frown, approached from the side. "Zoë, I need you in my office, right now."

Cantrell had never 'ordered' Zoë to do anything, not because she knew Zoë wouldn't obey an order from a 'lieutenant', but because she had a great deal of respect for the woman's position as the leader of the group of people formerly loyal to Jack Harper and Cerberus. _If she needs me bad enough to demand immediate attendance, it must be for a damned good reason._

As soon as Zoë had followed Cantrell through the entryway and the door had closed behind her, Cantrell spun about to grasp her shoulders. "It's about to happen again, and no one here has any idea how we're supposed to post a warning to Captain Shepard on the Normandy. You worked with Miranda Lawson. Do you know how to get in touch with her… discretely?"

The look on Jana's face was nearly frantic, causing Zoë to gently grab Cantrell's wrists in order to free her shoulders from what seemed to be a panicked grip. "Take a deep breath, Jana. What's about to happen again and what does Miranda Lawson have to do with it?" She took Jana's hands in her own and gently pulled the woman further into the office, where they could both sit in chairs in front of her modest desk. "Talk to me, Jana. What is…"

"It's T'Soni, Zoë – Liara T'Soni…" Cantrell interrupted. "LEAP is planning another attempt on her life."

Understanding flooded over Zoë's face. "While they're on the Victory Tour? How in Hell did LEAP obtain their itinerary? Never mind… stupid question; it's not exactly a big secret. Besides, LEAP is a Humans only group and they probably have ties in the Alliance. I'd even wager that some of their best people once worked for either Cerberus or the Shadow Broker as well. Where are they planning to…"

"Horizon," Jana interrupted again. "In spite of the large influx of refugees after the war, the population there is still predominantly Human – plenty of opportunities for an assassin to blend in… to hide. The Normandy is due to land there on the 15th, and the chatter we're hearing strongly hints at the presence of not one, but two sniper teams; that the target is Liara T'Soni, we have no doubt."

"I don't understand," Zoë said in a soft voice, mostly to herself. "I thought targeting her here in Vancouver was simply a convenient way to divert attention from Kathryn Briggs… help her make her escape after dropping part of Alliance headquarters on Josiah Pickett's head… T'Soni was a target of opportunity, pure and simple. Why…"

"… target her again?" Jana finished Zoë's question for her. "Unknown; however, the comms we've been intercepting these past couple of weeks lead me to think she is being targeted for revenge, Zoë. Without the identity of their leader, we're only guessing at their motivations in attempting a second hit on that Asari."

"Their leader is Charles Saracino…" Zoë began.

"Figurehead only… He's their public face but not their _real_ leader, who is sometimes referred to as 'the Captain' and apparently prefers to work from the shadows."

Zoë's expression was one of dark fury. "So, taking down Lyle Bradshaw didn't send a clear enough message," she mused aloud. "Always another goddamned blister popping up on humanity's ass who thinks they can succeed where everyone else has failed… but _that's_ a problem for another day. Right now, we have to concentrate on getting a warning to Captain Shepard and Liara T'Soni before they make landfall on Horizon." Zoë rose from her chair to begin pacing the small office. "We need to get in touch with one of the Lawson sisters…" Looking at Jana, she said, "Have the team begin working on finding Miranda Lawson – I very much doubt Oriana would even open a message from me. I believe Miranda was associated with an Asari ship during the war; an Asari commando squad accompanied her when I accidentally encountered her on Horizon… right before the Reapers relocated the Citadel to Earth orbit."

Zoë stopped pacing, thinking hard about her encounter with Miri. _That Asari remained silent the entire time I was talking to Miri… It was only after an explosion… as I was running away... that Miri spoke to her and she answered… Miri called her… 'Jude' – can't be her full name… short for something, but what? I bet she's a lover! We'll just have to run with it…_ "Jana, have the team search for the name of an Asari registered ship in London on the day Shepard stopped the Reapers… It may have been used to rescue her from the Citadel and take her to the hospital. _Damn! That's it!_ Zoë smacked a fist into the palm of her other hand. "Talk to Angelique – she worked with Lawson during Shepard's recovery in the hospital in London – I'll bet she will remember the names of some of Shepard's... and Lawson's... visitors during that time. Maybe, just maybe, she'll remember the ship name so we can get the ident code from London Control."

In a soft voice, almost as if she was thinking aloud, she added, "The ship may be something along the lines of the craft I appropriated from Nos Aedelos on Illium."

"And if we can get the ident code, we can get a message to the ship!" Jana smiled for the first time since she had gone looking for Zoë. "It will done as you say, Ms Lawrence. Let's just hope Lawson isn't too difficult to find."

"And Jana?" Zoë waited for the woman to stop for a moment and actually focus on her. "When we speak to one another, would you mind letting me actually finish my sentences, without you finishing them for me?"

The smile on Zoë's face told Jana she wasn't angry about what had happened, but Cantrell still blushed as she answered, "Yes, Ma'am. Sorry."

* * *

 **Jaëto, Strenuus System, Horse Head Nebula**

Over the first week of October, the Normandy visited the Salarian colonies of Rannadril and Jaëto, their welcomes no warmer than those Shepard and her crew had received on either Sur'Kesh or Halegeuse. Being one of the original three Salarian colonies, Jaëto provided a particularly hostile reception from the ruling Salarian Dalatrass, one Cha'ak Edra, who actually spit in Shepard's face over the seemingly inevitable conversation with the Salarians regarding the Genophage cure. Linron, on Sur'Kesh, had been rude and angry, but Edra's venomous response took Salarian hostility to a new level; Shepard clenched her lightly glowing fists in silent rage as she regained control of her temper, with no small amount of Liara's assistance through the link.

Veritably trembling in anger, Shepard thundered, "Given your attitude and lack of manners, you should seriously consider absenting yourself from the upcoming ceremonies, Dalatrass." Seeing the look of challenge in Edra's eyes, Shepard continued, "Because I am a Council Spectre and this is a Council world... and if you _ever_ show such disrespect to me again, your already brief life-span may be suddenly and considerably shortened..."

If the Dalatrass didn't realize just how tenuous her current position was and opted to do something stupid, Liara knew there was no way she would be fast enough to stop Shepard from simply reacting... So, Liara did something she had never before felt the need to do at a formal welcoming ceremony; she pulled on her biotics and prepped herself to throw up a biotic shield.

Even if she was choosing to purposely antagonize Shepard, Edra could not help but notice the blue glow emanating from the Asari at the Captain's side and she took an inadvertent backward step away from the Normandy crew. "I see. Typical initial Human response... the threat of violence. I erringly assumed your pet Asari was better than that but, it appears, I was mistaken. Ostensibly, your belligerence and primal aggression infects all those who associate with you, so I will be more than happy to recuse myself from any Council events involving your presence."

Surprising everyone, Shepard suddenly laughed, not because of the Dalatrass' submission to the request to stay away, but because of the effect Edra's words had on the normally calm and controlled Dr T'Soni. As her words flowed through the link, it was blatantly obvious Liara was incensed beyond measure. _The Salarian who dared open this discussion by_ _ **spitting**_ _on Shepard has the gall... the positively maddening audacity... to call Sam and me belligerent and primal!_

Having Liara's thoughts surge like fire through her mind, it was completely beyond Shepard's ability to contain her laughter as she stepped back and placed a calming hand on her 'pet Asari's' arm. "I suggest you leave now, Edra... before I unleash my belligerent and primal Asari bodyguard upon your hypocritical _spitting_ self."

Shepard turned her back on the Salarian delegation and addressed her small entourage. "Everyone back on the Normandy. I have a call to place before anything else happens on this planet."

* * *

 **Normandy, Jaëto Docks, Strenuus System**

Councilor Valern, originally disturbed that Shepard dared demand his presence while he was in the middle of another meeting, now understood the urgency of the situation. While the Spectre and Dr T'Soni currently stood before him in their formal dress, unchanged from their reception on Jaëto, their Normandy escorts had been suited out... and the captain had just played back Spectre William's mission footage of their entire 'welcome'... for Valern to witness. Shepard was obviously angry, and justifiably so, as she stood before the vid screen, arms crossed. In a voice more cold and detached than he had ever heard, she said, "That was a one Hell of an unpleasant welcome for the Human that saved your Salarian asses from the Reapers... all while most of your clans hid behind their shields and barriers waiting for us _barbarians_ to win the damned war."

"Now, Shepard... You cannot create a galactic incident over the actions of a single Dalatrass..."

"A single Dalatrass?" Shepard scoffed. "I may not have actually been spit on, but I received the exact same frigid reception at each of the other Salarian worlds I've been to… Starting with Sur'Kesh! And Halegeuse and Rannadril were just as bad! My reception from General Balak in the Kite's Nest was much more pleasant… at least he didn't pretend for a moment that Batarians and Humans could ever be more than mortal enemies!"

Valern was concerned with where Shepard was going with the conversation, so simply asked, "What, exactly, do you expect me to do about this? I have little to no control over what the Dalatrasses choose to do, Shepard. I work for them, not the other way around."

"I don't expect you to _do_ anything, Councilor." Shepard took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "In spite of what you may think, I like you, Valern. Trust you, even... and that says much more about you than you might think." She glanced at Liara before continuing, "So the main purpose of _this_ call is to provide you with a warning, so you're not surprised when I call the full Council before their morning session tomorrow."

Valern sat up taller in his chair at her words. "While I appreciate your vote of confidence, Shepard, I really must ask… Just what, exactly, is your call going to entail?"

"I'm going to send this same recording to the full council, Valern, along with the footage from the other Salarian colonies. I absolutely refuse to accept this kind of treatment from your race! Our victory came at a pretty high cost – many lost their lives, including Salarian scientists and STG members. You, personally, were forced to walk a fine line between the Dalatrasses and the Council... or, more accurately, me." Shepard sighed. "I'm going to tell them how I feel, Councilor. I'm going to tell them that as a galactic society, I believe the Salarians have less value to me and the Council than the Quarians, the SILC... or even the Krogan!"

"You can't say that!" The normally cool councilor shot out of his chair, the view of the vid screen chopping off his head as he did so, but his voice was still loud and clear. "You'll undermine everything I've worked for all these years!"

"Sit down, Councilor... please. All I can see is the waistband of your robe." When she received no response, Shepard waited only for a few more seconds before continuing, "This is nothing personal, but until I hear a compelling argument as to why I should bother, I'm not stopping at anymore of the half-dozen Salarian colonies remaining on the Victory Tour. As far as I'm concerned, those colonies don't deserve my time, and I won't put up with such abuse, not after your entire race sat on the sidelines. I will _not_ voluntarily subject myself or my crew to such ill treatment."

Valern suddenly dropped into his chair in stunned silence at the Spectre's words and Shepard continued as if nothing had changed. "Our schedule had been ridiculously demanding, so I'm going to take those slots as rest or travel days – nothing else will change, so there will be no need to change the dates of other appearances. Simply notify the Salarian colonies that I won't be coming... or not. Whether you chose to tell them or not is no longer my concern, but you may as well save them whatever prep time they may have needed, because the Normandy won't be showing up."

Valern had recovered from the shock and was starting to get angry. "You work for the Council, Shepard, and changes to the schedule are not an option for you. You'll visit those places as you've been told."

Somewhat surprised, Shepard raised her eyebrows. "No, I won't. Feel free to forward a motion for my removal as a Spectre... because I guarantee you, simply telling me to visit those colonies is one order I will not follow, Councilor. I'm more than happy to retire tomorrow, should that be the Council's desire."

"Shepard. Surely there must be something we can provide you to continue the tour as originally scheduled? To make the Salarian stops worth your while?" Valern's voice had turned pleading, to which the captain reacted rather strongly.

"Honestly? There is absolutely nothing I want from you that I haven't already requested, Councilor." Shepard scoffed, "And before you say anything else that may negatively influence my favorable opinion of you, ask Dalatrass Linron how well threats or attempts at coercion worked for her." Shepard's hand hovered over the console control as she finished, "As a courtesy, I'll send you copies of the footage from the other visits as soon as I terminate this call... before I send the whole package to the remainder of your peers in the morning. It will give you time to review it... but this conversation is over, Councilor."

Without giving Valern a chance to reply, Shepard cut the feed and placed both hands on the sides of the console, dropping her head in both disgust and frustration. "Damn it. That didn't exactly go as planned."

She felt Liara's arms encircle her waist from behind and a soft voice whispered in her ear. "You haven't hung up on a councilor in a really, really long time. You were long overdue."

A tiny smile appeared on Shepard's face as she stood upright within Liara's embrace. Turning to her lover, she whispered, "Thank you."

"My pleasure, Samantha." Liara looked her in the eyes. "For what it's worth, I am in complete agreement with the position you are taking... and I have absolutely no issue with returning the Normandy to the Council and us being on Thessia, for good, by the end of the week. None whatsoever."

Shepard's tiny smile turned into a grin. "I suppose I need to give Hackett a heads-up... assuming Valern hasn't already yelled at Osoba, who then called him..." She shrugged. "But what am I going to tell him? What are we going to do for the next three days? We're not expected on Intai'sei until the tenth."

"Well, I doubt very much any of those calls have taken place because Valern is still waiting for the other vids you promised him. After that, I have no idea. Intai'sei isn't exactly a tourist stop." Liara poked Shepard lightly in the ribs. "Couldn't you have picked a better time for your rebellion? Someplace... tropical?"

"Maybe we never should have left Noveria... but that had its own complications, didn't it?" She was hugging Liara tightly and suddenly stopped and stepped back. "Oh shit!" Liara gave her a puzzled look as the captain activated her omnitool. "Joker. We're headed to Intai'sei a bit earlier than expected. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

"Roger that, Captain." After a brief pause, the pilot came back. "Shepard. This is out in the middle of nowhere. You sure these coordinates are right?"

"Positive, Flight Lieutenant. Just get us there and you'll understand soon enough."

"Understood, Shepard." Joker paused briefly as he entered the coordinates into the navigation system. "Routing via the Pax and Hydra Relays enroute to Intai'sei, Ma'am. Jumping to FTL in three, two, one."

As the stars started to stream by the ship, unseen by the couple in the communications center, Shepard acknowledged, "Thanks, Joker. Liara and I are headed to loft. Assuming nothing goes wrong, give me a shout before we drop out of the relay in Argos Rho. I want to stop and check for any messages we may have before heading for Phoenix."

"Aye Aye, Captain."


	52. Premonitions and Promises

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Premonitions and Promises**

 **Intai'sei** **, Phoenix System, Argos Rho**

While they were in transit from Jaëto to Intai'sei, Hackett had left a message for Shepard to call him at her earliest convenience, which she did – as soon as she received the message when they emerged from the relay in Hydra. He hadn't said much while they chatted, but he did express hope that the Dalatrasses hateful attitude towards her wouldn't create a conflict between the Alliance and the Council. "You're the one out there, Shepard, and you know your own limits better than anyone." He had smirked as he added, "Except, perhaps, Liara. Do what you need to do, Captain; last thing we need right now is a galactic incident between an Alliance Spectre and a Salarian Dalatrass. I'll trust your judgment on this... and I'll work with Ambassador Osoba to smooth things out for you with the Council. Don't worry about it."

It was early morning when they arrived at the coordinates Shepard had provided. Setting the Normandy down next to a rather small prefab structure, Joker called Shepard on the comms. "We've arrived, Captain... at whatever this is."

Shepard sat up in bed and chuckled. "Thanks, Joker. Let people know they are off duty for the next 48 hours and once Liara and I are up and out, they are welcome to use the house next to which we're parked. Everyone will have to be back aboard and ready to fly by 0800 on the 10th, so we can be at Thoreau Mesa by 0900 hours for the _official_ welcome to Intai'sei."

"Aye Aye, Shepard."

The comm fell silent as Shepard leaned over to the other side of the bed and brushed her lips across a blue cheek. The corners of Liara's mouth edged up in a sleepy smile as her eyelids slowly slid open. "Good morning, Samantha. I assume this means we need to get up, hmmm?"

Pulling Liara's chin around so she could kiss warm blue lips, Shepard whispered, "Yeah, we do... but I'm pretty sure you'll be okay with spending a couple of quiet days here. It will give you time to catch up on Broker traffic and see what's happening out in the rest of the galaxy."

"That would be nice. I am feeling rather disconnected at the moment." Liara's forehead pinched a bit as she continued, "After all, I am the Broker... not Miranda, Oriana, or Arlyna. I've been totally reliant on them since this tour began." She turned to lie fully on her back and looked into Samantha's eyes, still seeing the shadow of what had transpired on Jaëto in the normally clear green orbs. "And what about you, _Siame_? Where exactly are we, and what will you be doing while I immerse myself in Broker business?"

"I'm going to be working out and thinking, Liara." Shepard sighed. "The dreams, the Salarians... Xen disappearing, our deadly unidentified vigilante..." The Spectre blinked slowly and shook her head before continuing, "I need to get all this shit sorted, instead of having it all twisting around in my mind distracting me. My soldier's sixth sense has been pretty quiet, but lately, it's been telling me I can't afford to be preoccupied with all the miscellaneous bullshit that's going on right now. There's a storm looming on the horizon, Li, and I don't want us caught out in the middle of it when it finally arrives."

Liara sat up, an expression of concern dominating her features as she replied, "That sounds serious; I've never known your intuition to be wrong, Shepard. I'll contact everyone and see if any of the teams we deployed have seen or heard _anything_ that could send up a warning flare."

She paused for a brief moment as a look of confusion passed across her face. "And you avoided my first question. Where are we... other than somewhere on Intai'sei?"

Shepard's somber attitude vanished and she let out a light chuckle. "I was doing some training at Pinnacle Station. The commander was this dodgy old fellow who managed to survive the First Contact War with Uncle Dave... Admiral Tadius Ahern. He absolutely loved it here... loved the desert... loved the heat... He said it did his old bones good; so, he decided to retire here and had a modest prefabricated structure dropped here as a retirement home."

Shrugging, Shepard continued, "He ran a tight ship and was somewhat of a pompous ass, but he was good at what he did; the best, actually." She shook her head and laughed. "He designed a training scenario that mimicked a convoy mission which he alone survived during the war... and he made a promise to every class that ran through the Pinnacle Station; the first person who actually survived and successfully completed that mission could have his prefab. No one ever managed... until me."

"And he actually _gave_ you his house?" Liara asked incredulously.

"No," Shepard grinned, "I wouldn't take it... We argued about it, him saying he was a man of his word and me saying I was the Hero of Elysium and it was an unfair wager." Her grin faded to a sad smile. "In the end, I simply refused to sign the Deed of Transfer. So, he told me it was mine to use whenever I needed... until he retired. Only thing is, he hadn't retired yet and was killed on Pinnacle Station when the Reapers destroyed it at the start of the war. He willed the house and all the personal property in it to me." She looked up and met Liara's eyes. "Uncle Dave told me, but I forgot all about it until yesterday."

"Oh, Shepard. I am so sorry."

A playful smile danced across the captain's lips. "You'll be even more sorry when you see the place. It's out in the middle of nowhere and it's more an armory station than a house. It's nothing like Anderson's place, much less like any of the T'Soni holdings. But, it has all the essentials, including an entertainment station and a bed. Pretty sure that's all we're gonna need."

* * *

 **Fortis Relay** **, Minos Wasteland, At Large**

After eight days of dedicated research, Atlas' research teams had uncovered how LEAP intended to assassinate Liara T'Soni during the Normandy's stopover on the Human colony of Horizon. An 'action' team, consisting of two snipers – one designated as the primary, the other a secondary – along with the pilots and support staff needed for a ten-day trip, had left New York City on the evening of the 6th.

Zoë had stared in disbelief at the report telling of LEAP's apparent need to send so many people for a simple assassination… perhaps they wished to avoid the loss of any more snipers in the manner of Kathryn Briggs. Having additional people providing interference in order to get their snipers away to relative safety could possibly work to their advantage; although Zoë had always managed to single-handedly get in and out of some pretty tight spots, she could see how having additional people might be an advantage.

After meeting with Jana and Angelique two hours prior to takeoff, she had found herself in a UT-47 shuttle enroute to the Charon relay; from there, she traveled to Minos Wasteland via the Serpent Nebula. Once in that system, the plan was for her to send an anonymous, audio-only message to House T'Soni, accompanied by a data file that would provide incontrovertible proof of her claims.

Zoë had quietly argued that any further delay in sending a warning – to anyone – unnecessarily placed T'Soni at greater risk; while the research teams continued their quest to learn of Miranda's whereabouts, Zoë had taken information gleaned from her meeting with Angelique Warren concerning Liara's father; Matriarch Aethyta was now living in the T'Soni townhouse in the city of Armali. Zoë had decided that _anything_ sent to Aethyta's attention concerning the safety of Liara and Shepard would garner an immediate reaction.

Once she had sent the message and data from the vicinity of the Minos Wasteland relay, she would travel to the Crescent Nebula, there to visit Illium for a few days before making the return trip. She intended to return through the Eagle Nebula with some additional weight on board – the difference in mass would disguise the UT-47's passage back through Widow and Charon. Her shuttle would appear as one of a random flight of many, many others during the time period, making her passage through the relays virtually untraceable.

Fortunately, when she arrived at Charon, it was already aligned with the Minos Wasteland relay, allowing her to reach the Fortis system in good time. Once in a stationary position relative to _that_ relay, she deactivated the shuttle's reciprocal transceiver identifiers, and then quickly initiated the call to Thessia. Realizing it was near midnight local time on the planet, Zoë hoped the person answering her call wouldn't be too grumpy.

Her wait proved to be a short one; Zoë had been prepared to speak to someone just awakened from sleep – but when a very alert voice immediately answered the call, she quickly realized that the T'Soni family had around the clock protection, most likely from specially trained commandos. The Asari who answered stared intently into the monitor on her console, sounding instantly suspicious at the lack of an identity code or video of the person placing the call. "You have reached T'Soni House Armali. Please identify yourself and the nature of your call immediately or I will terminate the connection."

Zoë smirked as she replied, "My identity and coordinates are masked for my own protection, Ms…?"

"Last warning!" came the curt reply. "Identify yourself and the nature of your call immediately or I …"

"Please," Zoë interrupted in turn. "Believe me when I say I _must_ be permitted to speak with Matriarch Aethyta on an urgent matter concerning the safety of Liara T'Soni."

The Team 2 lead, Aressa T'Saptos, leaned toward the comm unit, her eyes widening only slightly at Zoë's statement. "An unidentified caller, in the middle of the night, who needs to speak with the Matriarch? And you say it's about the Lady Liara? Explain yourself."

Zoë could understand the distrust this Asari – most likely a commando, based on her leathers – would have of an unnamed caller, but she simply had to get through to her. "I need you to trust me on this, and there is precious little time," she stated in a calm voice. "Please… allow me to speak with the Matriarch. I can assure you she needs the information I have. Please…"

Aressa hated waking Aethyta for no good reason, but this caller, despite masking her identity and location, sounded quite sincere. She grimaced as she reluctantly acquiesced, "Very well. Please stand by… I will wake the Matriarch so you may speak with her." The Asari touched a control in front of her to place the console on standby while she went to Aethyta's quarters.

Zoë watched her chronometer increment the minutes as she waited patiently; after six minutes, a different face appeared on the communications console. Zoë saw the scowl just before the matriarch issued an extremely irritated greeting. "Goddess be damned! Who in the fucking blue blazes do you think you are, anonymously waking everyone in the middle of the damned night with a threat to my daughter?"

Zoë smiled; the greeting might have blistered her ears if she hadn't heard it all before, in what seemed like another life. Despite not being able to see her face, she felt certain Aethyta would hear the smile in her voice as she replied, "Matriarch Aethyta, I can assure you I am not the one threatening your daughter. Quite the contrary... and you have my sincere apologies for the late hour of this call, as well as the necessity of masking my identity and location, but I possess extremely time-sensitive information that you need... and you're the only one I could locate who I know will be able to act on it in time." Pausing for a moment, she continued when Aethyta waited quietly, her scowl remaining firmly in place. "I expect you were made privy to the details of the assassination attempt on your daughter at Alliance Northwestern Headquarters in Vancouver?" She couched the statement as a question and waited for a response.

"Damned straight I was given the details; now here you are, telling my team leader this call concerns Liara… so skip the damned small talk and tell me what you know before I lose all my patience and cut the connection."

"Matriarch, please… two minutes, that's all I ask. The organization you know as LEAP is planning to assassinate Liara T'Soni during the scheduled ceremonies on the colony world of Horizon; our information is reliable and points to a long-range attempt on the 15th."

Aethyta's eyes narrowed menacingly and she glared at the blank screen. Thinking quickly, she said, "What information... and why in the name of the Goddess should I trust you?"

"There's little time for explanations, Matriarch. I'm sending you a file that contains all the information to prove that your daughter and Captain Shepard will be in grave danger on Horizon. LEAP is sending two experts in long-range rifle kills… they can expect a follow-on shot from a different quadrant after the first shot's been taken."

Zoë checked her chronometer before saying, "Please, if you do nothing else, pass the data on to Miranda Lawson… Tell her you spoke with a person who knows the woman she… and Jude… encountered on Horizon, just before their elevator ride to meet Henry Lawson." Zoë knew Miranda would recognize the reference to their meeting and would say as much to the Matriarch. "The data file I am sending contains all the information my group has been able to uncover in a short span of time, Matriarch. Please… There won't be a second chance at this. Do what's needed in order to ensure their safety." Without waiting for a reply, Zoë cut the connection.

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, T'Sere Shipyard, Thessia**

It had been a long day, working with the supply department to identify and purchase the final gear they needed to completely furnish the Broker's new Corvette class ship. While awaiting the arrival of the final purchases, Judea Voni would be busy conducting the final flight trials. Mumbling, "I've got it, Miri," she sat up in their shared berth, sleepily reached for and grabbed her robe, shoved her arms through the sleeves and rose to pad barefoot to the communication compartment, where a low-pitched, warbling trill was seeking attention. Sitting down in front of the secure terminal, she switched it from 'standby' to 'active', which silenced the alarm.

Seeing the ident code for House Armali, she quickly touched the 'accept' control on the haptic interface and gazed with some surprise at the screen when the scowling visage of Matriarch Aethyta appeared before her. Before she could even offer a greeting, Aethyta's gruff voice cut through the late night-early morning quiet of the ship. "Goddess be damned, Jude. Is everyone on that ship asleep? I've been sitting here half the damned night waiting for someone to answer me!"

Jude quickly looked at the elapsed-time indicator, noting the incoming time registered as less than two minutes prior to the time she had answered. "I hardly think you've been waiting that long, Aethyta," she yawned. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The cantankerous matriarch snorted, saying, "Hanging around that Human has made you soft, Judea. If anyone on that ship should be awake, it's her pilot."

Judea felt sure Aethyta was teasing, but couldn't detect a single hint of amusement in her tone or facial expression, so responded with, "My apologies, Matriarch. What may I do for you?"

"Cut that fucking matriarch shit, Judea Voni!" A tiny smile turned the corners of Aethyta's lips upwards. "I actually called to speak with Miranda," she intoned. "I need her to vouch for an anonymous contact who says Liara is once again a target of that damned Humans-first group called LEAP." Aethyta's attention was diverted by someone approaching from behind Judea. "Ah, Miranda… good. This will save me from having to repeat all this Pyjak-shit to you, so listen up. I received a message from someone – voice sounded female, probably a Human, but who knows – anyway, this person claimed to know who you… and Jude… encountered on Horizon, just before your elevator ride up to Henry Lawson's office to get Ori back. Does that make any sense to either of you?"

Miranda had walked up behind her lover and gently placed her hands on a pair of strong shoulders. " _That_ person," she huffed, "was Maya Brooks. The person who contacted you… did you record the conversation?"

"We record all our incoming calls." Aethyta nodded once as she continued, "She said both Liara and Shepard will be in danger when they land on Horizon on the 16th… If this warning is to be believed, a pair of snipers will attempt to murder my Little Wing… or Shepard, or Goddess only knows... perhaps both of them, during the welcome ceremony." Aethyta paused for several moments as she looked down while she made several keystrokes at her terminal. A soft chime sounded from Judea's terminal as the Matriarch continued, "I just sent the audio record of everything this… informant… said during our brief conversation, along with the data file she provided me. There was no video and the identity of the vessel and the transmission location were all shielded. Perhaps you'll have better luck identifying this person than I did, but what really matters is getting a warning to the Normandy… the only reason I was contacted was because your location and your ship's ident-code is unknown, Miranda."

Miranda nodded her head. "We'll review the data and contact them as soon after as possible, Aethyta. If the data proves legitimate, once Shepard is aware of the threat, I can't imagine anyone being successful in carrying out their plans."

Aethyta nodded, saying, "Then I won't keep you any longer. Keep me advised on this, both of you. Those two barely made it through the damned war, especially Shepard. I pity the person foolish enough to send assassins in an attempt to take the life of either my girl or her promised. Take care." With that, the Matriarch terminated the connection, leaving Miri and Jude in the now quiet comms compartment.

Judea rose from her chair to turn and embrace Miranda. "This? On the heels of the Salarian business? It seems to me the entire galaxy is out to destroy whatever happiness Shepard and Liara have found with each other."

Miranda pressed her lips against those of her lover before responding, "Then it's up to us to make sure the entire galaxy doesn't succeed in this attempt… or any attempt." Miri kissed the Asari again before releasing her. "We need to listen to that recording; I have a feeling I know who sent it, but I need to hear her voice. Once we confirm the sender, we'll contact the Normandy and speak with Shepard. Then, we can sit and have some breakfast while we figure out what to do next."

* * *

 **Intai'sei** **, Phoenix System,** **Argos Rho**

Shepard was once again sleeping peacefully, the nightmare forest having receded from her dreams as time and effort had helped her prioritize their goals in regard to the many things going wrong with their attempts to bring a lasting peace to the galaxy. She woke up gradually to a voice intruding on a pleasant dream of an endless white sand beach washed by a gentle surf. The voice called her a third time, breaking through her sleeping mind and bringing her to full wakefulness. "Captain Shepard."

Samantha looked at the chrono next to the bed – 0453 – and groaned inwardly. _What in the hell was so damned important it wouldn't keep for a couple more hours?_ "Yes, Edi?"

"Captain, Miranda Lawson needs to speak with you on a matter of great urgency. I asked… She strongly believes it should not wait until you board the Normandy for our trip to Thoreau Mesa."

Shepard made a mental note to add clairvoyance to the list of Edi's capabilities. "I'll be back to the ship as soon as I get dressed, Edi."

"Thank you, Shepard. I'll meet you at the entrance to the Broker's office."

The Spectre had hoped to avoid disturbing her promised – a hope that was dashed when a sleepy voice murmured, "What's the problem, _Siame?_

Shepard first planted a kiss on a pebbled forehead before easing herself away from Liara, a task made more difficult for having to disentangle her legs from those of the Asari. "No problem, Blue. Miranda needs to speak with me. I'll be back before my side of the bed can go cold."

Liara rolled over and took note of the time. "An urgent call from Miranda at this hour?" She groaned and swung her legs off the bed as she sat up. "I'll pack our things and follow you over. Might as well be prepared for departure... My guess is her news will make it impossible for us to get back to sleep."

In a voice filled with resignation, Shepard replied, "You're probably right." She had pulled only a pair of sweatpants and an old N7 branded tee-shirt over her nude body; reconsidering her options, she stripped as she walked to the shower. In less than ten minutes, she was properly dressed and on her way out the door. She paused only to give Liara a quick kiss. "Love you... and I'll see you when you get over there."

* * *

Edi met her as she walked around the port side of the elevator tower towards the Broker office. "Miranda sounded rather distressed, Captain, but she told me she only wanted to relate what she learned once, and she would rather wait until you arrived."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow at the synthetic woman as she responded with, "Sounds like someone has died, Edi." She opened the hatch and entered the office as quietly as she could, aware that Sammi and Riana were asleep on the other side of the forward partition. Taking a seat at the secure comms terminal, she entered her personal code and returned the call. The image of a sleep-tousled mane of black hair and a pair of bleary eyes confirmed to Samantha that Miranda had been jolted out of her bed only a bit earlier. "Miranda. What's up?"

Miranda quickly shared with Shepard, along with Liara via the link, all she had been told by the matriarch just a short time ago. When she had finished, Miranda added, "Along with the data, Aethyta sent a copy of the recording she made of the informant's warning. I've analyzed her voice pattern using every different method I can think of and the only conclusion I can reach is that you and I both know this person's identity." She pinched her temples between the thumb and middle finger of her right hand for a moment, prompting Judea, who had been hovering in the background, to come up behind the Human and begin massaging her neck and shoulders.

Given that Miranda thought the information was urgent enough to drag her butt out of bed before 0500 hours, Shepard growled, "Gods be damned, Miri, just spit it out! Or don't I want to know?"

"No, you do not, because I am still having a difficult time believing she's changed the direction of her life," Miranda responded quietly, still hesitating to say the name aloud as she dropped her eyes to stare at the desktop.

Judea leaned down, placing her mouth next to Miranda's ear to whisper, "Let it go, _Amantia_. People can change... You did." Placing a gentle kiss on a suddenly flushed cheek, she stood back up and continued to massage a silent Miranda's neck and shoulders as she turned to Shepard. "Miri and I believe the person that sent the warning… was known as Maya Brooks."

Shepard sat in stunned silence for several moments, trying to make sense of what she'd just learned. When she finally found her voice, she croaked out, "You're sure… beyond any doubt?"

Miranda finally looked up to meet Shepard's gaze. "The voice-print matches records I have of her, but Shepard, here's the thing. Maya Brooks is simply... _gone_. As is Captain Channing and Hope Lilium... even Rasa. I've looked _everywhere_ ; after helping you on the Citadel, that woman simply disappeared... along with all of her aliases. Every last one that could be tied to her have been purged from every single database I know how to access. The woman no longer exists."

She paused to release a deep sigh and shook her head. "Even knowing her history and having the Broker records to verify her existence, I'm not sure we could convince anyone she ever actually existed. Of all things, the historical records were actually readjusted to the truth. A female named Brooks, given name unknown – who was working for the Shadow Broker in 2161 – died from a gunshot wound near the docks on an asteroid orbiting Themis, apparently at the hand of a child laborer named Maya. This child adopted the surname Brooks when she left the asteroid aboard Brooks' ship. I have absolutely no idea what new name… what new identity… the woman known to us as Maya Brooks has taken."

"Gods be damned, Miranda." Samantha was the one speaking, but both she and Liara were struggling to wrap their joined minds around the news. "A former top Cerberus assassin, a woman that damn near killed Aunt Karin during at attempt to kill me on the Citadel before eliminating Udina from the gene pool… has simply vanished into thin air? How can we trust she has honestly turned her life around… for the better? What if this is just some ploy to gain our trust? To get close to us?"

" _Miranda_ changed, Shepard… a transformation to which you were a witness. She managed to get away from Harper," Judea said softly. "Why is it so difficult to believe someone else could do the same? I saw Maya's face and heard her words at Sanctuary; it seems even back then our mystery woman had already started down the road to a change of heart... to redemption… long before she killed the Illusive Man on the Citadel." Judea bent down to place a kiss on Miranda's forehead. Looking at Shepard's image yet again, she added, "Even then, Maya was trying to get away from Cerberus… away from Jack Harper. And while neither you nor Miranda may be quite ready to give her a pass, on that day I was completely convinced of her sincerity."

"Okay." Shepard scrubbed her face with her hands before continuing, "Let's forget about Maya Brooks, or Rasa, for now. For whatever reason and whether or not we wish to trust the information, she's provided us with a warning concerning another potential attempt on Doctor T'Soni' life. I'll be damned if we ignore it and allow any harm to come to Liara."

Miranda nodded as she said, "I agree completely, Shepard, and we'll get everyone working on this. We won't rest until those responsible are dead."

"Get some sleep, Miranda… you as well, Judea. Thank you for calling me. Let me know if you uncover any more info."

"I will, Shepard," Miranda answered as she attempted to stifle a yawn. "Good luck on Horizon."

"I have a feeling the odds have been tilted much more in our favor… thank you… both of you."

Liara had entered the room and was standing beside Edi, out of view of the video pick-up, as the screen went to black at the end of the call. Shepard rose from the chair and turned toward them as she said, "Edi. We need to see what the ceremony venue on Horizon looks like before we arrive. I want the locations of potential sniper nests all around whatever stage they've set up – include any raised vantage points out to 10,000 meters."

Liara stood in mute silence as the AI responded, "It will be done immediately, Captain," before turning and leaving the office, headed toward the computer core behind the Med Bay.

Shepard opened her arms, inviting Liara to slip into their strong comfort. The Asari tucked in and whispered, "Who is doing this, Shepard? What have I ever done to them?"

"I don't know, Li, but you can be damned sure we're going to figure it out and end the threat." The Spectre wrapped her arms tightly around her _I_ _onúin Álainn_. "We've survived the Reapers. I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone take you from me now."

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

Councilor Valern was nervous as the others entered the room. The Krogan, Urdnot Jara, stared hard at the Salarian and her lip curled up in distaste as she concentrated on simply walking by and not throttling the skinny little Pyjak. Quentius had been shocked at the report and stalked into the temporary council room with his mandibles twitching in irritation. As the newest arrivals joined the others for their first session with the potential for a punitive decision before the Galactic Council, the mood was all-around somber and edgy. Once the entire group was assembled, Tevos stood and addressed the group.

"This special session was called at the behest of Ambassador Osoba and Spectre Shepard." She glanced around the table as she asked, "Is there anyone here who did _not_ receive and review the special packet from Spectre Shepard this morning?" The angry looks that passed around the table, mostly directed at Councilor Valern, did not go unnoticed, so she pressed on quickly. "Alright then; we all know why we are here. Ambassador Osoba?"

Osoba nodded in acceptance and stood slowly. "I admit, the Human race is a relative newcomer to the Council, but I cannot believe that such disrespect directed toward a Council Spectre – of any race – would be considered acceptable. That it has been so widespread throughout the Salarian homeworlds is a disgrace, both on the Council level toward one of our Spectres and on the personal level, toward one who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to ensure our victory over the Reapers." His gaze traveled the table, much as Tevos had done, as he now asked, "Is there anyone here who disagrees with that statement?"

Of course, Valern had to stand and offer a protest. "Please. It is not widespread through the Salarian populous... It is simply a voice of disapproval. The Dalatrasses against then Commander Shepard for her unreasoned curing of the Genophage..."

He didn't get to finish before Jara roared and stood, leaning menacingly over the table. "Unreasoned? You worthless Pyjak! You stole our females! You weren't searching for a cure... you were looking for ways to extend the Genophage, because your people knew our genetics were on the way to overcoming it... cure or no cure!"

Valern looked affronted and he rose to the challenge. "That is pure conjecture and categorically untrue!"

Din Korlack, the Volus representative, drew a deep breath through his respirator and chuckled. "Seriously, Valern? Do you honestly expect any of us to believe that? Dalatrass Linron offered Shepard a bribe to sabotage the cure once Mordin Solus created it. A cure is the last thing the Salarians wanted!"

"Enough." Tevos spoke the single word as Valern attempted to rebut Korlack's statement. As the table erupted into argument, the Asari stood and banged a flattened hand on the table, aided by a small biotic pulse. The effect was something akin to a small sonic boom traveling outward from the point of impact, certainly more than enough to ensure she recaptured everyone's attention. "I said _**enough**_!"

As the room settled and the surprised participants retook their seats, Tevos' voice was glacial as she glared at Valern. "It matters not if the Dalatrasses' actions are not the will or wish of the Salarian people. The behavior of those Dalatrasses alone, as the ruling heads of state representing the Salarian Union, toward a Spectre, as the legal representative of the Galactic Council, is grounds for punitive action."

As the enforcers of Galactic Law, the Turian Councilor, Quentius rose abruptly from his chair and took over. "Whether or not the infraction happened is not a matter of debate; the vid files produced by Captain Shepard and her crew are clear. The true question is what level of sanctions are we going to put in place against the Salarians... and for how long?"

"I told them this would happen." Valern melted into his seat, his shoulders slumped and head hung low. "I warned them that the Council was almost unanimous on this issue, and that Captain Shepard and the Normandy traveled with all of our blessings. They were simply too angry to listen." His head came up as he glanced imploringly around the table at his fellow councilors. "I place the Salarian Union at your mercy and ask only that you consider the effects that will cascade down through the general populations of the affected planets."

Tevos sighed into the suddenly quiet room. Facing Osoba, she began, "Ambassador. As the representative of the primary aggrieved party, have you reviewed the appropriate tables of recommended punitive actions regarding the various levels of injury?"

"I have, Councilor Tevos." The Human nodded and stood once again. "And I will state for the record that I agree with Valern... that these acts were not necessarily the will of the general Salarian public, but of a few disgruntled Dalatrass elites. Given that consideration, I will not seek the more... _severe_... punishments that are available in the appropriate category. Instead, I would be content with only two conditions." His gaze shifted to Valern. "First, I would ask that each of the subject Dalatrasses be made to pay one percent of their gross annual earnings over the next year, with a variance on the designated recipient. Instead of being paid directly to Spectre Shepard, she desires the money go to the Galactic Council's Orphaned Children's Fund."

"Does anyone have any questions or objections?" Met with silence, Tevos nodded and looked around the table. "Then it appears we are ready to vote on the first condition." Seeing as many of them had already discussed the issue and come to agreement before they ever entered the Council Chamber, it was no surprise when the first motion passed.

Impatient, Jara spoke as soon as the first vote was tallied. "And what of your second condition, Ambassador Osoba?"

Having sat down for the vote, Osoba drew a deep breath and stood up yet again. "I realize that not all of the Dalatrasses have committed the same actions as those of the few... but neither were their voices raised in protest against them. That failure, in and of itself, demonstrates an unacceptable level of tolerance, possibly even to the point of approval, of such blatant violations of civil rights and common decency. My second, and final, condition is a standard punishment for a major infraction of Galactic Civil Law... That the Salarian Union, for the period of one-half of the next solar year, based upon that of their homeworld, Pranas, and starting immediately at the conclusion of these proceedings, loses their right to cast _any and all_ votes regarding Council affairs on any issue, unless a new vote is taken – before that time expires – regarding their reinstatement as a voting member. My hope is that, if there is a 'next time,' they will be more apt to weigh in against such civil disobedience and disrespect... in order to correct their own, before intervention on the part of the entire Council becomes necessary."

Once more, Tevos asked, "Does anyone have any questions or objections?"

As a matter of course, Valern stood... but the words that came from his mouth surprised them all. "The silence tells me that everyone is ready to vote on this issue. This will likely be my last chance to speak before all of you, so I will take this opportunity to speak my conscience. I will not apologize for the actions of the Dalatrasses." He raised a hand to quiet the discontented rumblings around the table as he continued, "That is for them to either do themselves... or not. I, for one, am in agreement with the Council and would like to open the vote... with an 'aye,' in favor of the voting sanctions."

The entire room fell deathly quiet in their shock as the Salarian Councilor continued in the silence, "The circle of Dalatrasses currently holding the majority of the power throughout the Salarian Union have run roughshod over their citizens for the last decade, gaining wealth and influence on the backs of their populace. Perhaps this will provide the necessary spark to enable changes within the Union... and provide a new level of self-government by the Salarian people."


	53. A Few Deep Breaths

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

ANN - Alliance News Network

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **A Few Deep Breaths**

 **Thoreau Mesa, Intai'sei** **, Phoenix System**

The day had started earlier than it should have, when their sleep had been disturbed in the wee hours of morning – not by dreams of the ashen forest, but by a living, real-life nightmare – they had received a serious warning about a new LEAP assassination plot against Liara. It was only made worse when Shepard realized what else the 10th of October was – or, at least, should have been – a celebration of James Vega's birthday at the N7 school in Rio. It dawned on her as she made final preparations for her memorial speech to be delivered that afternoon.

Liara immediately reacted to the tumultuous thoughts coming through the link, shutting down the Broker terminal and walking calmly while suppressing the nearly overwhelming desire to run to the loft. She said nothing as she flew in through the hatch, simply moving through their private space and down the stairs to stand behind Shepard as the captain sat tensely at her desk. It was only then that the Asari spoke, as she placed her hands comfortingly on Samantha's shoulders. " _Siame_. I am so sorry. The day started out so crazy, I haven't thought about anything else." She paused as a tear rolled down her blue cheek. "James was a good soldier and an excellent friend... and I owe him my very life from that fateful day. I will _never_ forget his sacrifice."

Shepard carefully pushed her chair back and stood to turn and wrap her arms around the being who was the single-most important person to her in the entire galaxy. "I know, Liara... and I'll never be able to thank him for what he did that day. The best I can do is make sure his Uncle Emilio and Ann Bryson are taken care of for him. We owe him that much."

"Ann. Now there's someone who hasn't crossed my mind in a while. I wonder where she is." Liara breathed out a soft sigh. "That's an excellent idea, Shepard. I'll use the broker network to locate her and make sure she receives any research grants she requires... Or, perhaps she would allow the head of House T'Soni to sponsor her research directly. Maybe she would even be willing to work with us after you retire and I return to archaeology."

Shepard's face held a reserved smiled as Liara rambled on, before finally cutting her off with a kiss applied to beautiful blue lips. "Thank you for the visit, Liara, but I really need to get back to my speech." As she watched a shadow settle into Liara's normally bright eyes, the captain pulled her back into a hug. "Hey. You gonna be okay?"

Liara shivered and snuggled into Shepard's warm embrace. "Yes. It's just that... I would have been crushed by that Mako, Sam. James gave his life to save me… and Riana... and it's our responsibility to not squander the opportunities he has given us."

Wrapping her arms tighter around the Asari, Shepard whispered, "I know, Liara. I know."

* * *

Over the next couple of days following the memorial ceremony, which had gone refreshingly well, the colonial mayor, Todd Guldin, took them on an extended tour of the operational wind farms and geological research stations that dotted the arid planet. He was obviously proud of their accomplishments as he stated, "The wind technologies we have developed here lead the industry. Our efficiencies and levels of production are unmatched across the galaxy... We have proven that eezo is not the end-all and be-all of energy production. Wind, unlike eezo, is an unlimited resource."

The primary mission of one research station in particular, focusing on solar winds, grabbed Liara's attention. The lead scientist, Violette Dixon, was an energetic young woman who was obviously thrilled with the attention as she explained her life's work. "Every sun releases a stream of charged particles from its upper atmosphere. Obviously, the density of that stream changes... but a predictable, and therefore useable, stream exists in every system with a stable sun. Harnessed properly, that charge can be used to power small, unmanned craft throughout the galaxy."

"But the charge is negligible." Liara looked at the woman questioningly. "How is there enough power to do anything with it?"

The scientist's eyes lit up as she started the explanation, comparing it to sailing on Thessia's oceans, with the stream itself being equivalent to the ocean's tides while the charge could be harnessed like a tidal generator, but by static condensers instead, to power ultra-efficient electronic sensors. As the discussion became more technical, Shepard rolled her eyes and smiled at their guide. "Mayor Guldin. Care to take a walk outside?"

"Absolutely, Captain!" The man had a look of relief in his eyes as he answered. "And please, call me Todd. Nobody uses titles around here. For a scattered colony of roughly 150,000, we're all still pretty reliant on one another because of the harsh conditions... so we're all friends."

"In that case, drop the captain." She chuckled as she continued, "It's just Shepard; that's what most of my friends call me. Pretty much, it's only members of my family who call me by my given name of Samantha... or Sam."

Todd grinned. "Alright then, _Just Shepard_. Let's get out of here before my head explodes!"

They had been outside for almost a half-hour by the time Liara realized Shepard was no longer in the facility with her. She quietly excused herself and went on the hunt, stepping out of the geothermal-cooled building into Intai'sei's hot breeze and bright sunshine. It didn't take long for her to track down her _siame_ , as the terrain surrounding the facility was relatively barren except for the low-lying solar panels and the turbines that seemed to thrust themselves above the dunes to catch the wind.

When she first caught sight of the wandering pair, Liara's breath caught in her throat and she felt her heart jump in her chest. Shepard's athletic form was highlighted against a bright blue sky; she stood atop a dune as the waning sun, a distance off her left shoulder, cast an ethereal glow about her. The soldier's back was ram-rod straight as she faced into the wind, but her hands were tucked casually, palms out, in the back pockets of her pants as her loose-fitting, long sleeve, emerald shirt fluttered softly in the desert breeze while serving its simple purpose of protecting the Captain's sensitive skin from the sun.

A dreamy smile crossed the Asari's face and her expression softened as she simply stood and observed Samantha for a few moments, wanting to imprint the stunning vision firmly into her memory. _With all the chaos and danger swirling around us, somehow, she manages to appear relaxed and at peace. She is the eye of our hurricane... and her calm instills a faith that all will end well._

Shepard must have sensed her presence, for the captain suddenly turned her head and looked directly at the Asari, a warm, welcoming grin spreading across her lips. _{Hey, Blue. Join us?}_

Smiling shyly at being so obviously caught in her musings, Liara dropped her eyes to the ground and started her trek up the shifting sands to link up with the two humans at the crest of the dune.

* * *

 **T'Sere Shipyard, Thessia, Parnitha**

"Nobody flies with the test pilot." Judea frowned and stood on the landing with her arms crossed, unmoving and blocking the doorway to the new vessel. "That's standard safety protocol."

"Don't be so stubborn, Maiden Voni." Miranda scowled at her _amantia_ , continuing, "I'm an excellent pilot and these aren't the ship's initial trials, so the risk is minimal. I'm going with you." Her scowl transformed into a smirk, "Besides, if you honestly think I'm going to let you get away solo with this sexy machine, you've got another thing coming. I'm not leaving you alone with this gal... she just might steal your heart... and that's something I'm simply not going to give up on without a fight."

The firm expression on Judea's face cracked and she couldn't stop the smile that crept onto the corners of her lips. Conceding the point, she rolled her eyes and huffed, "Alright. Fine, you can come... but she's my ship... and if I say jump, you jump."

Judea took a step back from the doorway, allowing Miranda entrance, and the Human kissed her gently on the cheek as she passed by, followed immediately with a whispered, "Aye aye, Captain."

Once they were underway, Judea flew the ship through the standard paces before Miranda commented softly, "She flies like a dream, Babe. You did well."

Judea glanced over and smiled as she tipped the yoke, taking the ship through a slow, graceful roll. "Ready to break atmo and test the FTL initialization?" She brought them back to level flight as she continued, "On the last test, the transition was a bit jumpy. I made some adjustments to the thrust conversion rates, so I'm hoping it's been smoothed out."

"How jumpy are we talking?" Miranda cocked an eyebrow as she tightened her harness straps.

Laughing, Judea smiled and answered, "Not _that_ jumpy." She made the call to T'Sere control and plugged in the coordinates to Janiri. When Miranda questioned the location, the Asari shrugged easily. "With the time of year, it's actually the closest planet to us and her magnetic field is a great place to dump any static buildup from the trip... especially since we'll just turn around and jump right back to Thessia." She paused a moment and her tone became more thoughtful, almost reverent, when she continued, "The armada used the planet for the exact same thing during the war; it allowed much quicker turn-arounds on their hit-and-run attacks against the Reapers... at least until the damned machines figured out what we were doing, anyway. Then, they stationed three Reaper destroyers in Janiri's orbit... and that was the end of that."

Miranda released her harness and stood from the copilot's chair to walk over and place a gentle hand on Judea's shoulder. "How long is the flight?"

"Couple of hours. Plenty of time to run the system diagnostics, maybe even with a little bit of slack time somewhere in the middle." As Miranda's hand stroked slowly upward on the shoulder, Judea felt a tiny tremor of anticipation course through her body. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I think you... _we_... need to test the autopilot VI."

"That system was validated and passed during the second test series. We don't..." Judea stopped speaking, almost choking on her words as she let out a low moan. Miranda had leaned down and gently grabbed a neck fold between her teeth, running a warm tongue teasingly along its ridge. "Goddess," Judea whispered. "That is positively, not even remotely, fair, Miranda Lawson. My hands are a tad busy; I have no way to defend myself."

She felt the woman's hot breath against her neck as Miranda whispered, "You need to activate the autopilot, Jude, because I swear to you... in another ten seconds you're not going to be able to concentrate on much of anything, much less flying a spacecraft as advanced as this one."

* * *

Arriving back at the shipyard later that afternoon, Judea and Miranda were giggling as they repacked the emergency supply kit. Judea grinned wickedly. "I can't believe you busted the kit open just so we could use the blanket!"

"We needed something between us and that scratchy new mattress... and you didn't have any better ideas. What else were we going to use?" Miranda quirked an eyebrow at the Asari, Judea's face still a bit flush from their activities. "Maybe next time, you'll make sure your ship is better equipped."

Judea threw her head back in laughter. "Goddess, Miranda! You have to admit, that is _not_ standard protocol for a test flight. Testing the spacecraft is one thing... testing the reflexes of the pilot is normally done under very different conditions!"

Miranda stuffed the final pack of rations back into the emergency supply box and snapped the lid closed before turning to the Asari at her side. Wrapping her in a loving embrace, Miranda whispered quietly, "We haven't exactly spent a lot of time together lately, Jude. Between you running the final engineering installs on our soon-to-be new ship and me digging up all I can on LEAP, I've felt a bit... detached... and I haven't liked it." She used a forefinger to gently trace the tattoo lines on the face of her _amantia_ as she said, "I've missed you."

"And I, you. I've missed your touch." Judea closed her golden eyes and sighed in contentment. "And judging from both of our reactions, we must have needed this." Her eyes opened again at the sound of the hatch chime. "But, it seems, duty calls and the day must go on." She pulled back, one hand trailing teasingly down Miranda's arm, unwilling to break all contact any sooner than absolutely necessary. "I love you, Miranda Lawson."

Miranda smirked, "I know," before grabbing the emergency kit and stowing it away in the closet. They walked, hand-in-hand, back to the midsection of the ship to open the entry hatch, just as it began to chime multiple times, the person outside obviously getting impatient.

* * *

 **Talat, Sur'Kesh** **, Pranas System**

"This is completely unacceptable! Shepard wields too much influence if she can get us sanctioned so easily!" Linron was livid as she practically shouted her words across the circular table. "And Valern? He is totally worthless to us; something must be done!"

Each of the ten Union district representatives was agitated for one reason or another and the Linron cronies were happy to add their opinions to the discussion. Their comments ranged from blaming the weak will of Valern and his inability to stand up to the other councilors to the Human devil who would so willingly shove the entire galaxy down the path toward disaster. Dalatrass Guraron practically growled, "Shepard will be the end of us all, releasing the uncontrollable blood rage of the Krogan onto the galaxy! The Humans don't truly understand the severity of their action... They did not live through what happened before and are impetuous as a rule... Shepard, in particular, ignored your warnings and must be made to account for her reckless actions!"

One on the opposite side of the issue, Jaralla Gurji, eventually spoke, her voice as cold as Noverian glacial ice. "You dare call Shepard impetuous? It was your impatient need to enact revenge for your loss of face that has caused this, not Shepard's decision to cure the Genophage! Even if we agree with you, which I am not saying is necessarily the case, we could have approached the problem quietly, as is generally our way. Instead, your open rebellion has put all of us unwillingly into the spotlight! You had best hope no one else decides to take action, for if they do, your impulsiveness will lead to us being the first ones accused!"

The polarizing debate lasted for another half-hour before one of the more senior members finally stood up in aggravation. "Enough of this useless squabbling! You all sound like a group of Vorcha in a blood pit! Where is your reason?" Kirova Esheel shook her head in disgust. "You should all be embarrassed... and if you are not, I am embarrassed enough for all of you, listening to you bicker amongst yourselves like hatchlings!"

Linron stood up, glaring at her detractor. "You have been quiet the entire morning; from that, I assume you desire to simply accept such treatment from Shepard and the Council, unchallenged. Do you hold an opinion on the matter, or are you simply concerned for your reputation?"

"I do have an opinion... and it most certainly does not agree with yours." Esheel's hooded eyes narrowed even more. " _You_ are the one who should have been quiet, instead of confronting the current darling of the galaxy in such a public spectacle!"

"Shepard is an illness that cannot be allowed to spread!" Linron huffed before continuing, "I'll not let her taint our homeworlds with her poisonous politics."

"Poison?" Esheel looked at the current chair of the Salarian Union Leadership Circle in utter astonishment. "Every world Shepard has set foot on has made incredible leaps in their recovery speed. She has either brought all the necessary building blocks upon her arrival or ensured they would arrive within a week of her departure; blocks for housing, water purification, disease control... The planets she has visited are out-building us in the areas of reconstruction by at least three to one! If you call that poison, I guess I'll be dead the day after she visits Mannovai... because when she arrives... _if_ she arrives at Mannovai, thanks to you... I'll be drinking anything she cares to offer!"

"Watch your tone, Dalatrass Esheel, before you find yourself without position. I lead the Salarian Union and will not be talked to in such a manner!"

"Since when?" Esheel snorted with derisive laughter. "You _chair_ the Dalatrass Circle, Linron... and such political posturing as what you took against Shepard should have come to a vote, not been decided unilaterally... and then acted upon as you did. You do not dictate Salarian policy to any of us, and come a time when you honestly believe you hold such authority, you can expect there to be serious words between us."

* * *

 **Discovery,** **Horizon, Iera System**

Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Falk stepped through the outer hatch of the Alliance heavy corvette that had brought him – along with a large contingent of Marines – from their base in London. Falk, after seeing some rather disturbing intel concerning Captain Shepard's visit to the planet, had taken a week of leave in order to catch this flight and be on the ground a day before the Normandy's arrival; after what had happened during the ceremony in Vancouver, he was damned if he was going to miss _this_ ceremony, or miss a chance to spend time with the loveliest Spectre he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. As Horizon was only a one-relay jump from the Sol System, it was a relatively short flight before and after the relay transit, and he fully intended to be standing outside the Normandy's ramp when Shepard and Liara were followed off the ship by his raven-haired beauty.

The extra Marine contingent had deployed on Hackett's orders; after the events they had already experienced, the Admiral was taking no chances once he got wind of the warning... no matter the source. Falk, however, was just along for the ride and his real purpose for being here, of course, was unrelated to Shepard's official visit; he intended to have a visit of his own – an exceedingly intimate visit, if he could arrange it – with the other Human Spectre on the frigate, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams. That she was not aware he would be waiting for her would make the surprise that much sweeter. He had only been able to see her briefly in Vancouver, as she had been tasked with leading the squad to track down and capture or kill the person that had attempted to kill Liara T'Soni; injuries she had sustained during the mission had put her in the Normandy's Med Bay overnight, meaning their meeting in Rio had been their last intimate encounter.

Hefting his shoulder bag with one arm, he picked up his duffle bag with the other and started walking towards 'officer's country', a small warren of one and two-bedroom apartments placed like an upside down 'L' near one side of the space ship docks; Falk had been assured all of the available places were clean and relatively soundproofed. The unit assigned to Falk was a two-bedroom, one-bath unit with a small sitting area adjacent to an equally small kitchen; he was fully expecting to have no need of the second bedroom, even if he _was_ fortunate enough to have a guest stay over for one or two nights. After a quick inspection of the place, he dropped his bags on the couch and left, intent on inspecting the venue chosen by the colonial governor for the welcome ceremony.

As expected, the stage was a temporary affair, set up to allow the gathered populous to see and hear Captain Shepard and members of her crew. As a member of the British Marines, Falk was allowed into areas restricted to the general public; he used the access to look for easily usable exit paths, should something happen during the ceremony. _Damn. I'm getting paranoid – been hanging around these bloody Yanks too long._ He knew that wasn't a fair assessment, but being fair or not didn't change his feeling that something – though he didn't know what or when – was likely to happen when least expected tomorrow.

He climbed up on the stage and walked to the center. Looking around, he realized just how exposed the team from the Normandy would be. With his eye for detail, he easily identified at least five locations where a shooter could get a clean shot; they varied in distance from roughly 300 to 1500 meters. If the sniper was an exceptionally good one and could extend that range out to a three or four thousand meters, that increased the potential platforms from five to a dozen. That many strike points would be extremely difficult to monitor, and Falk found himself wondering just how many teams Hackett had actually deployed.

The colonial defense force could probably cover at least six, the additional Marines... another three. That left at least three locations unmonitored and a very nervous flutter in the pit of Falk's belly. _I know Shepard has to be prepared for this. Asari commandos would be way too noticeable in a Human colony... Damn, but I hate not knowing the plan... not with Ashley smack dab in the middle of it all!_

Realizing he had absolutely no pathways available before him to assist with the situation, at least at the moment, he retreated from the stage and began making his way back to the residential area. _It's Liara who's at risk; there's not a chance in Hell Shepard won't do everything in her power to insure her safety, so I simply have to trust her._ He stopped at a small bar and grill and had a quick meal before returning to his apartment to go to bed. He hoped tomorrow would go smoothly.

* * *

 **Destiny Ascension, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

"Valern."

The face that appeared on the vid screen was not the one he expected, but she did not speak his title of councilor, so he assumed the worst. "So. Dalatrass Linron has you doing her dirty work these days? That surprises me."

"Hardly," Esheel growled. "That Dalatrass has taken a step too large and her balance is teetering dangerously." An evil smile replaced the scowl as she continued, "I would like to be the one to provide the final little push needed to send her over the brink." Esheel chuckled at the expression on the councilor's face.

"What, exactly, do you mean by that statement, Esheel?"

"Oh, come now. You're smarter than the rest of them give you credit for, Linas. You don't honestly need me to tell you." Esheel cocked her head. "But, perhaps, you need to hear me say it out loud so you know I'm not bluffing."

"That would be a relatively accurate statement." Valern flashed a smile. "Though, I would understand, should you not desire to commit yourself to any particular path at the moment."

"Of course I'm committed... but I'm not yet confident that you are." Her eyes narrowed as she continued, "So, assuming we both know what I'm talking about, would you be with me?"

"That is a distinct possibility. Shepard actually admitted to trusting me, which is more than I can say about Linron and her assemblage of revolutionaries. It astounds me how they do not realize we cannot afford another war immediately following what the galaxy just went through. Their timing, even if I did agree with them, which I do not, could not be any worse."

"That's... excellent." She flashed a smile. "Perhaps, when this is all done, a breeding contract can be negotiated, solidifying our familial ties. Would that be sufficient payment for your upcoming services?"

Valern immediately understood that Esheel's phrase 'when this was all done' was a misstatement, because the negotiations had just commenced. As such, he spoke very matter-of-fact. "Perhaps, but I would need to know exactly what services we are talking about before I could agree, or disagree, with that statement. All the facts are not yet in evidence."

Esheel laughed abruptly. "Of course. I need your family and allies on Sur'Kesh to speak as you have; to stir dissent. I have others doing the same on other worlds. I realize it is risky to those doing so, but I need Linron and her supporters to react badly, as I am sure they will. When they do, we will unanimously call for a vote of no confidence."

"On all the planets? Simultaneously?" Eyes wide, Valern continued, "And what will you be doing while our people risk retribution?"

"I will be building a political coalition to ensure, when the vote comes, that we win." Esheel blinked a couple of times. "And you, personally, will be speaking quietly with Shepard, the STG, the Salarian ambassadors and military attachés... to gain their support and encourage them to also speak out. I am confident you will succeed in your endeavors."

Valern nodded and queried, "Timeline?"

"Starting immediately, Linas. Are we agreed?"

Valern crossed his arms and he scowled. "This will be a terminal blow to the Linron line. She will not only lose her position, but the stature and breeding contracts that go along with it. Others will be quick to realign... I would expect the Valern line to take a first position."

"A _primary_ position, but third." She saw his scowl deepen so hastened to explain, "I have Dalatrasses Baon and Gurji already aligned with me, and I know you comprehend the importance of Line Esheel having a close association with their families. You must also realize that even in third position... the Valern line will be in excellent standing if you end up first in line following such esteemed company." His expression brightened significantly with her argument, so she asked again, "Are we agreed?"

Grinning, Linas Valern replied with one word before terminating the connection. "Absolutely."

* * *

 **Discovery, Horizon** **, Iera System**

The second team deployed, the captain of the squad giving the orders to separate and mix into the crowds, each to find their own, unplanned route to their rendezvous point. "Our success depends entirely on you being unobserved and unrecognized. Avoid anyone who may know you and do not draw attention to yourselves... but be on time! We can't screw this up."

The team members, all dressed in various types of apparel and none in a uniform of any kind, grabbed their gear bags and slowly spread out. Even if their unplanned routes crossed while they navigated the city, they would not acknowledge one another. They all had their own fabricated background story with their own fake final destination. Some were pretending to be tradesmen looking for a place to lay their head while they hunted for employment, others acting as refugees simply killing time while waiting for the next flight toward their home planet.

Above all, they had studied and memorized every street and alley between them and their destination... and then between them and the location of their designated target... and _then_ between their target and their extraction point. Multiple attempts on Dr Liara T'Soni had already been made, ranging from simply trying to scare her off, to kidnapping, to outright assassination. None had yet been successful but, eventually, someone was bound to get lucky.

The new arrivals knew the first infiltration team had arrived the afternoon prior. First Team had their own rendezvous point, but the same mission and all the same rules. However, before _either_ of the teams had deployed, an operational analysis team had worked diligently to study the city for the best sniper placement locations in the city, based on the precise position of the speaking platform. The criteria were strict with multiple factors playing into the final chosen locations. The last assassination attempt had gathered a lot of attention, the sniper had been caught, killed and identified, and then some bastard had somehow pinpointed the organization in a very public format; ANN – the Alliance News Network. Because of that, this operation had to be exquisitely planned down to the finest detail. Everyone involved had to be much more careful to ensure the objective was met and, preferably, they all got out alive.

Potential ingress and egress routes had to be identified, with multiple points of diversion in case a path became blocked. It was essential that every member on the team knew the plan. Those monitoring the security channel chatter had to be prepared to reroute the team members on a moment's notice... and the team had to be prepared to react, trusting the information coming to them and acting on it without hesitation. There was also the planned communications frequency variation; once a message went out, all comm systems immediately tuned to the next frequency in the set, automatically. That way, if someone outside the team inadvertently intercepted a communiqué, it would be the _only_ one they intercepted. They wouldn't be able to listen for additional messages and back-trace the signals.

Timelines were very strict. You made your extraction point... on target, on time... or moved to a designated safe-house. In that case, a new set of orders took effect, because none were expendable and none would be left behind. Each person had their own safe-zone and no one knew the others. Person-specific information was provided in a sealed envelope, only to be opened as a last resort. If anyone got captured and gave in, they could not, even if they wanted to, provide the location of any of the other safe-houses.

The Normandy had arrived during the morning rush, just as they had, and the Memorial Ceremony was scheduled for 1500 hrs. They had just over five hours to be in place and to be ready. Failure was not an option.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Horizon** **, Iera System**

Shepard was unusually silent as she double and triple-checked Liara's armor fastenings. Liara finally reached up and wrapped a busy hand in her own. " _Siame_. It's fine."

Concerned greens met hers as Shepard let out a long breath. "Gods, I hope so, Liara. I'm still tempted to make you stay aboard."

"We already had that discussion, Shepard, multiple times... and I haven't changed my mind. If we are going to draw them out to show themselves, they need to have their target. If they don't, they may just shoot you, instead, as a secondary... and I've already informed you in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt." She squeezed the warm hand she held in her own. "Whatever we do, we do together. Remember?"

"I know, Liara... it's just..." Her voice faded to nothing as she looked imploringly into the Asari's clear blue eyes but saw nothing but steely resolve. With a deep sigh, she shook her head lightly and said, "I love you, _Mo cheann geallta_ , and I love your courage... but I will forever hate myself for having turned you into a soldier."

Liara's eyes took on a little bit of a glassy shine and she smiled softly. "You never forced me to do so, Samantha. The combination of circumstances that have brought us to this point in time have created multiple chances for me to choose a different path. At each of those points, I chose to follow you, to find you... to love you. For who you are and for who _we_ are... together. No matter what happens today, I wouldn't change any of it. I'd do it all again, just to spend whatever time I have with you. No regrets."

Shepard's free hand gently stroked Liara's cheek and she leaned in, placing a kiss upon welcoming blue lips. "Agreed. No regrets... but let me make this perfectly clear; you are _not_ allowed to die on me today. We still have a squad of blue babies to raise."

They laughed together at the now familiar joke between them, about Shepard wanting their family to be a squad of six. As the tension relaxed slowly into a soldier's confident ease, Shepard pulled away, immediately regretting the necessity of the separation as she started to move toward the hatch. "Come on. They're waiting on us down in the hangar bay."

* * *

When Shepard and Liara arrived at the top of the ramp, the entire ground crew was ready and waiting. No one had wasted any time on comfort; they were all locked and loaded, ready for anything that may come their way. Shepard looked them over before saying, "You do realize Hackett has sent us an extra three squads of Marines to ensure our safety, right?"

"Sure thing, Skipper." Ashley grinned at the Captain as she continued, "But their asses aren't going to be standing on the stage... directly behind the primary targets. What the Hell are we supposed to do when those damned wanna-be assassins miss? Blow 'em a kiss?"

Chuckling, Shepard smiled. "Well, they'll be a bit far away for you to be simply lobbing those grenades you have hanging on your belt into the crowd."

"Maybe so, Captain." Sarah Campbell's voice was deadly serious as she responded. "But we sure as Hell can use 'em if we get the jackasses cornered and they're too heavily protected for us to make a frontal assault."

A quiet snort from her side grabbed Shepard's attention. "You think that's funny, T'Soni?" Looking over at the face of her promised, Shepard couldn't help but grin along with the Asari. "Alright, you win; you can keep the grenades." She turned her head to focus on the exit. "Go ahead and drop the ramp, Steve. We have a welcoming committee to visit."

Cortez saluted and quickly punched the entry code into the control terminal. "Be careful out there. I don't want any last minute shuttle scrambles to get anyone to the Med Bay."

"I'll second that, Lieutenant." The concern was visible on the face of Doctor Chakwas as she waved them all on. "Go. Get it done and don't bring me any extra work for a change!"

As they descended the ramp, a government vehicle pulled up quickly at the end of the dock. A gray-haired man with bright brown eyes sprang from the vehicle and walked quickly to join the small crowd already assembled, awaiting the crew's arrival. As the Captain reached the bottom of the ramp, the new arrival took a step forward and stuck out his hand. "Irvin Rehmer, Colonial Governor. Welcome to Horizon, Captain Shepard."


	54. Perfect Targets

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Perfect Targets**

 _ **Aletheia**_ **,** **Horizon Orbit** **, Iera System**

"I want the sensor sensitivities bumped to maximum... and I don't care if we are seen by anyone. It's easy enough to explain that we are monitoring the safety of the leader of House T'Soni should someone question us." It had been a hectic three days, relocating so quickly from Thessia to Horizon. Everything that happened during their time on Thessia was pushed to the back of her mind as Miranda stared at the Broker system display, her eyes darting from one data bit to the next.

Back at the shipyard, Sellis Boni had come knocking as soon as the engines had shut down after the latest test flight, telling the two-some that Shepard had called to request their immediate support on Horizon. There was no question as to whether or not the _Aletheia_ would show up for the ceremony; it was a simple matter of getting the test results reported for T'Sere Shipwrights to make final adjustments to the new ship and getting underway.

They arrived in Iera without much time to spare and were parked in a rather low geosynchronous orbit above Discovery, collecting and monitoring the feeds from every camera and security communications system they could tap into; one by one, they were all being fed into the Shadow Broker systems with key word identifiers established. Anything that tripped a sensor popped up immediately on the display... with the keyword, time and location all identified.

Everything they were receiving was also tied into the Normandy's Broker feed which, for the operation at hand, had been routed into the War Room display console – to which Samantha Traynor was devoting every bit of her attention. They very much doubted anything would happen during the brief formal welcome, but this was serving as a dry run for the memorial ceremony occurring later in the day, approximately six hours hence. This was their one and only chance to fine tune the process and eliminate any system glitches or problems with the keyword assignments before the main operation. The possibility certainly existed that there would be no second chance if they missed something important.

Traynor sighed in relief as the system performed perfectly, the events popping up in the holo display with minimal time lag between detection and appearance aboard the Normandy. "The feed is clear and fast, _Aletheia_. Time lag is averaging less than two seconds. Edi's connection streamlining is working wonders."

Edi came online; her voice sounded off... concerned... as she spoke. "It is fast, but at great risk to our system security. If someone is actively seeking, it could open the Broker Network to a significant breech."

"It's never been done, so we'll get away with it," Miranda responded confidently. "Once. But I agree with you, Edi. We'll have to spend some time on the system architecture if we want to repeat this process again. Next time, the perpetrator – whoever it is – will come prepared to look for us."

"Do not mistake my comments for disapproval, Miranda." Edi's voice was once again confident. "Given the circumstances, I agree it is an acceptable risk. I was merely reminding all involved to take extra care at monitoring for potential intrusions."

"I'm on it, Edi." Traynor sounded smug. "I have already recalibrated the internal system detectors to their highest capable sensitivity level – it's not very efficient under normal conditions – but for short duration, focused operations such as this, it's wonderful. I've also activated every external short-range jamming system on the Normandy's hull." She chuckled lightly as she finished, "If someone tries listening in to anything we are transmitting, we will know immediately... and the blast they get on the outside will quickly identify the location of the snooper, so we'll have a chance to identify and intercept them."

"Let me look." Edi paused for a moment before coming back on comms. "This is why I recommended to Shepard that she keep you aboard, Specialist. You do excellent work."

"Thank you, Edi." Traynor grinned as she refocused on the display before her. Once this was all over, she'd have a couple of days to visit her parents... assuming it all ended well. It was a very short hop to their next stop at Ontarom; with the follow-on visit to the next Salarian colony already cancelled, the Normandy crew had a bit of additional free time in their schedule. They planned on spending those extra days on Horizon... to follow-up on whatever today's events brought to light. The entire Broker team would most likely be extremely busy, but Samantha hoped that at some point during their unplanned extended stay, she would be able to introduce Riana to her family.

* * *

 **Discovery, Horizon** **, Iera System**

Andreas rose early in anticipation of all that was supposed to happen over the course of the day. He got up, dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt, and went for a run before showering and getting dressed in his uniform. He glanced at his chrono and smiled, realizing he still had plenty of time for a good, hearty breakfast before heading toward the docks; the Normandy was due to touch down at 0900 hours, and he'd never known her to be late.

As he processed through security, he saw the Normandy break over the tree line on the horizon. As a wide smile spread over Falk's face, the security officer glanced in the direction he was looking and nodded. "Beautiful thing, ain't she, Colonel?"

Falk chuckled as the man handed him back his bag and waved him through. "You have no idea, officer."

Making his way through the crowd, he moved into the space reserved for active duty personnel. The very first thing he noticed was the cordon area was much larger than at any of the other welcome ceremonies he had either attended or watched on the service news channel... further, it was directly in front of the Normandy instead of off to one side. What was more amazing yet was the dearth of any empty seats in the section – and every soldier and sailor present was in combat gear with a sidearm at a minimum. _You sly devil!_

He wasn't sure who he was thinking of, because it depended on if the idea came from Shepard or Admiral Hackett... or even the colonial governor, but it didn't matter. The effect was a wall of at least fifty trained protectors between those disembarking from the ship and those in the audience... or beyond, should something go awry this early in the Normandy's tour stop. He immediately wondered if the same style cordon had been set up in front of the ceremony stage since he had stopped in the day before.

Falk watched in eager anticipation as the Normandy landed and the ramp began to open; a government staff car careened in from somewhere off to the side and screeched to a halt, a spry middle-aged man jumping from the vehicle and walking... almost trotting... to the reception area. As Shepard and her entourage reached the bottom of the ramp, the man offered his hand as he identified himself. "Irvin Rehmer, Colonial Governor. Welcome to Horizon, Captain Shepard."

Falk continued to watch as Shepard smiled and took the governor's hand, pumping it in greeting before introducing her team. Falk couldn't help but grin as Spectre Ashley Williams was introduced; she had yet to notice he was standing in the audience. Andreas almost had to pinch himself whenever he was within visual range of the raven-haired beauty; that Ashley had declared her love for him was nearly beyond belief.

Falk knew there'd be about four hours between the initial greetings and the actual ceremony; he feared the necessity for an increased security presence here might preclude him getting any 'alone' time with Ashley before then. He waited impatiently until all the introductions were complete before approaching the reception area. His half-hearted attempt to blend in with the cordon of security forces arrayed around the lip of the Normandy's hanger deck ramp proved futile… Ashley was apparently studying everything around her for any threats to Shepard or Liara. He noticed her gaze pass over him once without registering – she wasn't expecting to see Falk standing in the crowd – but as she glanced in his direction once more, he knew without a doubt he had been discovered; her face, all business before – every bit the embodiment of a former Marine Gunnery Sergeant – slowly broke into a shy smile of recognition, a very subtle acknowledgement that she was aware of his presence.

Ashley was on duty; she would sooner die than break with protocol to rush over to throw her arms around the man she loved. She looked to Shepard, who was about to climb into the vehicle with the colonial governor for the ride to his offices for a pre-ceremony meeting. She watched in fascination as Falk took the initiative to approach Shepard before the Captain could enter the car to leave.

"Captain Shepard… a moment, please?"

Samantha turned at the familiar voice to immediately recognize Falk. Offering her hand, she said, "Lieutenant Colonel… a pleasure, and a surprise, to see you here."

Taking her hand, he pumped it once as he said, "The pleasure is all mine, Captain." He paused as he glanced at Ashley before continuing in a low voice, meant for Shepard's ears only. "I'm not part of any official response to the possible threat to the safety of certain members of your group, Captain. That said, you can obviously count on me to do whatever you need me to do, should the need arise."

Shepard smiled back at the man as she replied, "Thank you, Colonel. I appreciate the offer, but…" she had seen his quick glance at Ash and could guess exactly why he was here. "… you really came here to see the other Spectre aboard the Normandy." Without waiting for confirmation, she looked directly at Ashley and spoke a bit louder, "Spectre Williams."

Ashley quickly walked over to stand in front of Shepard. "Ma'am?"

With a smile, she said, "Williams, you're relieved of duty until 1400 local, when you will report to the Normandy for final team preparations before the memorial ceremony. In the meantime, you are free to spend time with Colonel Falk, whether it's to see the sights, sample the local cuisine, or simply… visit with him. Understood?"

Ashley had a difficult time keeping a straight expression as she replied, "Aye-aye, Ma'am."

Shepard looked at Falk and, trademark lopsided grin firmly in place, asked, "Does that meet with your approval, Lieutenant Colonel?"

Andreas grinned as he replied, "Yes, Ma'am. That's very kind of you, Ma'am."

Shepard grinned at the pair as she said, "Carry on, then," and slipped into the waiting vehicle.

Falk offered a hand to Ashley as he asked, "Okay, Spectre Williams. Where should we go first?"

* * *

Andreas was literally over the moon; he was being accompanied by the prettiest woman he had ever known, and she had been given leave to stay with him until she had to report back to the Normandy at 1400 local. They made small talk as they casually made their way to the British officers' apartments near the spaceport. Neither of them had made any attempt to perform a PDA – public display of affection – as both of them felt any such display while in uniform would appear unprofessional, and Ashley didn't want to inadvertently make Andreas a potential target by showing prospective assassins how much she loved him. As far as the populace of Discovery was concerned, they appeared to be a pair of professional military people – maybe even brother and sister. They walked side-by-side, but with space between them – certainly not as close together as might be expected of a young couple in love.

That all changed once they arrived at Falk's temporary quarters; upon unlocking and opening the door, he waved her in ahead of him; after closing a locking the entry hatch, a pair of ravenous lips pressed hard against his as her arms encircled his body. Pulling back for a moment, she breathed, "My God, Andreas, I have missed you so much!" She quickly pressed her lips to his again in a deep, sensual kiss, to which he responded in kind, their tongues jousting for dominance; he nibbled on the tip of her tongue, forcing her to open her mouth slightly against his in seeming surrender. Withdrawing her tongue, she gently grabbed his lower lip between her teeth and pulled slightly before letting go. Separating to take a quick breath, she swallowed and said, "So, we can either stay in here and ravish each other, or we can go get lunch and return to ravish each other, or…"

Keeping one hand on her back, Andreas snaked his hand up between them to place a finger vertically across sensual lips. "We can always eat later, my Love. It's been a long time since Rio… why don't you let me see your ribs, make sure you healed properly?"

"Is that the only part of me you'd like to inspect, Andreas?" she replied in a snarky tone.

He looked down meaningfully at her chest and said, "Actually, I'd like to inspect the entire package."

Ashley's grin was pointedly wicked as she released him and backed away. "I wouldn't say no to some assistance with this armor, Sir."

Falk's grin was that of a naughty boy. "Now _that_ is something I know I can do – but no promises about getting it all back on correctly."

Ashley giggled as she reached for his hands; taking them in hers, she backed into a bedroom. "You let me worry about that…"

* * *

Ashley stretched in a sensuous display of contentment, one long leg thrown over the tops of Falk's thighs; she was enjoying the feel of his bare skin against hers. She trailed little kisses from his cheek, down his neck and onto his chest, finally stopping at his left nipple, which she teased to full erection with the tip of her tongue. Laying her head in the middle of his chest, she looked up at him and whispered, "I could really get used to this, Andreas. I missed… us… when I was in Vancouver… damned Briggs and her body-bomb."

"I was sorry to have missed us as well, but you had a job to do…" he paused to raise his head; after checking the bedside chrono, he observed, "And you have a job to do this afternoon."

She got to her knees and straddled his hips; leaning over, she made sure to gently rub her nipples on his chest as she reached down to kiss him. "We still have about ninety minutes." She wiggled her butt back and forth across his hips until she felt a growing arousal.

"Oh, you don't play fair, Spectre Williams," he protested. "Not fair at all!" He could feel her moist center rubbing across his now rigid shaft; she reached down between their her thighs and used her hand to guide him into her tight depths. "Damn…" he grunted. "You don't mess around."

Rocking her hips in a slow, rhythmic motion, she replied in an increasingly breathless voice, "No, I don't. I love you, Andreas." Pressing her breasts against his chest, she used her mouth to devour him as she continued to ride his rigid flesh.

Replying, "I love you, Ashley," he stroked her sides with the palms of his hands. Pausing at her armpits, he pushed her up slightly; palming the ripe flesh of her bosom, he gently pushed, to which she obliged him by raising her torso. She supported herself with her hands placed on his shoulders alongside his neck while he continued to massage her breasts; she began softly moaning as the pleasure in her core continued to build. Closing her eyes, she allowed her head to hang, raven hair falling in a cascade of sweet perfume across Falk's face. Her entire focus contracted to the moist flesh of her core as she continued her slow, steady motion. Feeling her deepest recesses contracting in anticipation, she opened her eyes, looked into Falk's and cried out as her overheated core climaxed in an explosion of damp satisfaction.

Andreas quickly grabbed both sides of her ass and pressed her down as he arched his back and pressed his hips upwards, burying his aching organ deep inside as he filled her with his essence. As the spasms tapered off, he finally relaxed, his need once again sated. Whispering into the tousled hair on his face, he said, "That… was simply a slice of heaven. I love you, Ashley."

The hair moved, enough to reveal a face, flushed with the afterglow of pleasure. "I love you too, Andreas… and damn, but I don't want to do anything now but lie here on top of you."

"We have time to take a shower… there's even room for both of us in there. It'll be fun!"

Reluctantly pushing herself up, she dismounted him and got to her feet. Feeling slick moisture beginning to slide down the inside of her thighs, she cupped a hand over her sex and walked to the bathroom, where she turned the water on and stepped into the shower. "Come on," she called. "I need you to scrub my back."

* * *

After an invigorating shower with Andreas, in which she had played in the falling water like a big kid, Ashley felt completely satisfied with her visit to Horizon. Of course, the day was still young, but she felt alive once again; making love to Andreas after such a long interval was as a drink of water to a person dying of thirst.

Falk had borrowed an aircar from someone at the base; he drove Ashley out to the Normandy's berth in plenty of time for her 1400 meeting to go over final preparations for the ceremony. Falk parked beside the main ramp and got out of the aircar to assist Ashley. "I had a wonderful time Andreas. If everything here stays calm – no bad guys to chase, perhaps we can get together tonight, or tomorrow? I would love to spend more time with you."

Falk didn't have to guess what the passionate Spectre wanted to do with their time together; the expression on her face told him everything he needed to know. "Ashley… I'd like that… a lot. I _do_ have the time, so call me. I'll take you shopping. I'd like to see what you look like in clothes that weren't meant to be worn under ceramic plates. Maybe some frilly dresses?"

Ashley laughed at that. "You just want me in clothes that come off easier than my armor."

Falk reached around her waist, hugged her and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I'll be in the audience if you need me, okay? Don't forget…" He backed away from her a step before turning, reluctantly, to reenter the aircar and return to his temporary apartment, leaving Ash to touch her cheek with a fingertip as she watched him leave.

* * *

 **Talat, Sur'Kesh** **, Pranas System**

Linron sat at her desk, numbly staring at the syringe her eldest daughter held out before her. "What is this?"

Ereda, her voice steady and her face an expressionless mask, simply stated, "A painless way to erase the blight you have cast upon our family name."

"So, you would kill me?" Linron couldn't seem to pull her eyes from the tool of her destruction to look her progeny in the face. "And what then? You would assume to simply step in and take my place?"

"You will commit suicide. After which, I imagine there will be a fight, the nature of which I cannot predict. I am sure your sister, Ophelia, will not take... _kindly_... to such a move on my part. If all goes peacefully, it will most likely have to come to a vote of the family circle. A note from you, identifying me as your preferred heir, would go a long way to helping me along the path of victory."

At that, Linron's eyes came up and her voice filled with its typical sarcasm. "Or not. Do not forget the shame I have purportedly brought upon the clan. An endorsement from me may do nothing... or potentially even hurt your claim."

"True." Ereda set the syringe down on the desk and took a step back. "But, all that aside, you will write what you think is best, no matter my request. Or, you may simply write nothing... that is your choice. But, if you care for the family reputation at all, you _will_ use that syringe." She turned and walked toward the door. "I will leave you to do what is necessary."

"You know it won't be that easy." Shocked at the tone of her progenitor's voice, Ereda stopped and turned back, surprised to see the Dalatrass grinning as she continued, "If you honestly think a name on a datapad will help resolve anything, you are more naive than I originally thought." She laughed hysterically before taking a deep breath and regaining control of herself so she could speak again. "This is the Capital Chair! I warn you; be prepared. This act will throw the Union into chaos. All the breeding contracts will become meaningless, because no matter what happens, alliances will change. Even if you somehow manage to gain control of the clan, it is probable another family will take over as the Chair for the Salarian Union; even the capital could move. Our family has broken faith, so will have no chance of keeping such a prestigious position ؘ– and that will change _everything_."

"Then we will do what is necessary to adapt but, in order for us to have any hope of a future... if the Linron clan is to have any chance of surviving your incredible lapse of judgment at least somewhat intact, with _any_ of our honor remaining... this act must be done." Ereda huffed in disgust at the pall the Dalatrass had intentionally attempted to cast over the entire affair. Ereda's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "So, hold no doubts as to my dedication to the cause; if you won't do it on your own, I will... _assist_ you."

* * *

 **Discovery, Horizon** **, Iera System**

"I have a clear view of the primary." At 1459 hours, the operative was sitting with her sighting scope pointed downrange; as she peered through it, Doctor Liara T'Soni emerged from the shadows backstage to stand squarely in her cross hairs, accompanied by Captain Shepard and those selected from the Normandy to attend with them. A few of them seemed almost hesitant to walk up the steps and onto the makeshift stage; the crew was visibly nervous – understandable, given the events that had occurred at previous stops. To make the situation even worse for those standing on the stage, the day was pristine; there was no wind and the visibility was excellent... an assassin couldn't ask for a more perfect day to make a long-range kill.

Considering what was about to happen, the sniper stretched out beside her was surprisingly relaxed; patiently observing the festivities through her rifle scope, the woman's gaze swept the crowd, looking for anyone who seemed to be paying more attention to the hills behind than to the event which was front and center. The sniper's job was simply to wait until the first shot was taken; only then would her job become very demanding, very quickly.

Down on the stage, the event proceeded as planned. Governor Rehmer began the program right on time, giving a short memorial speech which culminated with a request for a moment of silence to honor the dead. At its end, he raised his head and spoke solemnly. "It is now my distinct honor to introduce a woman... a warrior... who truly needs no introduction. Had it not been for her and the Normandy's timely arrival two years ago during the Collector attack, none of us would be here today. The colony would have been wiped out and those of us who were here during that time would be nothing but distant memories."

He stepped to the side and raised his arm to point, with an open hand, at their guests of honor. "I give you the heroes of Horizon and the saviors of the galaxy... Captain Shepard and the crew of the Normandy!"

The crowd started to roar in approval just as a brilliant red dot – for only the briefest of moments – flashed on T'Soni's chest; the operative who had been watching her so closely immediately called out over her comms, "Mark!"

When she heard the warning shout, Shepard spun and tackled the Asari to the stage, shielding her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ with her own body just as a sniper rifle barked in the distance. Having not felt any impact, Shepard was immediately concerned. _{Liara! Are you hit?}_

 _{I felt the strike but my shields held, Siame... I'm fine.}_

Many other things happened at virtually the exact same instant; the crowd panicking and running in every direction, nearly everyone heading toward the first escape route their eyes located. On stage, the remaining Normandy crew activated their personal shields and created a protective wall surrounding their Captain and her fiancé while, off the stage, an unknown group of Alliance Adepts worked together to throw up a rather impressive biotic barrier. Aboard the _Aletheia_ , the sensors started going wild with the amount of movement on the ground; the crew immediately started the necessary triangulation calculations to provide critical data to the various ground teams. Of highest priority was the input from the SILC Prime on the ground, as Legion's analytical and calculative capacity would be essential for pinpointing both of the enemy snipers' locations.

As soon as her spotter had called out the warning, a no-longer-relaxed Colonel Sharon Culver readied her rifle to take the answering shot. The past week had been interesting and mortifying at the same time; she had received the call from Shepard and listened intently to the risky plan they had developed... They would obviously make every effort to intercept the LEAP assassins before the event but, if they failed to do so, they had opted to not cancel their appearance. The fall-back plan was to actually let the shooters make the attempt – and then make sure to shut the assassins and their teams down in the most permanent way possible.

Culver didn't even think about refusing the request from her dear friend and had immediately responded, "Hell, yes, you can count me in! How many squads do you need?"

In her typical way, Shepard has smiled and responded nonchalantly, "Only one, Sharon... and I want _you_ to take the counter-shot." As soon as Culver agreed to personally take on the task, Shepard had told her that she was going to request Lee Riley and her N7 team to be the second response squad. The commander of Alliance Special Operations had nodded in approval. "Excellent choice, Shep. She's a gal I can most certainly work with." Riley had contacted Culver immediately after she terminated _her_ call with Shepard and the two put their heads together to come up with the plan that involved intensive study and preparation for an event that was only 5 days away.

Unfortunately, no one had found the information needed to locate and arrest the perpetrators before the event so, as Shepard had told her, the show would go on. Now, Sharon sat, rifle at the ready to take a counter-shot, without knowing what had happened down on the stage. Realizing she couldn't waste time worrying about Shepard and Liara's status, no matter how badly she wanted to know, Sharon Culver had a job to do and called out, "Op 1! Vector and distance?"

A brief moment of silence was followed by, "Distance, 623 meters. Vector right, 97 degrees. Elevation, positive 12 meters from your position." Legion provided the information quickly, for all on the secure net to hear.

Sharon Culver immediately keyed the range finder and swung her rifle hard to the right and slightly up as she found the arc distance. Her viewfinder locked on the focal distance and she was surprised to see the sniper, still lying calmly in position and trying to reacquire his target. Placing the base of his head in her crosshairs, she exhaled softly and held steady, slowly squeezing the trigger and watching as her bullet pierced his skull, his rifle falling to the ground beside him as he slumped over the stand, dead.

* * *

The bark of another rifle momentarily confused the secondary assassin, who whispered, "What the fuck? One shot and one shot only! If you missed, it's my turn, asshole!" Now angry – having mistakenly assumed the first assassin had made a second attempt – the second sniper searched for a clear shot but found none; the race-traitor had the kill zones of the primary target completely obscured. "Fine by me, you motherfucker. I'll be nearly as happy to drill one into the back of _your_ skull as I'd be to shoot that fucking blue squid."

Taking a couple of deep, calming breaths, she blew the last one out slowly as she drew down on the Captain and slowly caressed the trigger. A combination of Legion's response being a split-second late, Lee Riley taking longer than she'd expected to acquire her target, and the second assassin being much more proficient than the first resulted in a second projectile pinging off the Captain's kinetic barrier at her back. Shepard grunted with the impact before growling, "Gods be damned, people! The shooter is high enough and close enough to be clearing your barriers!"

Hearing the comment, Liara immediately lent her assistance to boost Shepard's barrier strength. As yet a third round ricocheted off her back, Shepard yelled, "Still taking fire!" before wrapping her arms around the Asari and, very unexpected by everyone else involved, rolling them both off the edge of the stage and away from her perceived direction of incoming fire.

Even though Liara knew the roll was coming via the link, she still grunted as they hit the ground, but not nearly as loud as her _siame_ , who ended up underneath her Asari at the end of their two-meter drop. As Liara pushed herself off to the side, she queried, "Sam! Are you injured?" She immediately relaxed as the Captain laughed.

"No, Li. I'm good." Shepard checked to ensure her pistol hadn't been jarred loose by the impact as they shifted to crouch behind the cover of the stage and bring up a new joint barrier.

A fourth and final shot had echoed across the valley while Shepard and T'Soni were repositioning, followed by a quiet voice coming through on the comms. "Damn, that was brazen." Riley's voice sounded incredulous. "That murderous bitch parked herself in the clock tower right over your heads; it's no wonder she was clearing the barriers and we couldn't get a damned vector!"

"Stay sharp, everyone." Shepard stood slowly while glancing around cautiously, prepared to duck for cover again should the need arise. "This isn't over until those extraction teams are cornered and dealt with. I assume positive kills on both assassins?"

The words, "Op 1. Affirmative," came from Colonel Culver and were quickly followed by Lee Riley's, "Op 2. Affirmative."

The governor also emerged from his hiding place and strode over to the Captain. "Shepard. I just got word that the first of their extraction teams was cornered by one of the Colonial Security patrols over at the shipyards. I'm sorry to report that my security teams killed them all." He grimaced, "I hope you weren't looking for any intel from them."

"Don't worry about it, Irv. We'll scour their ship for data; see what an Alliance Intel squad can turn up." Shepard turned to Liara, who was totally focused on her omnitool. "Any word on the others?"

"Yes. Admiral Hackett's sweep team chased the first assassination support squad through the old warehouse district and finally cornered them... but rather than surrender, they blew themselves up." Liara looked at Shepard with blue eyes as cold as ice and totally without remorse. "There were no survivors."

Shepard shrugged. "I can't honestly say I'm sorry to hear that... and I doubt we'll find anything on their remains or their ships, assuming one is even here." She looked back to the governor. "We could use your help identifying their ship... if they even have one. My guess is they were dropped off and there was one loitering somewhere to come scoop them up at the end of this."

Irv's eyes got bright. "Then we might still be able..." He paused as Liara's hand came up.

"Doubtful." She gave Shepard a quick glance before turning her attention back to Governor Rehmer. "It is likely they are, or were, monitoring local news... which will be in the process of reporting the failed attempt. Had we thought about it, we could have stationed a cruiser at the relay to intercept whoever was suddenly in a big hurry to depart the system."

"But it's too late for that now," Shepard huffed. "Besides, we have enough here to work on for some time." She looked back at Rehmer. "So... if you're still up for it... We have a ceremony to finish."

He looked at the Captain in astonishment. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not." A small smile appeared on Shepard's face. "This all went relatively according to plan... and I refuse to let them gain even the tiniest of victories." Her smile turned into a grin as she continued, "Besides. Liara is one Hell of a speech writer and I plan on not wasting the time we spent on putting this one together... assuming that's okay with you."

Rehmer shook his head in bewilderment. "If you're sure. Who am I to stop the great Captain Shepard?" He turned and strode quickly up the stairway where he reactivated the sound system. His voice was surprisingly calm as he spoke to those of the crowd who were curious enough to have remained. Most turned toward the stage as he started to speak… some who had fled the vicinity slowly drifted back in towards the chairs. "Ladies and Gentlemen. If those of you still here are interested, Captain Shepard and Doctor T'Soni are willing to address you and answer a few questions." He paused as many of the crowd turned to look in his direction, causing him to shrug and continue, "Alright then. Let's try again... and let's give Captain Shepard and Doctor T'Soni a proper Horizon welcome!"

His last words were punctuated by the twosome from the Normandy bounding once again onto the stage, stirring the crowd to start shouting and whistling as their heroes smiled and waved to those who had stuck around through all the excitement.

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

"You have to be fucking kidding me!" The woman stood abruptly, fists clenched in both anger and frustration. "Two complete assassination squads totally wiped out? No survivors?"

The messenger stood, shaking, before the infuriated woman and nodded, completely unable to find his voice. He had been given directions and a data pad, that was all. He had then followed the very detailed instructions to arrive at the penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue after following an extremely random, circuitous path, which he had correctly assumed was to prevent anyone from following him to his destination.

He didn't know her name... just that she was very important and he was to do whatever she asked of him. She was obviously quite wealthy... or, at least, _very_ well cared for; even this close in time after the war, she was living in a fully-renovated, 3-bedroom, 2-bath luxury apartment overlooking Central Park. _Central Park!_ Every furnishing, accent piece… even the carpeting, was top-shelf, leaving him afraid to touch… well… _anything_. He barely dared to breathe.

Realizing he wasn't going to say anything, the woman rubbed her head in frustration. "This is totally unacceptable. Tell Administrator Tilzer I need to speak with him."

The man's eyes got wide as he stammered, "M-Mis...ter T-Tilzer?"

"Did I stutter?" She grinned maliciously. "Oh, no… Wait. That was _you_." She leaned forward and stared hard into his panicked eyes. "That's what I said. Administrator Marco Tilzer." She snorted and backed away, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "And hurry up about it... I want you gone from my home; you stink to high heaven. God, you smell as if you pissed yourself!"

She backed away another step and waved her hand at him in a shooing motion. "Go. And tell Marco I want him here before the end of the day." She turned and started to walk away. "Now get out before I shoot you and call Tilzer myself... after I call in a cleaning crew."

The man backed out so quickly he almost tripped over the door sill, barely getting the front door latched behind him as he turned and ran.


	55. Aftermath

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _Arashu -_ Drell Goddess of Motherhood and Protection

 _Breá Ber'ah_ \- Combined form meaning beautiful and strange lover; _Breá_ being a close lover, somewhere between _Amantia_ and _Siame_ (Thessian)

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

Sprog - slang for child or offspring

* * *

 **Aftermath**

 **Kahje,** **Zaythanal,** **Zahel Sea Cluster**

The Drell answering the call stared at the screen in joyous surprise. "By the grace of _Arashu_! Liara! With yesterday's reports about the repeated attempts on your life, I can't begin to tell you how good it is to see you!"

The Asari smiled softly as she responded, "It is good to see you too, Rasha. It has been far too long. How are you... and things on Kahje?"

"Well, thanks in no small part to your betrothed, we're actually doing fairly well." Rasha huffed quietly. "The Reapers didn't exactly make a concentrated effort to break through but, even so, it still surprised us when the Planetary Defense System held." She suddenly smirked as she continued, "So you don't need to worry; your archeological sites are still intact." She sounded almost concerned as she queried, "Do you have plans to return in the future?"

"Not at this time, but thank you, Rasha."

Liara, having unknowingly been uneasy about conditions on Kahje for a while, felt a vast sense of relief at Rasha's news. While not the reason she was calling, concern for the integrity of the historic Prothean sites had apparently been in the back of her mind. She let out a lighthearted laugh. "It is good to know the Reapers didn't destroy everything... and that you still have your sense of humor."

"Our biggest issue right now is the number of refugees." Rasha's smile turned downward as she continued, "As soon as the relays opened, many Hanar returned home as soon as they had communicated with friends and relatives... and learned the homeworld was mostly intact. Kahje is now suffering from an extreme housing shortage... and many of the returned Drell are beginning to show signs of Kepral's Syndrome because there is insufficient room for all of them in Ussar Dome. Three months of living in the high humidity here is, very literally, killing them. We don't know what to do about it; any more moving into the dome would overwhelm the air circulation systems and we would _all_ die."

"Goddess. How did I not know that?" Liara's brow wrinkled in dismay. "I'm sorry the Hanar are under suspension due to the acts of a single diplomat and that we're not coming to visit Kahje. It would be nicer to see you in person, but I'll talk to Shepard about getting a SILC team out there... You've certainly heard about all the good work they've been doing at the worlds we have been visiting." She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I'll have to place a call to the Primacy and clear the political roadblocks to such assistance... but Shepard should have enough good will on their part to make that relatively easy."

"They can be a stubborn bunch, but I doubt they would let themselves die for it." Rasha's eyes turned downward. "But... Liara? Don't make the call yourself, please. Have someone from the Council do it."

"Why in the Goddess...?" Liara paused and her brow markings rose in realization. "Because it made the news that I killed Javik. That he was trying to kill Shepard means nothing compared to the fact that I killed the last living _Enkindler_." She crossed her arms in ill-disguised ire. "Yet, they'll gladly accept help from Shepard... the person their Enkindler attempted to kill."

"I did not say that." Rasha sighed. "I said to have someone from the _Council_ call... not even Shepard... There is an underlying sentiment that Shepard is possibly the underlying cause of the suspension. Perhaps Councilor Tevos or Osoba could make the offer."

"I think not." Liara dropped her arms in defeat. "If things are truly that bad, perhaps we should have Councilor Calyn and Prime Huulik make a joint proposition. Hearing directly from the SILC with the Elcor as an intermediary should soften any resistance to the offer of aid."

"I'm sorry, Liara, but I'm not even sure they will let the synthetics on the planet... To be honest, they all know how Javik felt about them, so bringing them here could spark an incident." Rasha knew she had delivered bad news and that the Asari was disappointed; if the Hanar wouldn't take assistance – of which there was dire need – there was no way Liara would ever get another research permit. "There are other Prothean sites you have discovered, including two vaults! There is plenty out there to keep you busy."

"I am the one who should be sorry... Sorry that my action could have such an affect that it puts the very survival of the Drell at risk." A thought suddenly struck Liara... one that chilled her to the bone. "Just how entrenched is their hatred of Shepard and me, Rasha? Do I need to be concerned about a Drell assassin? Please tell me they are not the ones who are truly behind all these attempts?"

"No!" Rasha's face paled. "Do not even speak of such a thing, Liara T'Soni!" The Drell glanced around nervously. "Just the _idea_ makes me frightened for you! But, I can say, with high confidence, that I have heard no such murmurings."

"Thank the Goddess for that!" Liara took in a deep breath and blew it out quickly. "The groups currently vested in my demise are proving enough of a challenge. We certainly don't need another – especially one fueled by religious fervor!"

Making her best effort to change the subject, Rasha looked at the Asari with a very pointed gaze. "So. I'm sure none of this pertains to why you called me, Liara." Rasha hesitated before continuing, "And I certainly hope your true purpose is not to request a visit request or research permit. Neither would be granted... at least not anytime in the near future."

Surprisingly, Liara accepted the statement without protest and shrugged it off. "No. It is something of a shock to hear you give voice to the fact aloud but, honestly, I am not surprised. In truth, I am calling to inquire about a ship. I require a decommissioned Halyan Class R'sho... a personal transport... This will sound odd, but I am in need of a vessel that needs a lot of work."

"Why in the galaxy is the leader of House T'Soni asking me for a pile of junk, when I know very well you could afford to buy a pristine, customized ship straight off the assembly line?"

"It's for a friend." Liara smiled at Rasha's expression. "And, if you are in typical form, that is not nearly enough information for you. If you must know, said friend lost someone significant during the war and needs a new project to keep her mind occupied... and she's a Quarian."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Rasha's surprise shifted quickly to an expression of clear understanding. "Quarians are never happy unless they're tinkering and fixing something. A new ship? She wouldn't know what to do with herself!"

"So, you think it's a possibility?" Liara sat forward in her chair, anticipating a yes. "I will owe you a tremendous favor."

"There are no favors between friends, Liara. I'm happy to do it." Rasha shrugged, as Liara had done earlier. "It should be relatively easy. It's a common vessel, even if it is an older model. That should actually help; there should be plenty of them in the salvage yards."

"That would be excellent, Rasha." Liara was smiling again with the apparently good news. "If you could locate one and arrange shipping to the T'Sere Shipyard on Thessia, I'll arrange the payment... including a finder's fee for you. I truly appreciate your assistance."

"My pleasure, Liara." Rasha grinned. "I would hope to be able to assist you again sometime in the future... in our true passion."

Liara's smile broadened as she replied, "I will most certainly keep that in mind, Rasha. I would love to have you at my side at my next dig project."

Rasha dipped her head in both gratitude and respect. "Then I expect to hear from you again soon, Dr T'Soni, because I will most certainly take you up on the position when it is offered."

* * *

 **Discovery, Horizon** **, Iera System**

Traynor smiled nervously as the door of the small apartment opened wide. Her parents' faces both held beaming smiles as she entered to wrap each one, in turn, in a tight hug. "Mum, Dad? This is Riana Iregos. She's a commando stationed with me on the Normandy..." Samantha paused as her mother's smile turned flat and her brow pinched. Traynor almost stopped what she was about to say until her father reached out a hand and smiled at the Asari. "Riana. Very nice to meet any friend of Sammi's. Welcome to our home."

Her mother smiled a weak smile and wrapped an arm around her husband's waist, pulling him back from the door and their guest, clearing a path to the interior. "Yes. Welcome to our home. Please, come in."

Riana cast a concerned glance at Traynor, who smiled apologetically and shrugged as she reached out to take Riana's hand and lead her into the apartment. "This is my Mum, Lydia, and my dad, Roger." As the door closed behind them, she took a deep breath and glanced back and forth between her parents, resuming the statement she had started in the hall. "Riana is my lover... and we've talked about getting bonded... but have yet to pick a date." She saw confusion on both of the faces in front of her, so explained, "It's the Asari equivalent of getting married."

Her mother gasped, a hand rising quickly to her mouth in her shock, but before Sammi could say anything in response, her father exploded with happiness. A broad smile on his face, he lunged forward and scooped his daughter into his arms. "I knew it! Congratulations, kiddo! That's smashing! I was worried you'd never find someone willing to tolerate you for a lifetime!" He dropped her back on her feet and turned to a suddenly anxious Riana and laughed. "And don't you be getting all worried that I'll scoop you up like my Sammi. I'll give you a decent chance to get to know us first!"

He noticed the direction of Sammi's gaze and turned back to his wife. "And what's got you busy catching flies? Never seen you so speechless – close your yap and congratulate your daughter!"

Startled, the woman's mouth snapped shut and her hand dropped as she cast an irritated glare at her husband. Crossing her arms, the expression on Lydia's face remained unchanged; she simply looked at Roger and said, "Can I speak with you in the kitchen, please?"

He raised a brow in surprised disapproval before turning back to Sammi and Riana. "Now, don't you two go running off due to this. I'll be right back ... and I want to hear how you met and such. I imagine it's a damned barmy story, being together on the Normandy and all!"

As her parents slipped away to the kitchen, Traynor turned to Riana with her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she whispered, "I am so sorry, Ri. I have never considered either of my parents to be bigots... regarding _anything_." Her gaze traveled to the kitchen as she continued, "I guess I should have at least mentioned I was bringing you along... but I've told them a lot about you and I assumed they would realize you were much more than a friend."

"Do not worry about it, Sammi." Riana smiled softly at her distraught Human. "Your father seemed to anticipate the announcement... and appeared genuinely pleased by the news." She let out a little chuckle and smirked. "And I do not believe I would have minded had he hugged me. You may look more like your mother... but I think, perhaps, I have just learned who the primary DNA donor was for your personality traits if he had followed his impulse to embrace me."

Samantha's response was cut off by the distraction of raised voices so, instead of responding to Riana's statement, she said, "Perhaps we should just leave while they sort it out."

Riana's expression shifted to one of disapproval. "We will do no such thing. If we are to leave, you will go in and tell them before we do so... or _we_ will go tell them... I will not sneak away as if we are ashamed to be together."

The Asari's face held questions that were easily interpreted by her _Breá Ber'ah_ and Traynor immediately spoke to defend their relationship, growling, "I am in no way embarrassed or ashamed to be in love with you! I just prefer to avoid conflict this early in your introduction to my parents."

"Would your father not be disappointed if we chose to slip away?" Riana looked honestly puzzled by the development. "He basically asked that we stay to explain how we met; is it not our obligation to honor his request?"

"I suppose you're right." Samantha let out a deep sigh. "It's just that we have so little private time... I don't care to waste it listening to my mother lecturing me about who I choose to spend my life with as if you are not good enough for me." Her hands reached out to capture both of Riana's in hers, eyes glistening as she continued, "Because you are most certainly the best possible person for me in the entire galaxy, Riana; of that, I have no doubt."

She glanced toward the kitchen and was suddenly overcome with determination. _I'm assigned to the Normandy! Being scared to do this is ridiculous!_ She dropped one of Riana's hands and gave the other a tug as she turned and started walking toward the door where her parents had disappeared. "Come on. We'll resolve this right now and not waste another moment of our extremely precious personal time."

Her parents stopped talking immediately, their heads turning abruptly toward the door as it opened. They stood roughly a meter apart, her father leaning casually against the sink basin, her mother standing stiffly, arms crossed in defiance. Refusing to release Riana's hand, Sammi's gaze was unwavering as she asked, "Is something amiss that I should know about? If there is, then we need to talk about it as a family..." Her eyes focused directly on her mother as she continued, "... because I'll not have you discussing the worthiness of my relationship with Riana behind closed doors. It won't even begin to change how I feel about her... only how I feel about you."

The olive skin on her mother's face turned a slightly darker shade, but Lydia kept her composure. "This is not a discussion for you, young lady. Give your father and me some privacy so we can finish our chat."

"I came here to visit and to introduce you to Riana, who just so happens to be the love of my life. The Normandy's schedule is incredibly busy and we have very little personal time." Traynor frowned, anger beginning to creep into her voice. "Unless your discussion is about me and Riana, it most certainly could have waited until another time, when the daughter you haven't seen in months happened to stop by to say hello." Traynor was on a roll and nothing was going to stop her once she got started. She glared at her mother and finished, "I'll not have us standing idly in the foyer like a tradesman at your beck and call while you discuss the detriments of my relationship with her. I find it incredibly rude, Mum." Her eyes shifted to her father. "I'm sorry, Dad, but once you get done talking about whatever is so important, you can call me. If we're still here in Discovery, perhaps we can meet you for lunch or dinner somewhere." She looked at her mother again. "Somewhere that is neutral territory and _not_ here."

She abruptly turned on her heel and walked out, pulling a stupefied Riana behind her. Before they got to the door to leave, her father bolted out of the kitchen and called out, striding quickly toward them. "Sammi! Wait, please." They turned in unison at his request, awaiting his arrival in silence. "I am so sorry, Sammi. I had no idea your mother would react like this – I don't know what's gotten into her!"

"You can't apologize for her, Dad, she's her own person." Samantha dropped her head. "I'm disappointed by her reaction, of course; I thought she'd be excited for us. It never crossed my mind she wouldn't like Riana... certainly not to the point of being so rude to a guest!"

"I know, you little sprog." Roger's eyes creased with disappointment, both with his wife and because he was unsure what the answer would be as he asked, "How long are you here?"

"Only one more full day." Traynor shrugged, "We leave mid-morning on the 18th. The Captain wants us in Newton by that evening because we have an early morning show on Ontarom on the 19th."

"I see." Her father was quiet for a moment before continuing, "In that case, lunch tomorrow at Café Fresca." He looked at Riana. "If I understand correctly, the Asari diet leans toward fresh fish, accompanied by salads and fresh fruits?"

"That is a relatively accurate statement, Roger." Riana nodded and smiled. "May I assume this... _Café Fresca_... contains such items on its menu?"

"It does, Riana." Roger relaxed a bit and smiled in return. "And I very much look forward to having the chance to sit down and chat with you both... to get caught up and learn a bit about my future daughter-in-law."

Samantha frowned, "Will Mum be there?"

Her dad shrugged. "That will be entirely up to her, Sammi... and I gave up trying to anticipate your mother's moods a long time ago."

* * *

Ashley Williams smiled in anticipation as she stood waiting at the foot of the Normandy's hanger bay ramp for Andreas to arrive; he was going to take her shopping, followed by a quiet dinner in what he promised would be an intimate little restaurant located in what passed for a trendy night spot in Discovery. After dinner… well, she didn't have to be back on the ship until 0700 on the 18th, so was anticipating another night of physical bliss with her lover. She had dressed in modest 'civilian' clothes – the only non-military, casual clothes she still owned, which was the main reason she had agreed to a bit of shopping.

After the assassination attempts of the previous day, it was fair to say everyone on the ship had been more than a bit on edge, especially as the second attempt had been so nearly successful at taking out Shepard. As the ship's XO, she had been tasked with writing an extensive after-action report for Alliance records, once the information from all their sources had been collated by Specialist Traynor.

An aircar in the distance, on a heading that would bring it the Normandy's mooring, interrupted her reverie. Once again, she was made painfully aware that the safety of the ship and its crew was something that could no longer be taken for granted; she watched as the ubiquitous X3M's progress was interrupted for inspection not once, but twice before it was allowed to stop at a designated spot fifty meters from the nose of the ship. Ashley waited for only moments to confirm it was Falk before walking quickly – she wanted to run – to meet her eager companion.

He stood beside the idling aircar only until she was within ten or twelve meters; stepping away, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders as she stopped in front of him. "Ash," he breathed softly. "You have no idea how much I want to wrap you in my arms."

She had placed her own hands side-by-side on his chest as he greeted her; she was uncomfortably aware they were standing in full view of anyone that was watching from beyond the perimeter, so instead of doing what her heart desired, she allowed her common sense to dictate her greeting. "The feeling is mutual, Lieutenant Colonel. It's a damn shame we can't properly greet each other here on the docks with my drawing undue attention to you. No telling who's out there with high-power scanners, watching everything that goes on here. I'll be relatively safe in the Normandy, but you'll be going back to work in London, and if anything happens to you because someone out there resents the happiness we bring each other, I don't know how I could continue living."

Andreas chuckled, responding with, "Well, since we're no doubt being watched, even if it's by no one other than your flight lieutenant, allow me to take you away from here. I found a couple of really nice clothing stores in town. Can't wait to see you in some form-fitting clothes that don't have armor plates and shield generators attached!"

Ashley's smile was radiant as she responded softly, "I am yours to command, my dear Sir."

* * *

 **Central shopping District, Discovery, Horizon**

Ashley was beginning to get nervous; Andreas had taken them to the newly rebuilt area of Discovery's finer shopping district. As he helped her up out of the aircar's semi-reclining passenger seat, she had taken advantage of his momentary lapse of attention by planting a quick kiss on his lips. His shy smile was the reward she was looking for as she said, "That's a small down payment for tonight, my love."

Taking her hand, he said, "Come on. We have to get you some evening clothes." Her nervous laugh caught his attention. "Ashley, that sounded like what I can only attribute to your military background, especially your history in the Marines." He faced her, taking both of her hands in his. "You are a beautiful woman, Ashley Williams; I don't think you realize just how attractive you are under all that armor. I am fully aware you are military through and through, but there's a soft side to your personality as well… You quote Tennyson, for God's sake." As he was talking, he had dropped one hand and begun walking, Ashley walking beside him. "I'm taking you out to dinner tonight; we're going to a very nice restaurant, not a bar and grille. I'll admit… I'm selfish. I want every man in the place to look at you and wonder why in Hell you'd choose to accompany me."

"That's a rather myopic view of male-female relationships, Andreas, because you are positively gorgeous! No one should have any doubt about why I accompany you, anywhere." She laughed lightly, saying, "Any woman who sees me with you will either be insanely jealous or just simply insane." She stopped abruptly, using her hold on his hand to bring him around to face her. "Anyone that sees us together tonight will only have to look at my face… my eyes… in order to see that I am totally infatuated with you, Andreas." Bringing up her free hand, she placed her palm on his cheek and gazed into his eyes as she breathed, "I know I am in love with you, because my reality is finally so much better than my dreams."

* * *

 _My God, Williams! How in Hell did you get so damned lucky? You let this one get away, you have a serious problem!_ This thought ran through Ashley's mind several times as she tried on several exceedingly expensive – to her mind, anyway – cocktail dresses for an extremely appreciative and attentive Andreas Falk. She knew she had him when she threw open the privacy curtains and stepped out of the changing room wearing an open neck scalloped lace sheath dress in black, with sheer long sleeves, an off-the-shoulder neckline and a sweetheart bodice; the hem came across the center of her knees. Andreas was virtually speechless – he had never seen this woman in anything but military gear… or naked. The dress flattered her figure in all the right places, hugging her hips and bosom like a second skin.

Falk paid for that dress, as well as another of similar design in a deep blue. And then there were shoes; she chose a pair of black slip-on pumps with 9 cm. heels she felt could be worn with either dress. That they seemed to not be overly uncomfortable to walk in was a plus. When Falk discovered the shoes were also available in a blue that was a close match to her other new dress, he insisted she have them as well.

Over at the jewelry counter, Ashley picked out a gold necklace with matching bracelet; while she was looking, he clandestinely inspected the engagement rings in order to have an idea of his choices for the future, as his plans didn't include allowing this beautiful person to get away. He happily pulled out yet another credit chit to pay for her latest selections and she pushed his hand away. He looked at her in surprise, saying softly, "I told you this was my treat."

"You have already spent _way_ more than I should have let you on all the clothes I selected. I love you dearly, Andreas, and truly appreciate the sentiment, but you're not the only one with months of credits stockpiling in your accounts with no place to spend them." She flashed a winning smile at him as she continued, "At least let the Marine in me feel a little self-sufficient, will ya?"

Falk let out a laugh and smiled as he said, "Fine. Be that way. I don't suppose I really expected anything else from you, Ash." He held his hands out, palm up, in invitation to continue the shopping spree. "Anything else you require, Ma'am?"

She winked and leaned into him, whispering, "I can always use some new négligées... some edible underwear... maybe a bra holster..." She broke away laughing when he snorted in surprise. "Oh, my God, Dré, you are way too easy!"

He cocked his head and pursed his lips before repeating, "Dré?"

"Oh... I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Falk nodded. "Yes, you did... and I like the way it sounded coming off your lips."

Ashley shrugged. "I know you said that you don't like the name Andy... and Dré seemed to come more naturally to me anyway. I think it fits you... and I've kind of been using it as a nickname in my head for awhile now. I hope it's okay."

Andreas smiled at the suddenly nervous woman before him. "Of course it is, Ash. I kind of like the idea of a special name... used only by _you_." He looked around and whispered quietly, "Now, let's finish up so we can get out of here and spend some time outside. It's a beautiful day."

When Ash had everything she thought she needed, they took her newly acquired goods to the nearby aircar. Arriving at Falk's temporary quarters, they dropped all of Ashley's shopping bags inside before heading out to do some sightseeing around Discovery. As the entire colony was dedicated to agriculture, there wasn't much to see, so Falk and Ashley contented themselves by walking hand-in-hand through one of the many parks in the heart of the city.

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

After explaining all that had happened over the last couple of weeks, the woman frowned as the older man on the comm unit spoke rather angrily. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I do not need to explain my actions or defend myself to you, Cousin. What gives you the right to speak like that to me?"

"Because it's _my_ damned career and _your_ source of inside information that you are putting in jeopardy!" He growled, "Did you happen to give those items any thought at all as you planned your latest utter and total failure? You cost the lives of more than a dozen dedicated soldiers in this doomed escapade!"

"Don't you think I realize that?" she huffed. "That damnable Asari has cost us more than I can count and I absolutely refuse to see her continuing to exist in this galaxy any longer than absolutely necessary!" As he opened his mouth to retort, she pointed a finger at him. "And nothing you say will ever dissuade me from that purpose!"

"Nothing?" He stared at her in disbelief for a few moments as she glared at him in complete silence. "Oh, for God's sake!" He shook his head and huffed in disapproval. "Fine, have it your way. I never could talk any sense into you, so I should not be surprised that I cannot now; I shouldn't have expected anything else." He made direct eye contact as he prepared to disconnect the call. "I'll do what I can to clean up this mess and close out the investigation, but no promises. Not this time. Shepard and T'Soni are way too important to the Alliance for them to ignore this any longer. I can only hope they don't find a solid lead anywhere on those you sacrificed or where they stayed along the journey. If they do, I'm not sure I can help you anymore."

"Thank you. That's all I asked for anyway... minus the damned lecture." She glared at him as she watched his hand reach out and slam down on the console, his image vanishing as the screen went to a solid black. "Fucking Hell!"

She stood and strode to the huge window overlooking Fifth Avenue and gazed out over the dark city below as she let out an aggravated sigh. "Don't say it, because I don't give a shit if he's more than likely right." She turned back to her faithful Chief of Operations. "Make it happen, Marco. I don't care what it takes; I want that damned Asari dead."

"Understood, Ma'am." Tilzer kept his expression carefully neutral as he responded, mostly in hope of avoiding her current wrath. "We obviously had a leak and the Alliance was ready and waiting for us. I'll not plan anything in detail until we determine who betrayed us and how they got the information out. I promise you that next time, Shepard won't know what hit her... except for the long overdue death of her squid fiancé."

"Any idea when this 'next time' may be?"

"Trident. Home of over five million and we won't need to send operatives, so there will be no detectable travel involved. We have a long-established active unit there... already familiar with the terrain and a couple of folks sitting within the colonial mayor's office. We'll have access to... and possibly be able to influence... the Normandy crew's itinerary."

"When?"

"Over a month from now, near the end of November, so I'll have a lot of time to coordinate and plan. There are six other Human colony stops between the two events... plenty of time for them to get comfortable again and let their guard down. Also, I can travel there myself and discuss it all in person; no squads moving around and no detectable communications to intercept. No way Shepard or T'Soni will know we're coming until the bullet finds its mark."

"Thank you, Marco." For the first time since the unexpected call had come in nearly an hour before, the woman smiled. "I knew I could depend on you to find a way. You seem to have it all well in hand, so I'll leave the finer details to you. The next time I hear about it, I expect T'Soni's death to be the headline news on every broadcast channel in the galaxy."

* * *

 **Discovery, Horizon** **, Iera System**

Shepard shot upright in the bed as she shouted, "No!"

Liara rolled to her and hurriedly reached a hand out, laying it firmly on the captain's arm. "Samantha? What did you dream this time?"

Drawing a shaky breath, Shepard flopped backward onto the bed beside her Asari and exhaled sharply, remaining silent for a moment before finally giving voice to her nightmare. "Same old shit, Liara." She closed her eyes. "The ashen forest... the whispers... and, finally, your voice, calling to me from the gloom." She rolled suddenly to face the Asari; Liara could see the haunted look in her _Amantia'_ s penetrating emerald eyes as she spoke. "I can take just about anything, _Mo cheann geallta..._ anything but that. I swear to the Gods I'll not have you whispering to me from the afterlife."

"I am here, _Siame_... alive and well." Liara reached across and soothingly stroked Shepard's cheek. "I know it is difficult, but concentrate on that. I am here beside you in the present and every day we are getting closer to finding those who wish to do us harm. We will discover who they are and where they are hiding... _before_ their plan succeeds, I swear it to you."

Shepard, unaccustomed to such nagging doubts residing in her gut, couldn't help but ask, "How can you be so sure, Liara? It would be so easy..."

"Stop!" Liara glared at her. "Don't you dare speak such things aloud. Not now, not ever." Her voice softened quickly as she continued, "I love you, Samantha, and I'll be damned before I let any evil in this galaxy take me away from you before we have lived our lives to the fullest." Recalling a bonding proposal made seemingly in another life, Liara suddenly smiled. She located and caressed the promise bracelet encircling Shepard's wrist as she stated, "We rise with the sun and set with the moon. Forever to honor, forever to love, as one, unto Eternity."

"Oh, Liara..." Tears came to Sam's eyes as the Asari leaned in and pressed loving lips to those of the Spectre. As they separated, Shepard sighed softly, "What would I ever to without you?"

"I have no intention of you finding the answer to that question for a very, very long time, Samantha... if ever." Liara smiled lovingly and ran blue fingers gently through auburn locks. "Any chance you'll be able to fall back to sleep?"

A frown flashed across the Human's face as she answered, "Probably not, Blue."

Liara sat up and swung her feet off the bed, glancing teasingly back over her shoulder at the captain. "Then let's throw on some sweats and go to the kitchen for cocoa." She grinned. "I vaguely remember a wise woman once telling me it's the galaxy's best comfort food."

Once in the Mess and sitting at a table with a mug of hot cocoa in hand, Liara told Shepard of her discussion with Rasha the morning prior. Shepard listened to the tale and shook her head in disgust. "Of all the idiotic notions! There has to be something we can do... maybe through the Brokerage? I'll not let some religious fervor on the part of the Primacy kill the Drell just because the Hanar are too damned stubborn to recognize the truth about the Protheans!"

"I'm sure there is something we can do. Perhaps we can send materials for the construction of bio-domes as part of our payment for the ship I am receiving. If Rasha can line up the permits and the Drell crews, we could provide material for at least two small domes. It's not much, on the grand scale, but a home for 2,000 Drell is better than none."

"Agreed. And who knows? Perhaps some young enterprising Drell will get the idea that they can do more trades like that... especially with the Quarians." Shepard paused and Liara waited patiently as the Human's eyes lit up, Shepard had obviously come up with an idea. "To Hell with 'some' Drell! Ask Rasha to get in touch with _Ambassador_ Zorah – Tali could become the trade partner coordinator for the Quarians. They always need ship replacement parts and Hanar salvage yards on Kahje have always been closed to them. And I don't believe any race is better at building environmental domes than the Quarians! The offer could circumvent the Council completely, so the Hanar wouldn't honestly have a reason to decline... and it truly would be a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"What an excellent idea, Shepard!" Liara's eyes lit with both excitement and humor. "Perhaps I can get the scrapped R'Sho as a consultation fee?" She giggled as she continued, "I'll wager they've never been asked for such a thing as the commission for arranging a trade agreement!"

Shepard grinned in response. "There's a first time for everything, Li."


	56. Unfamiliar Pathways

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

Sprog - slang for child or offspring

* * *

 **Unfamiliar Pathways**

 **Discovery, Horizon** **, Iera System**

Roger Traynor smiled at the couple seated across from him. "I can see my little sprog is in good hands, Riana." His smile faded and he focused on Sammi as he continued, "I'm not sure what, or _who_ , put the bee in your mum's bonnet, but I promise you this... I will damned well find out and make sure they understand they are not to interfere in our personal lives again. Ever."

"Don't worry about it, Dad." Sammi shrugged. "She's an adult and makes her own decisions. I've never known her to be influenced by the opinions of others... If you really want to get to the heart of the matter, it has to start with Mum. No one else can give you the answer to why she feels as she does."

"I apologize for being a source of discontent within your union, Roger." Riana watched the man's expression become cloudy as she said, "Had I known it was a problem, I would not have entered your home."

Roger growled, "Well, that's simply ridiculous, Riana! You'd deny me the pleasure of meeting my daughter's significant other because it turns out my wife is a closet racist?" He shook his head. "Uh uh. Not an option... and Lydia just has to learn to accept it, because when I see you two together, there's not a doubt in my mind how much you love one another! You're a part of this family now, whether she likes it... likes _you_... or not!"

"Dad..."

"Not another word on the issue, Sammi. I'll not let your mother drive a wedge between me and my only child. I'm proud of you, babe." The man's face lit with a genuine, loving smile. "You done good, kid... both professionally... and personally." He turned and waved his hand at their waitress. "Check, please. I have to get my kids back to the Normandy on time!"

As Riana replied that they need not be back until two hours prior to departure the next morning, Sammi blushed as the conversation in the little café died and nearly every customer turned to them and smiled. A man in the back, very fit and looking like he was retired Alliance military, stood and started clapping – his wife and grown son quickly joining him as he shouted, "Bring me their ticket! No crew member on the Normandy, nor their kin, buys their own lunch when I'm around!"

Next thing they knew, the table was surrounded by people thanking them for the Normandy's actions. Many had been on Horizon during the Collector attack and owed their lives to the crew of the Normandy. Sammi and Riana tried to deflect the attention by explaining they had not yet been assigned to the ship in 2185, but they were quickly told that it didn't matter - they had obviously been assigned to the best known frigate in the fleet over the last year. Exposing the true purpose of 'The Sanctuary' and destroying the facility during the Reaper War had kept many of them from retreating there to seek the false safety that had been offered. The man who started the whole event spoke solemnly. "If it hadn't been for you revealing what that facility truly was and then turning it into dust, it's likely many of us would have been perverted into them damned Reaper monsters. The crew of the Normandy saved our skins... at least twice over!"

Neither Riana nor Sammi attempted to explain to the man that it had actually been Reapers and then the Geth who had finally destroyed what was, in reality, a Cerberus facility; they both understood that, sometimes, the truth could be more dangerous than the falsehoods that had shielded the colonists from the Illusive Man's atrocities.

* * *

 **Transient Crew Quarters,** **Horizon Spaceport Docks, Iera System**

Ashley was leading a patrol through a formation of massive basaltic slabs rising above her head. As she turned a corner, she entered what appeared to be a low tunnel. In the dim light available, she could not see her quarry, but felt she was within a few meters of confronting the person.

Moving carefully, she eased around yet one more corner, only to discover a woman completely clothed in an outfit from Hell – Williams could see only the face of a woman, her head sticking out of a translucent mannequin's form. The insides of this person, in addition to containing all the organs and tissues one would expect to reside within a covering of skin, was packed near to overflowing with some form of HE – high explosives.

She was laughing… no, cackling, like a demented, tortured soul, eyes wild with maniacal fervor. In one hand was a cylindrical object with a huge, red glowing button on one end. She looked at Ashley, depressed the button and…

Andreas was awakened by Ashley as she sat straight up in their bed with a scream of horrified anguish. He sat up quickly and wrapped his arms around her shivering form. "Ash, what's wrong? What happened?"

"My God, Dré!" she stammered, tears beginning to overflow her lower eyelids as she continued to shake. "It was terrible!" Though they were both nude, Falk didn't believe she was cold.

"What…" Andreas barely got the word out of his mouth before the distraught woman gently freed herself from his grasp to get out of bed; after standing on the floor for a few moments, she wordlessly strode to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. Now somewhat calmed down, she returned to the bed but instead of climbing quickly under the covers, she took a position beside her puzzled lover, sitting with her lower legs folded beneath her.

Ashley wrapped her arms around Falk's torso and hugged him tightly, whispering to him as he returned the hug. "That's the first time I've thought about that day since it happened… the first post-war attempt on Liara's life. I was dreaming. I saw her, Dré… It was Briggs! I watched her press the button on the damned detonator!"

"Oh, Ash… I'm so sorry. I had nearly forgotten what a horrendous person she was."

"I thought I'd moved past it, Andreas… I really did. Then that attempt on Liara yesterday… brought it all rushing back. I don't think I'll ever be able to get over seeing Briggs' body simply vanish in a… white-hot explosion. I mean, who does that?"

"Come on," urged Falk. "Crawl back in, stretch out. I'll hold you close, keep you safe." Getting out of bed, he strode into the bathroom, relieved himself and got a drink of water before returning to climb back in with his lover. Taking her in his arms, he marveled yet again at the combination of soft, feminine curves on a hard, muscular body. Placing a kiss on top of her head, he whispered, "I love you, Ashley."

She shivered again, not in fear, but with joy… the joy of knowing she had found an anchor to keep her from going adrift, no matter what spell of ominous evil befell her. Tomorrow was a new day... and the Normandy would be leaving for Ontarom. Deciding to not waste another moment of her life thinking about Briggs, Ashley sighed and happily inhaled the scent of the man she loved as she drifted off into a restful, dreamless slumber.

* * *

 **Justicar House, Attena, Thessia**

"Captain Shepard. It is a pleasure to see you again." Samara dipped her head in recognition as the Spectre's hologram coalesced before her in the secure communications center of the Justicar House. "I take it you are well and the Victory Tour is proceeding as planned?"

Surprisingly, Shepard laughed. "Damn, it's good to see you, but you've obviously been sequestered for far too long, Samara. Since we last spoke, the Salarian Union has imploded and there has been a second assassination attempt on Liara's life... or me, though I believe I was a target of opportunity, since I was bodily shielding the good doctor from harm."

"I am sorry to receive such news, but gladdened by the fact that you both stand before me, demonstrating to me in no uncertain terms that the assassination attempt was not successful." Samara shifted her focus and smiled at her fellow Asari. "We can certainly thank the Goddess for that, can we not?"

"Yes, we can, Samara... but I agree with Shepard. We have heard nothing of your deliberations and I was beginning to get concerned, so am very happy to see you as well." Liara tilted her head in question. "So, what news do you have for us regarding the future of the Justicars?"

Samara smiled her gentle smile of indulgence for the impatience of youth. "I am happy to report I bring good news. The Justicar Code, as you knew of it, no longer exists." Shepard's and Liara's eyes opened wide as the matriarch continued, "To replace it, we have adopted an altered version of the Asari Code of Law; we will continue to act as we have in the past... but using Asari law instead of our 5,000 sutras as our primary guidelines. As such, we will be treated as a special task force, both for law enforcement and to act as impartial judges for the more heinous crimes, which has the effect of returning corporal punishment to the Asari who have committed crimes resulting in an innocent's loss of life. We are also protected from punishment, over an as yet undefined period of time, should old habits take hold... though we hope to avoid any such incidents."

"That sounds wonderful, Samara!" Shepard's voice carried her excitement easily to the Justicar on the other end of the conversation. "So, where does that leave you and me, with the Third Oath of Subsumation?"

"I am still bound by my oath until you release me, Captain." Samara's eyes twinkled as she continued, "But maintaining the bond is no longer necessary for my safety... nor yours. I have been judged by my sisters and forgiven... No." The Justicar paused. "Forgiven is not the correct word, for they found fault in neither your actions nor mine over the duration of the war. They have determined everything we did to be necessary and just."

"That is good to know, Samara." Liara's voice sounded relieved, but not as much as Shepard expected. The reason for her reticence came immediately to light with her next set of questions. "And what of the fate of the Ardat-Yakshi? Are Falere and Aresia safe? May they return to my employ aboard the _Aletheia_?"

Samara dipped her head and remained silent for a few moments as a variety of emotions made their way across her face. When she looked up again to meet Liara's gaze, her silver-gray eyes were sharp and clear. "I owe you an apology for things I have said in the past... disparaging remarks regarding your profession, though not one of your choosing. As an information broker, you were forced to do things that, at the time, I believed to be inherently evil... Yet, looking back, I realized the necessity of your actions. We would not be here today... the galaxy would not exist as we know it... had you not done those things." Samara smiled at her. "Though the temptations must have been immense, you used the tools available to you for good. I realize your actions are no more unjust than those of Shepard and myself. I beg your forgiveness for my rash conclusions about you and hope we can continue to work together in the future."

Samara watched quietly, pleased to see a wide grin spread across Shepard's face as the Spectre wrapped an arm around her _siame_ and pulled Liara close. "Now that is good news. Excellent, actually." Shepard paused and quietly asked her, "But what of the Ardat-Yakshi? Are those who prove trustworthy free to rejoin Asari society?"

"As I remember, Falere's desire was to return to the Monastery anyway, so she is already home." Samara saw a glance between the two far away on the Normandy and she realized her error immediately. "But, you are not so selfish as to be speaking of such specifics. You are wondering if the fate of all Ardat-Yakshi has yet been discussed." She shook her head. "I am sorry to report that the issue was raised, and postponed for an indefinite period of time; they must remain at the Monastery, simply because we are of insufficient strength to monitor them. There are only six of us at the moment, but there is hope."

"So the Justicar Order did not deny the possibility out of hand?" Shepard was completely focused on Samara as she spoke.

"Correct. In fact, they are generally in support of it. All know that my daughter was not at the monastery for the duration of the war following the Reaper attack on Mesana." Samara's heart swelled with the thought and her eyes glittered with pride. "That she returned voluntarily for their judgment spoke forcefully as to her character... and I believe swayed the decision in their favor. A foundation for trust has been effectively built."

"So what conditions need to be met for the Justicar Order to consider a release program?" Liara had dropped her defensive posture and her arms now hung comfortably at her sides instead of crossed at her midriff.

"It is not much, but will take time." Samara spoke plainly. "We require more sisters in our order, but already have volunteers. Much of the Attena Republican Guard was destroyed and they do not have enough personnel to reconstitute the unit... so are combining forces with us. We will teach them the Justicar way and they will help us understand the nuances of Asari laws. Both groups will benefit and we have the trial group for the First Justicar Special Task Force. We will address the Ardat-Yakshi situation as soon as we can... but most likely it will be several months, perhaps stretching into a year."

"But that's nothing to an Asari!" Liara couldn't help her happy outburst. "A year? Out of another 300? That is excellent news indeed!"

Shepard smirked at her enthusiasm. "That's great, Samara. The only question I have left is how do I release you from your oath? Can I simply say so? If that's possible, then Justicar Samara... I formally release you from your Third Oath of Subsumation. Go in peace, Justicar, and know I will forever be grateful for the services… and sacrifices… you provided to me and mine during the course of the Collector War… as well as the Reaper War. Go with the Goddess."

Samara closed her eyes and her body glowed blue, then white. When she reopened her eyes, she was smiling. "Thank you, Captain Shepard. The honor was mine... and I look forward to working together with you again in the future. I will let you return to your duties."

With that, the screen went black and Samara was left in the quiet of the communications room to contemplate all that had happened. Grand Matriarch Sellyna smiled and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know that was difficult, Samara; it is evident to me you truly trust and admire Captain Shepard and Dr T'Soni, but the Order needs your help to get through this time of such radical change." The older Asari smiled and gave a comforting squeeze before releasing her hold. "It is good to have you home and a part of us once more, Sister."

Samara bowed her head in deference to the Grand Matriarch. "I am relieved we were able to resolve our differences in the way we have, Sellyna. It would have been a tremendous burden to be at deadly odds with my once-sisters, had things developed differently. It pleases me to be with the Order once more."

Sellyna laid her arm over Samara's shoulders and pointed her toward the door of her office. "And I am pleased you are staying, Justicar Samara. Come. We have much work to do."

* * *

 **Ontarom, Newton** **, Kepler Verge**

The trip to the massive communications facility on Ontarom turned out to be a typically friendly small town visit. The damage done by the Reapers had been significant, leaving the facility only marginally operational, mostly with a number of short-term repairs. After the initial tour, Shepard turned to the facility director, Marine Communications Officer Jeff Shelby. "I can arrange for additional help to get all these connections wired back up with permanent fixes a lot faster than your guys can do alone. Just tell me what you need."

Jeff smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, Captain, but no need. The planet is dying; the tidal-induced electrical storms are finally overpowering our ability to stabilize them. We're working with a coalition of Ontarom's businesses to restart construction on a space-based relay hub so we can get everything off the planet."

"Seriously?" Shepard looked at the man in surprise. "That's a huge effort! And, I assume, you have the support of Alliance Command."

Jeff chuckled, "Of course. Not like I can make those agreements myself. Admiral Hackett was out here a few weeks ago and gave us the go-ahead. He said something about making Ontarom a symbol of civilian and military cooperation... just like expanding the membership of the new Galactic Council. It's a new era, Captain... largely due to your efforts."

"Not mine alone." Shepard grimaced. "A lot of folks gave their lives to make this victory happen..." Her expression lightened with a gentle nudge through the link by Liara, who was standing at her side. The Spectre continued, "So we'll not let their sacrifices be in vain. Such a joint project is excellent news. I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're successful."

"I appreciate that, Captain, and as soon as we have hard numbers for supplies and draft up the requisitions, I'll be sure to send a copy to the Normandy. I'd be a fool to turn down sponsorship from one such as yourself." Jeff lifted his arm and indicated a direction. "Now, if you will... I've got folks who are eagerly waiting to meet you and your crew."

Over the next few days, the Normandy crew enjoyed working with the specialists at the communications facility. Edi and Samantha Traynor were the dolls of the show, with technicians collecting every bit of knowledge they could glean from them regarding the most advanced technology in secure communications networks. While Edi could partition data in her memory with ease, Traynor had to be constantly vigilant to reveal information utilized only within the Normandy main systems and not let her mind bleed over to the technologies in the Broker network. While helping to deflect her thoughts from what had happened with her Mum at the house on Discovery, Sammi was perfectly happy to say farewell to the Ontarom systems techs and reboard the Normandy for the last time in preparation to move on to their next tour stop.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, At Large**

While the Normandy's engineers and systems techs had toiled on the surface with the colonists, Liara and Riana had also been hard at work in the Broker Office. Riana was working with the collection ships and multiple agents in the field to track down any and all information on the latest LEAP activities, most of which seemed only to involve rallies and other political maneuvers back on Earth. They were all quite frustrated with the total dearth of information on any of the radical faction's other operations. It seemed their worst fears were coming true – that LEAP would move their planning cells further 'underground' and make detecting the next attack that much more difficult. That there would be another attack was the only thing of which they were certain, and finding not even a hint of whatever planning activity was ongoing put everyone on edge.

Of course, Liara had helped set up the queries, but she also spent a significant amount of time speaking with the security offices and lead archaeologist for ExoGeni in order to work out details for her upcoming visit to the Prothean ruins on Feros... a second chance at something that had been taken from her when ExoGeni had settled the planet so long ago – thanks to an illegal buy-out of the active research permits during her final year of her doctorate. After the visit from the Normandy during the hunt for Saren, the leadership of ExoGeni had been forced to retire and the galactic circumstances that had allowed such an event to happen in the first place had changed dramatically. Now, Liara was looking forward to seeing the ruins that had once been denied her.

Once all the systems checks were completed for departure from the Kepler Verge, the Normandy had shifted to Hercules in Attican Beta. As they emerged from the relay and prepped for the jump to Theseus, Joker spooled down the FTL drive. "Shepard. You've got an incoming call from Nasurn... a Dalatrass Baon?"

"Understood, Jeff." She cast a doubtful glance at Liara and apologetically heaved herself up off the couch where they had been sitting quite comfortably, simply cuddling and enjoying one another's company in relatively quiet solitude for a change. "Any idea what this is about?"

"No, Ma'am. Sorry." Joker's voice actually held honest contrition, so Shepard let it drop.

"Route it to the personal terminal in my quarters, please. I'll be standing right in front of it before you can get it transferred." Following a quick affirmation from Joker, the console started to ping in time with the flashing amber light, indicating the incoming call. Regretting the need to do so, she reached out to press the receive button... but ended up pleasantly surprised.

"Captain Shepard. Dalatrass Valedra Baon, at your service. I know you have recently departed Kepler Verge... and I regret you felt the need to bypass your scheduled stop at my homeworld on your Victory Tour. I swear to you, the reception you would have received here would have truly renewed your faith in the Salarian Union."

Shepard stared at the Salarian for a moment; seeing no hints that Baon was being deceitful in any way, she answered, "Then you are due an apology from me, Dalatrass. If that is truly the case, I wish you had contacted me before our departure from the cluster. It would have been a welcome change of pace from my last few receptions at Salarian worlds."

Baon's voice was light and she flashed a typical Salarian quick smile. "No apology is necessary, Captain. Your caution is understandable, given recent events. However, contacting you ahead of time would have been impossible, as certain actions had not yet been completed, and I could not risk tipping my hand."

 _{Liara. Come up here so you can listen in, but stay out of sight for now.}_ Shepard's eyebrows rose in question as she communicated silently with her partner before asking, "And what hand would that be, Dalatrass?"

"It has not yet made the galactic news but the previous leader of the Salarian Union, Dalatrass Linron, is dead, Captain Shepard."

"What the...?" Shepard's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "By who's hand?"

"Not mine, I assure you. Perhaps one of her daughters? Pure conjecture, of course. The accepted story is she performed ritual suicide... supposedly attempting to save her clan from utter ruin." Baon didn't express an iota of sympathy as she made the statement. "Her policies and those of the compact of Dalatrasses who supported her demonstrated their weak-minds and led the Salarian Union down the sewage pipe. We are long past due for a change of leadership."

"Holy shit. Is that common in your history?" Shepard couldn't help but glance off to the side.

Baon laughed. "By all means, Captain, please invite Dr T'Soni into the discussion; I am not sharing any information that is for you alone. Her insight would be a welcome addition and she is Asari; I assume you keep nothing from her anyway, so she may as well join us." She paused, giving Liara time to move somewhat hesitantly into view, before answering Shepard's question. "While not common, it has been known to happen so we, as Salarians, certainly are not treading into unfamiliar territory here. Given the circumstances, I felt the need to reach out to you personally so you would understand that you have the support and admiration of the majority of our people, particularly our military and STG... and I would hope that we have _your_ support in this period of transition."

"Particularly until the Salarian return to full status on the Council?" Shepard was sure she had finally grasped the main purpose behind Baon's call.

"Yes and no. We certainly want to earn back our full status on the Council, Captain, but I am not nearly so short-sighted as to see that goal being met as the end of a relationship that could be mutually beneficial in the long term, as well." She paused and drew a deep breath before continuing, "Unfortunately for all involved and simply by nature of location, your itinerary was front-loaded with Salarian worlds of the Linron compact. Of your upcoming scheduled visits, you need only avoid Olor and Dalatrass Salova Wius. After Olor, you will find the Normandy's reception at the remaining Salarian stops to be appropriate for the service you have provided to the Milky Way with your unquestionable contributions to the defeat of the Reapers."

"That's good to know, Dalatrass." Shepard smiled at Liara, happy thoughts of not disappointing those Salarians whom they had befriended coming through the link. "We'll be sure to leave those locations on the schedule."

"That is excellent, Captain, because we _need_ you to stop at those worlds... so we can prove to the Council not all of us are the rebels Linron has painted us to be. I'll not mince words; due to her completely inappropriate attitude toward you, a Salarian civil war is coming, Captain."

"That doesn't sound good." Shepard cocked her hip and crossed her arms, her voice hardening. "You need to be more forthcoming on the situation, Baon, because I won't stop anywhere that may draw the Normandy into one side or the other of a civil war, Dalatrass, I'm sorry."

Again, Baon laughed. "You misunderstand, Shepard. A Salarian Civil War is truly that. Civil. It will consist of only a full conference of Dalatrasses... no physical altercations. All of the major family leads, not just the ten planetary representatives, will meet and discuss the issue at hand and then vote on it; it is normally a very quick process. As such, I am asking for your help so that we, in turn, can help you." Her laughter died and she blinked a couple of times before continuing, indicating she was either stressed or embarrassed. "I hate to admit the last full conference we held took less than a day and concluded with the vote to _not_ assist your world when the Reapers attacked. Along with a significant number of my colleagues, I voted to send aid, but our votes were not nearly enough to sway the final decision."

"So these visits to worlds that are friendly to you... It will help you get elected to Linron's vacated position?" Liara asked the question, feeling a bit lost in the realm of political intrigue. She had never researched the political processes of the Salarian Union and suddenly wished that, perhaps, she hadn't ignored so many of her mother's political lectures that had so bored her.

"Oh no. Most definitely not." Baon flashed a quick smile at the Asari. "I am no politician. I speak much too frankly for the likes of the Union leadership. Dalatrass Mannovai Selok Ilhänl Duran Kirova Esheel will be the one to carry our banner. Very practical... and practiced at politics. Unlike me, she actually _enjoys_ the challenges of debate."

"Thank you for the information." Shepard nodded. "I'll call the council and discuss options for the return of the suggested stops to the itinerary. Knowing we'll be stopping at those locations, you may want to give a heads-up to the appropriate Dalatrasses so they know we'll be coming."

"We never stopped preparations, Shepard." Baon smiled broadly. "Unlike Linron, we are confident in your decision making abilities and knew you would choose wisely. Have a nice day, Captain."

As Baon's visage vanished from the monitor, Shepard turned to the Asari at her side, a smirk climbing onto her lips as she said, "Why do I feel as if I was just manipulated into playing Salarian politics?"

"Because that's exactly how she wanted you to feel... even though it was the right choice, she wants you to feel off balance." Liara laughed and took her hand, pulling her back down the steps toward the couch. "Now... tell Joker to start our FTL journey so we can get back to our very important discussion on the couch."

"I'm not so sure talking was exactly what we were doing... but I agree as to the _important_ part of that statement." Shepard laughed and queued her comm. "Joker. Destination... Feros, please."

* * *

 **Prothean Ruins, Feros** **, Theseus**

The welcome ceremony at the ExoGeni Headquarters building couldn't have gone by fast enough for an impatient Liara and an equally eager Shepard. In the millennia since the Prothean extinction, the upper-level ruins on Feros had been picked over by looters many times but, once settled in, the ExoGeni colonists had made great headway into the lower levels. The going was slow because the dead cities, while in good condition considering their antiquity, were not exactly safe for passage... so engineers had to work constantly to stabilize newly discovered portions before allowing entry to researchers and scientists. One such section had only recently been opened and, given their credentials, Liara and Shepard had arranged for a minimal escort down into the fresh, unexplored caverns.

Shepard, Liara and their four engineering team escorts entered a large central chamber with five passages heading off in various directions. Shepard and Liara remained behind, studying the various pictographs and etchings within the large cavern, while the engineers quickly scouted ahead in an attempt to determine which paths were safe and which they should take first. Seeing as the time of Dr T'Soni and Captain Shepard was too valuable to waste on simple tunnels, they hoped to find evidence of living quarters of some kind or maybe even a storage vault within a reasonable proximity to their current location... preferably before their esteemed guests finished examining the etchings and hieroglyphs within the central chamber.

Liara walked immediately into the middle of the room, attempting to take it all in at once, while Shepard stood at the mouth of the tunnel through which they had just entered, studying only one of many Prothean hieroglyphs. The Spectre finished with the first glyph and had begun moving across the chamber to the next one that caught her eye when a subtle pop echoed across the quiet chamber. Liara turned toward Shepard, thinking she had done something to cause the noise; as the Asari glanced across the small cavern, she saw a small plume of dust floating up from the base of the large central stone column. She looked at it curiously and had taken her first step toward it for closer examination when the floor jumped beneath her feet. Her mind flashed back in time to a certain cavern on Therum and her gaze shot to the ceiling as the first small pieces crumbled from the top of the massive support. "Goddess!"

Feeling the jolt and hearing Liara's fearful exclamation, Shepard stopped and turned from her targeted etching to locate the Asari and the source of her distress; the Spectre's eyes widened in surprise. _{Gods be damned! They said this chamber was secure!}_ Debris rained down as the support and the ceiling it was holding up began to crumble. Liara took a couple of panicked steps backwards, but had nowhere to run as the center of the column simply exploded outward under the growing stress from the weight above.

Also flashing back to Therum, Shepard reacted in exactly the same manner... moving in the one and only direction that was available in her mind. Rather than retreat to the safety of the exit tunnel, she set her feet and _charged_ Liara, wrapping her arms quickly about the Asari before charging again. With the chamber collapsing around them, they had no time to turn; their only available option was to continue in the direction Shepard was already facing, her second _charge_ taking them deeper into the ruins through the tunnel before them.

At Therum, Liara had collapsed from exhaustion and had been cradled in Shepard's arms. Such was not the case here and, as the charge came to an abrupt halt, Liara's heels caught in the scattered debris within the tunnel. Unable to regain her balance after the sudden stop, her momentum carried the Asari over backwards, crashing to the floor with a hard thump. Shepard, also thrown off balance by the unexpected event, was unable to catch her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ ; instead, Liara slipped from her grasp and the Captain tried her best to avoid landing atop the Asari by attempting to dive over with a tuck and roll. She landed awkwardly and felt her right hand and wrist crunch with the force of the impact.

Clouds of dust and small debris washed over them through the narrow tunnel entrance. "Son-of-a-bitch!" Shepard completed the only partially successful roll and stood up cussing and coughing as she turned back to her lover. "Liara! You okay?"

The Asari had sat up, one hand pressed to the back of her crest. She coughed as well, choking on the thick dust as she answered, "Relatively speaking, yes... other than smacking my head hard enough to see stars. But, I'm awake and my vision is fine, so I don't believe I incurred a concussion of any kind. If I did, it is very mild." She saw Shepard cradling her arm as the Spectre emerged from the dust cloud and the tone of her voice immediately changed to register concern. "What about you?"

"I do believe I've managed to break my hand... and maybe sprain my wrist... or vice-versa." She walked to the Asari as Liara stood up, shrugging as she said, "You'll have to scan it. It's throbbing too hard for me to really tell which. All I know is it hurts." She tried to take a deep breath and choked on the dust. "But not here. We need to move down the tunnel and get someplace where we can actually see... and breath."

"Agreed." Liara coughed again and nodded. "Though we are no longer traveling in an engineer cleared section... I see no other choice."

"Me neither, so let's get out of this dust... just remember we do have at least one engineer in front of us somewhere. Hopefully we don't have to go too far before he returns and finds us." Shepard winced as a rock rolled under her foot as she walked, jarring her body and sending a stabbing pain through her wrist.

"I felt that, Samantha." Liara blinked in unwelcome surprise as the sensation of pain traveled through the link. "I'm so sorry... my damned curiosity. We shouldn't have been down here."

A small smile found its way onto Shepard's face. "If I remember correctly, coming down here was _my_ idea... as I wanted a bit more private time with you." She managed to muster a light chuckle, trying to ignore the pain radiating up her arm. "Looks like we're going to get a bit more privacy than I bargained for."

Forehead still wrinkled with concern, Liara smiled back. "When this is over and we're both safely back on the surface instead of under tons of rock, we'll have a good laugh and a great story to tell, won't we?"

"Yeah, we will." Shepard pointed her chin at an apparent opening before them. "That looks like the tunnel is widening out... and we're clear of the dust, so maybe that will provide us some space to work." Looking down the tunnel instead of at her feet, Shepard stumbled again, sending another sharp, searing pain up her arm. "Damn it!"

Liara looked at her with apprehension. "Yes. Better sooner than later from the sound of that."

Shepard winced and cradled her right arm with her left hand, all humor gone. "Most definitely."

They found a flat rock where Shepard could sit and Liara began her scan. As she worked, Shepard said, "And seeing as you haven't commented, I imagine you've been too concerned about me to have noticed."

Liara raised her eyes to peer at Shepard over her omnitool. "Notice what?"

"Our comms." Shepard sighed. "They're silent. We've lost contact with the surface. They may not even realize we're alive."


	57. Defying the Odds

Notes:

ANN - Alliance News Network

ASAP - As Soon As Possible

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Defying the Odds**

 **ExoGeni Research Facility, Feros** **, Theseus**

Up on the surface, the chief engineer was splitting his attention between several security screens when they all suddenly went blank. "What the Hell was that?" Glancing at one of the system technicians, he remained calm as he ordered, "Call security. All our systems going down at once cannot _possibly_ be a coincidence. I think someone may be trying to get into the storage vault down in the ruins; there's priceless Prothean tech down there! Make sure they check it out with a full squad!"

"Dr T'Soni?" While the technician was attempting to call security, Riana had activated her comms and was immediately concerned when she got no response. "Normandy. This is Riana... Do you copy?" Again hearing nothing in return, she turned to Rich Telford, saying, "We have no comms, either. Something is definitely wrong... and, if it's disconnected me from the Normandy, it may be more than simple jamming." She turned to exit the building, intending to jog toward the entrance tunnel to the ruins, but was brought up short as one of the security officers barreled into the room at full speed.

"Blast the damned back-up emergency horn! We need recovery crews!" The man gulped down some air before responding to the wide eyes and panicked looks on the faces of those before him. "There was an explosion down in the main cavern... and it seemed to be accompanied by some type of energy pulse... We've lost power, comms, everything... And the entire central cavern has collapsed!"

Riana's face instantly paled as she heard the man's words and she whispered under her breath, "Athame's mercy! Please let them not be in that chamber! Please don't let this be the end..."

Telford looked at the Asari. "Don't even think it." As he spoke, he moved to a panel along the far wall and ripped the door open, pulling rhythmically on a rope within. Somewhere above, an old-style air horn issued three long blasts, paused for a moment and belched out three more. "Come on."

Not bothering to close the panel, Telford walked quickly out to the balcony and waited while people flocked to the area below in droves. Riana immediately understood what the horn meant. "That was an emergency signal of some sort."

"Yes... and we'll get crews working as soon as people can get gloves and grab whatever tools they can find. We'll start digging while the techs work to recover the systems and reestablish communications." He turned to the crowd below and bellowed, "This is not a drill! Cave-in, section 24 Delta! At least six people trapped below, along with complete loss of communications and contact. Move it, people!"

"I don't need gloves or tools... I have biotics. Where do I go?" Riana's eyes cut through the man like daggers and he instantly recognized how important two of those people were to her.

It was obvious the power couple was much more to her than simply her employers and he responded without hesitation. "Just get down there and follow the crowd to the main tunnel entrance. The majority will be going to the same place. Some will be setting up relief and medical stations outside, but they'll still be close to the entry location and will point you in the right direction."

"Thank you." Without another word, Riana leapt from the balcony and used only minimal biotics to slow her descent, tucking and rolling when she hit the ground, reminiscent of her leap from the Normandy after Shepard had vanished into the smoke and haze of the battle for Earth. Riana purposely saved every bit of biotics she could, sure she was going to exhaust herself long before Liara and Shepard were dug out of the rubble, and took off at a dead run as soon as she regained her footing.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Feros Orbit, Theseus**

"What the Hell?" Samantha Traynor stared at the display before her. Confused, she queried, "Edi? Do you detect any system malfunctions? I've lost our connection to the comm links on Feros... all three of them at the exact same time. It's like the link just... dropped."

"Unknown, Samantha..." Edi paused as she ran a quick diagnostic. "Whatever is happening is on the planet. All of our systems are fully operational. Scanning."

As soon as the chatter began, Joker started a full scan of the surface. When the system swept over the ExoGeni Headquarters, three warning notifications lit up the panel. "Holy shit! Commander Williams! Bridge! ASAP!"

Ashley was down in the armory when the call came across the comm. Based on the tone in Joker's voice, she dropped everything she was doing on the weapons bench and ran to the elevator. "What's happening, Joker?"

"We just lost contact with our people on Feros and we got three messages on the panel." Joker stared at the console, hoping they were false readings as he passed them to the XO. "Explosives signature, ongoing geological event and one Hell of a jammer!"

The elevator had arrived, but Ashley didn't get in. Instead, she turned around and ran toward her locker. "Joker, all hands call. I want the full ground team ready to deploy as fast as they can get here."

As Joker broadcast the call, Ashley called for Steve Cortez but there was no need. He had heard her speaking with Jeff and had already run to the shuttle to begin flight checks for departure.

"We will be blind when we arrive, Ashley." With no need to dress out or prep armor, Edi was the first to arrive and stood ready at the Spectre's side. "At least until we find and disable the jammer. Restoring communications should be a top priority."

"Finding our teammates is the top priority, Edi. But, knowing our luck, this entire shit-show is going to be in the same place. Come on."

They moved quickly to the shuttle, Edi climbing into the copilot's seat and helping Steve complete the flight checks while everyone else boarded and took seats in the crew compartment. Ashley looked at her crew of only four and took a deep breath. "Alright. Steve... You have your armor and everything aboard, yes?" With an affirmative response, Ashley continued, "Good… we're going to need you for your comms and weapons expertise, so dress out. Edi can take us dirtside. Let's go."

With the status of the three on Feros unknown, the ground crew included only Ashley, Sarah Campbell, Edi and Legion. Even with the addition of Steve Cortez, they still only had five. _How the fuck did we allow this to happen? Even with the others, we only have eight. Exactly how did we let ourselves get four team members short of two full squads?_

As if reading her mind, Sarah chimed in, "Sure wish we had Beth and James right about now."

"Yeah." Ashley looked at her and frowned. "I was just thinking that... along with Garrus and Tali. We've gotten distracted and sloppy; lost people and never replaced them, thinking this damned war was over and that we were safe." She looked out the front viewport as their destination appeared through the clouds. "And when we get back on board after this mess, I'm gonna have a chat with Shepard and Liara… maybe even Admiral Hackett. With everything that's still going on, we need to fix that."

* * *

 **Prothean Ruins, Feros** **, Theseus**

Shepard's eyes fluttered open to a very concerned Liara leaning over her. "Thank the Goddess. Samantha, I am so sorry I had to do that."

"I really do wish you'd stop apologizing, Blue. It needed to be set..." She sat up slowly with Liara's help and tested her balance. "And, without medigel to spare since we have no idea how long we'll be down here, we didn't have any other option. My nanites can only do so much." Shepard took a deep breath and stood up, Liara's hand wrapped around her good arm in case she needed assistance. "You get everything done?"

"Yes. Once you passed out, I finished up, then rescanned and did some fine-tuning; I decided it was better to do it all while you were still out, rather than wait and ask permission."

"Which you know you would have been granted. Good call." Shepard sighed in relief. "Not that I can do much with my arm yet, but at least it doesn't hurt like it did. You do good work, Doctor." She looked around before continuing, "No engineer yet. How long was I out?"

Glancing at her blank chrono out of habit, Liara grumbled, "I have no idea, but I'd guess less than ten minutes... which felt like an eternity to me as I waited for you to regain consciousness."

"I need you to get the sling out of my med-pack." Shepard turned sideways to grant Liara easier access. "Then, at least, I'll have use of my left arm, instead of using it to cradle my right! It'll be better than what I've got right now, which is nothing."

After a few grimaces of discomfort, they managed to get the sling situated and Shepard's arm somewhat comfortably placed. She exhaled heavily with relief, the sling bearing the weight of her arm nicely so she was finally able to relax her shoulder. "Ahhh. Much better." She made eye contact with Liara and smiled. "So, do we go look for our engineer... at least to the first split we find in the tunnel? I don't want to risk getting lost, so I don't think we should go past any intersections."

"At least then we're moving and generating body heat." Liara stepped to Shepard's left and clasped her good hand. "We did not come down here prepared for an extended stay, Samantha. We probably have enough snacks and eezo bars to survive as long as a week, but there's only enough water for a day... and it's cold... barely over 12°C. We can expect to suffer symptoms of mild hypothermia after roughly twenty-four hours and moderate symptoms after two days."

"And after that?"

Shepard wasn't sure she even wanted the answer, but was spared the harsh truth anyway, when Liara basically refused to give one, simply stating, "I don't want to talk about it, at least not yet."

"We also have to be careful to not work up a sweat." Shepard started walking slowly down the tunnel, Liara's hand hanging tightly on to hers. "If our undergarments are at all wet, it will only make things worse when we pause to rest." She stopped and turned the Asari toward her, placing a soft kiss on blue lips. " _Mo cheann geallta_... You have a lower body temperature than I do so, if it comes down to it… you _should_ be functional for a while longer than me, so watch for symptoms in me. It will give you some warning before the situation honestly starts the downhill slide."

"Shepard... I..."

Whatever the Asari was about to say was cut off by warm lips pressed to her own as Shepard pulled her hand away to wrap it around Liara's neck and pull her close, only separating when Liara's stomach pinned a still very sore hand between their bodies. Shepard grunted in discomfort and took a step back before smiling and joking, "Damn. This could be my last day and I can't even kiss the love of my life without it causing me pain."

"Not funny, Sam." Liara reached up and ran her fingertips softly down her _siame_ 's cheek. "Please, for my sake, don't even jest about that."

"Understood, Liara." More careful the second time, the two leaned back in and kissed again, neither one giving voice to their mutual concern about how little time each of them possibly had left in their lives. When they broke apart, a resolute Shepard whispered, "There are still blue babies in our future, _I_ _onúin Álainn_. Focus on them."

They resumed their slow walk until they came to a rather large breach in the floor of the tunnel. Peering down into the chasm, Shepard whispered, "Damn... There's our engineer... I guess we're done looking for him."

Liara refused to look down, focusing instead on the other side. "I assume he was trying to leap across, perhaps to get back? It seems a long way, and I'm positive we could do it utilizing biotics... The question is, why? Unless he hoped there was another way out. A connecting tunnel, perhaps, that returns to the surface elsewhere? I can't imagine he'd be that desperate."

"It's likely he was past this point when the cavern collapsed and was on his way back... Perhaps he found something of interest." Shepard looked at her and asked, "You want to cross? Take the chance that he found a great discovery and was rushing back to tell us?"

"No." Liara's tone was firm, leaving no room for doubt. "I know we can get across, but I am also confident that Riana is looking for us. What if they break through and we are gone?"

"I agree," said Shepard. "First rule of survival. Never leave your crash site unless compelled by imminent danger."

"So we head back." Liara smiled sadly and offered her hand, which Shepard willingly took as they turned around to return the way they had come.

* * *

The ground team arrived to discover there had been a cave-in and immediately shed their armor, jumping in to help. Knowing for certain they were looking for a jammer, they quickly scanned the area, only to discover it was also buried in the rubble, likely in the central chamber. While Steve returned to the Normandy to fetch Dr Chakwas, the crews, augmented with the mechanical strength of Edi and Legion, worked diligently through the night clearing debris until they finally heard a voice call out. "Hey! I'm here!"

Picking up the pace, the crew moved faster until they could see a hand stuck up through a gap revealed between rocks. Less than ten minutes later, they pulled a tired and dirty engineer named Mike Flynn from the first tunnel to the left. He immediately told them of the scouting plan... how the engineers had separated, each going down a different tunnel hoping to find some intriguing space for T'Soni and Shepard to examine.

Riana interrupted his tale. "Where was Dr T'Soni when you left?"

The man looked at the pile of rock still before them and turned back to the anxious rescuers. "We left them in the main tunnel until one of us reported back. I have no idea if someone else found something of interest... but I doubt it. I didn't hear anyone call out a discovery on the comms... and then the whole cavern went to Hell in moments. It makes no sense! That room was stable!" He turned back toward the cavern and said sadly, "If you haven't found them yet, that means they're likely somewhere in the middle of all that."

"I may have an explanation for that." Ashley stared at the debris still blocking the chamber and continued, "When we initially lost contact and before we left the Normandy, we ran a focused planetary scan... It indicated an explosion followed by an ongoing geological event... and you already know about the jamming signal."

A mentally and physically exhausted Riana dropped to her knees in tears, her head in her hands. "Oh, Goddess. Please let them have retreated into another of the tunnels."

Ashley and a medic she didn't know grabbed each of Riana's arms and helped her stand as Karin Chakwas quickly approached. "You need to rest, Vanguard Iregos. You've been at this from the start and if you don't submit to sleep voluntarily, I'll make _sure_ you rest... and I guarantee it will be longer than you desire." With a look from Ashley that told Riana she agreed with the doctor, the disheartened Asari voiced no objection and let them lead her off to a relief tent. Given eezo-infused rations and assigned a bunk, Riana was asleep within moments of finishing her meal.

In the mean time, the survivor was escorted to the medical station for treatment, where he was questioned by Ashley about his statement that the tunnel had been deemed stable. His report made everyone in the security department nervous when they heard him adamantly declare, "There's no way that chamber came down on its own! Combined with the results of your scan, I'd stake my reputation... and my life on it. Somehow, for some unknown reason, someone blew up that central column! You make sure those search and rescue teams collect anything they find that isn't rock!"

"Don't you worry about _that_ ," Ashley growled. "We're going to find the pieces and we're going to put the picture together. We'll find whoever did this. And, when this is all over, they'd better pray that we find everyone alive... because if they've killed someone, _anyone_ , I'm going to make sure they live just long enough to regret ever setting foot on Feros."

* * *

Liara was shaken awake and it took her a moment to remember where they were. They were leaning against the wall and against one another so she whispered quietly into Shepard's ear, "What's the matter, Sam? Why are you waking me?" When she received no response, she activated her omnitool light and looked at the woman beside her; Shepard was shivering badly in her sleep. "Goddess, no! It's too soon!" She immediately supported the woman as she spun away from the wall to face her, shaking her gently by the shoulder of her good arm. "Samantha, wake up. We need to walk and get you warm."

The captain mumbled something about being tired, so Liara leaned in and brushed her lips against Shepard's. "Come on, Love. I need you to get up."

The worry in Liara's voice caught her attention and she forced herself awake. "Li? What's the matter?"

"We need to walk and get your blood flowing; the floor is too cold and you're shivering." She stuck out a hand to help her lover off the floor and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we need to move."

Shepard groaned as she rose. "I wish we had some idea what time it is and how long we've been down here... though I suppose it doesn't matter one way or the other."

"No, it doesn't... because no matter how long it takes them to find us, we'll be here waiting for them."

Shepard was a realist and understood she was going to need help, probably very soon. "Liara. My hands are freezing and my feet feel like bricks. I'm not sure I should sleep again. I need you to help me stay awake... or I may not wake up again."

Liara cried out, "Goddess, Shepard! Don't say that!"

"I'm just agreeing with you, Liara... I definitely need to walk to stay warm, because it's pretty obvious I'm in the first stages of hypothermia. No more cold floor or... never mind. Just leave it at that; no more sitting or lying on the cold floor." Shepard, even with all her training and willpower, could not keep herself from shivering.

"Okay, _Siame_ , okay." Tears wanted to stream down Liara's face, but she stopped them through pure strength of will, knowing she couldn't afford the water loss or the chill on her face. "We'll walk until they find us, even if we have to walk for a whole day."

"You know, we could start moving rock. One piece at a time, at a pace where we don't work up a sweat." Shepard looked at the wall between them and their rescuers. I imagine every little bit will help speed our escape from here." Her shivering caused her to hiccup as she chuckled, "I know this reminds us both of Therum."

Liara had to smile in return; the thought of the auburn haired beauty saving the damsel in distress had become something of a joke between them. "I wish the solution here was as simple as you reading a few Prothean words and pushing the correct buttons on a security device."

Turning to Liara, Shepard ran fingers softly down the Asari's cheek as she said, "We've come a long way since then, haven't we?"

Liara snatched Shepard's hand off her cheek and trapped it between both of hers, rubbing it vigorously. "Goddess. You _are_ cold, aren't you? You're right. We need to work a little bit to get you warm again. Let me look at your right hand."

Carefully, they extracted Shepard's arm from the sling so Liara could examine her handiwork. She was relieved to see signs of normal blood flow, with no blue tinge evident on Samantha's fingertips yet, indicating the situation wasn't as bad as Liara had feared. "Can you flex your fingers at all?" Shepard did so, very slowly at first and then stretching and closing her fist a couple of times, quicker each time.

"Feels pretty good, actually. That tells me at least twenty-four hours have passed... probably closer to thirty, based on how it feels." She shrugged at Liara's skeptical look. "You should know that as well. We've both become pretty cognizant of my healing rates with my nanites."

"That's true." The Asari nodded in acknowledgement. "Which also means communications should be back online by now." Liara pulled her omnitool off and popped the eezo containment compartment open, pulling out its tiny canister.

"What are you doing, Li? A hard reboot?" Shepard cocked her head in question.

"Yes. I don't understand what is taking them so long to get the systems back up. It worries me that something more is going on than we realize, buried down in this pit." She shoved it back in, closed the compartment and placed the gadget back on her wrist before turning it back on and activating the comm net. "This is Dr T'Soni. Can anyone hear me?"

The responding silence was deafening and Shepard let out a sigh. "Come on. Let's start moving rock. It there's more to this whole scenario, we might be waiting a long time if we're depending on anyone else to help us."

"Alright, but, before we do, we should eat something and take a drink. I imagine we'll need biotics for the bigger boulders and last thing we need is to add biotic shock to our list of woes."

Shepard answered by reaching into a pocket and withdrawing two eezo nutrient bars, handing the sweetened version to Liara and keeping a normal one for herself. The Asari noticed and smiled. "Thank you, Shepard... for two things. First, for the sweetened eezo, and, second, for the proof that you are still in the early stages of hypothermia. Your mental function still appears to be perfectly normal."

* * *

As day turned into night, the rescuers had pulled out two more of the engineers, leaving only one more unaccounted for, along with Shepard and Liara. They had also found a detonator and a timer, which was turned over to Karin Chakwas and an ExoGeni science team. Together, they quickly determined it had been specifically coded for Shepard's DNA.

Ashley was furious. "What the Hell? Who has the skipper's DNA other than us?" As soon as she said the words aloud, the answer popped into her head. "Fucking _Cerberus_! They cloned parts of her in order to put her back together after Alchera. Son-of-a-bitch!"

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

"Marco." The Captain opened the door and let the man in. "I didn't expect you today... Has something happened?"

Tilzer was all smiles as he stepped in the door. "Have you not been watching ANN?"

She keyed her omnitool and the living room monitor sprang to life with the latest news. The headlines were focused on a seemingly meaningless collapse of some Prothean ruins on Feros. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

"I ran into a bit of luck," Tilzer chuckled. "Did you know that Cerberus had a sleeper at the ExoGeni research facility on Feros?"

"No, I didn't." She turned and studied the man. He was much too pleased for this to be a trivia test, so she let her mind expand to contemplate the larger picture. "I assume it was to steal Prothean tech for the Illusive Man, but what's a tech geek got to do with us?"

"Compliments of the Salarians being complete idiots, the Normandy cancelled their stop at Nasurn and proceeded directly to Feros, five days earlier than expected." He grinned as he continued, "And what better way exists to entertain an archaeologist with a few extra days before her next event?"

The woman's eyes darted back to the screen as she put the pieces together. She practically clapped with joy as she asked, "You mean they were inside the ruins when they collapsed?"

"All it took was one call... and the ruins didn't collapse; they... _exploded_."

She tore her gaze from the screen and turned to face him. "You called? Who?"

"Agent Lamendola. Cerberus handguns and tech specialist Graham Lamendola." Marco walked into the living room and watched the unfolding news with her. "Cerberus kept DNA samples after rebuilding Shepard, so Graham connected a DNA-activated timer to an unobtrusive pack of high explosives and set the explosives near the top of a large support column at the center of a main chamber... with the sensor in a small pile of rocks at its base. We based the entire op on the likelihood that the Asari couldn't resist going exploring... which she did and, as always, was accompanied by that damned race traitor. I find it particularly ironic that it was Shepard who activated the detonator for her own lover's demise."

" _Likely_ demise. It's not fact yet... But, you're right. I enjoy the idea of Shepard's own DNA triggering the timer... which, I assume, was set for an extremely short duration and... _boom_." The smile on the captain's face was one of pure satisfaction as she watched the unfolding story. Over the course of the past two days, the rescuers had first pulled out one engineer who was basically uninjured, then another who was suffering from hypothermia and, finally, a third... who was likely to die from a combination of his injuries and prolonged cold exposure.

Tilzer's voice was infused with confidence as he said, "Each person they have pulled out has been worse off... and there's still a forth engineer, Shepard and T'Soni... all unaccounted for."

They both grinned as the reporter seemed to speak on cue. "Concern over the fate of galactic heroes Captain Samantha Shepard and Doctor Liara T'Soni continues to grow by the hour as hope for their successful rescue fades with each passing moment." The camera swept across the scene and zoomed in on Riana, showing footage of when she was on her knees and bent over crying, as the reporter continued, "Some have already given up on what had started as desperate hope and begun mourning their loss."

The camera refocused on the reporter again. "I, for one, am not counting Shepard and T'Soni out quite yet. They have surprised us more than once with their resilience and a remarkable strength of will to accomplish what everyone else felt was impossible. Their loss is more than I am willing to contemplate as long as there remains even the slightest chance for their survival. This is Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, reporting for Westerlund News."

"If she's right, al-Jilani just became my most hated reporter." She frowned and muted the monitor as she turned to face Tilzer. "But, God forbid she's right, I assume the plans for Trident are still moving along?"

"I've been there once already and made initial contacts; they seem to be a very competent group." He opened his omnitool and continued, "They have three snipers but lost one of their spotters so, in reality, we have two qualified sniper teams on the ground. They know the terrain and know the people... They've lived there for years and are well integrated into the community; should have no problem gaining access." He paused and scrolled down a few pages. "My biggest concern is the large number of folks who potentially defected to Atlas. Almost two-thirds of the cell walked away at the end of the war. Roughly half left the system, the others apparently joining Atlas, but we don't really know. They could have joined a merc group or simply be freelancing. There's no way to know for sure."

Doing quick math in her head, the captain said, "So, what? 130 folks walked and, at most, 75 turned to Atlas?"

"That pretty much sums it up." Tilzer scrolled yet again and smiled. "On a good note, since the unit has been there so long and is so integrated into the community, we confirmed that they have three members sitting within the colonial mayor's office. The Chief Administrative Assistant, a city planner, and... get this... one in Trident Security. We'll have access to... and possibly be able to influence... the Normandy crew's travel routes and itinerary."

"Well now, Marco. That is excellent news, indeed." The woman drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "It's good to know we have a back-up plan to remove this blight from the galaxy, even if they do manage to somehow survive this most recent... _accident_. Well done."

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Over the past month, Zoë Lawrence had made significant progress in changing what had been a near-fanatical anti-alien attitude among the members of Cerberus into an acceptance of every race's innate worth in a huge galaxy. That the newly minted group known as Atlas had been responsible for successfully – and clandestinely – warning Captain Shepard and the crew of the Normandy of an assassination plot targeting Dr Liara T'Soni at their Victory Tour appearance on the colony world Horizon had been a wakeup call to many of the holdouts. It was one thing to espouse an attitude of Human supremacy – quite another to brazenly kill a person who had fought selflessly alongside Commander Shepard throughout the Reaper War. Fortunately, including the latest attack on Feros, LEAP had thus far been unsuccessful... but the final outcome of the latest attack was yet unknown.

All of the research Atlas had done since Tim Stafford had accompanied Zoë to New York City in mid-September had yielded impressive results; with a master list of names, residence locations and specialties purloined from one of LEAP's terminals, Atlas agents had been assigned to shadow those individuals who seemed most likely to pose the greatest threat to galactic stability. Zoë had taught Tim Stafford and Angelique Warren everything she knew regarding keeping a target constantly under surveillance without revealing themselves; little did she realize the final exam for both of them would see the pair traveling far afield to track one of LEAP's upper echelon – Marco Tilzer was a name that seemed to be appearing with increasing frequency in the daily intelligence dispatches from agents stationed in the city.

For the first time since her days working for Jack Harper as Maya Brooks, mostly thanks to events at Feros, Zoë had a feeling of dread growing in the pit of her stomach; she said as much to Tim, Angel and Jana Cantrell during their next twice-weekly meeting. "LEAP now knows, beyond any reasonable doubt, that they have a leak… They just don't know from where. As a result, their clandestine ops have now gone deep underground and they are covering their tracks much more effectively. You simply need to look at Feros to see that."

Angelique asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "How are we supposed to track them now that they've gone further underground, Zoë? We had no idea anything was planned for Feros... and they very well may have succeeded in killing both T'Soni _and_ Shepard!"

"Feros is an absolute failure on our part, so I'm hoping it's an anomaly... and that Shepard and T'Soni are still alive. For now, we plan as if they are. Otherwise, our game changes considerably... because I won't rest until we simply wipe LEAP from the galaxy." She paused and drew a deep breath before continuing, "I think Jack Harper had an agent there collecting Prothean technology, so they simply used a convenient tool." Zoë shook her head slightly as she replied, "My instincts are screaming that this Tilzer character is the primary organizer... the key to whatever their plans entail. The Normandy's schedule is common knowledge and all of the next four stops are on worlds with Human majorities... way too many opportunities." Zoë picked up a datapad showing when and where the Normandy would be appearing; she went silent as she studied the schedule of upcoming events.

After several minutes of silence, Jana cleared her throat, causing Zoë to look up abruptly. After brief glances at Angel and Tim, she focused her gaze on Jana. "Sorry… got lost thinking about these upcoming appearances." Setting the datapad down on the conference table, she leaned back in her chair, steepled her hands next to her chest and continued. "None of the next four colonies have enough population to pose what I would describe as a homegrown threat – that is to say, I think LEAP would have to send a team there, as was done on Horizon, if they wanted to make another attempt at any of those locales. Though, because of Feros, we absolutely must confirm that assumption." Abruptly getting to her feet, she began pacing back and forth behind her chair as she continued to speak in a tone of voice that suggested she was simply thinking aloud.

"There are also no damned Prothean ruins on any of the upcoming stops to draw our persons of interest away from the Normandy... not that I think they'll be so foolish again anytime soon. After those four stops, we have both a Turian and then an Asari colony visit flanking either side of the Thanksgiving holiday... I imagine the entire crew will be surrounded by family and friends during that whole time period, not to mention enough Turian Cabal and Asari Commandos to guard an entire damned planet... making any assassination attempt extremely risky. Even LEAP won't be _that_ stupid."

"After all that, however, is Trident. The stop there is on the 29th of November, a week after Thanksgiving, and the population consists of over five million surviving Humans… with relatively small numbers of Asari, Batarians, Krogan and Salarians. Lots of unethical corporations exploiting the planet's resources, plus criminals, slavers and mercenaries for hire... but, Cerberus had a cell in New Cousteau." She stopped her pacing and zeroed in on Jana. "Cantrell, I need you to look at the current membership numbers for Atlas on that planet and get in touch with the leader of that group. Find out how many survived through the end of the war." Zoë waved a hand to indicate all three people before her. "More importantly, of those who chose to leave Cerberus and not stay with Atlas, we need to know how many left the system in the three months or so the Hekate relay has been operational... and how many still remain. I feel certain LEAP will have established a presence in the vacuum left by the absence of Cerberus, and if that's the case…"

Jana knew exactly where Zoë's train of thought was taking her, saying, "If that _is_ the case, then LEAP may not need to send sharpshooters to Trident, Zoë… they could already be there. Angel… Tim… Let's get to work; we need to discover if LEAP actually _is_ on the planet, and if so, how deeply entrenched they are."

Zoë nodded. "That's a really good idea, Jana... but please… don't ignore any of the Normandy's prior stops. Remember Feros; just because there may not be a large Human population on those worlds doesn't mean LEAP won't make some kind of attempt on T'Soni's life at any one of them, so keep your ear to the ground. Those visits will be coming fast and furious... and if even one attack slips our notice, it could mean the end for Dr T'Soni... and the end of the galaxy as we know it." She stared hard at the three people quietly waiting in front of her. "Spectre Shepard would rip this galaxy to shreds to find that Asari's murderer... and I very much doubt she would slow her rampage long enough to give us ex-Cerberus types time to explain how much we were trying to help her."

Jana stood and met Zoë's eyes. "Yes, Ma'am. We'll be vigilant, I swear it. If they haven't managed to do it on Feros, we'll make sure LEAP won't be successful at killing either Shepard or T'Soni in the future, either. Not on our watch."


	58. Just Enough

Notes:

Dragoon - Cerberus specialists armed with biotic lashes for close to mid-range attacks.

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

STAT - immediately

* * *

 **Just Enough**

 **ExoGeni Research Facility, Feros** **, Theseus**

Telford, Williams, and the Chief of Security were standing in the Operations Office when the security team literally dragged Technician Graham Lamendola into the room, looking a little the worse for wear. As they released their hold and he fell to the floor, he cursed long and loud while struggling to his knees with his arms cuffed behind his back. "What the fuck? I've got a comm system down... I need to get it fixed!"

Telford glared at him. "Shut the Hell up, Graham, and tell me... How long have you been working for Cerberus?"

Ashley saw just a flicker of surprise pass across his face before he answered, "Cerberus? What the Hell are you talking about, Rich? I've worked for you for years!"

Telford had been shocked when the fingerprints and DNA tags on the timing device had come back incriminating his primary systems technician. Lamendola had been with the colony since its founding in 2178, having been a member of the original set-up team; rather than return to Arcturus Station afterwards, he had elected to remain full time, continuing to work side-by-side with the rest of them for nearly ten years. He had been a friendly chap and a man Telford came to trust upon his arrival to take over operations in 2183, after what had become known as 'The Thorian Incident.'

The sense of betrayal felt by the chief engineer won out over self-restraint and his fist lashed out to punch the kneeling Lamendola square in the jaw, sending the man reeling over backward. "And you've probably been selling us out the entire damned time! How much did they pay you, Graham? I trusted you, you bastard!"

Ashley thought about stopping the chief engineer... but quickly dismissed the impulse when she realized she wanted to do the exact same thing. "Get him back up... all the way to his feet this time." As the bloodied tech was dragged to a standing position, Ashley sneered. "You're a damned traitor... and I don't believe we've been properly introduced, Mr Lamendola. Spectre Ashley Williams... and it is well within my authority to execute you right here, right now, for the attempted murder of at least six people. By now, you must know we've already recovered three, and I sincerely pray the rest of those people you attempted to bury in the tunnels are found alive and well... for their sake, not yours."

Lamendola curled his lip and spit blood on the floor in front of Ashley. "I don't give a shit what you pray for... _Spectre_. No prayers are gonna help them now. If you have me, you know it was a DNA-keyed high explosive... which means your damned bitch of a race traitor and her blue-assed Asari whore were standing right next to that fucker when it blew!" He finished speaking with a laugh, which was abruptly choked off as Ashley's backhand wiped the smirk from his face.

Once the guards dragged him back up a second time, Telford stepped up again. "If you want any mercy, you'll tell me who contacted you, Graham. Who's paying you, you son-of-a-bitch?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you that." Lamendola huffed. "You gone fuckin' loony?"

"Doesn't matter." Ashley shrugged, her brown eyes flashing in barely contained anger. "We've got your comm gear and the best communications techs in the business are on the Normandy. We'll find your contacts... and we'll destroy them."

The tech, seemingly unconcerned about his own fate, laughed again. "Spectre or not, you won't be able to get close to 'em. Friends in high places and all that. Your two bitches are dead and..."

Lamendola once again found himself staring up at the ceiling, this time writhing in pain from a broken and dislocated jaw caused by an angry Spectre's powerful right hook. Regaining her composure, Williams looked at Telford as she ground out, "Get this miserable example of humanity the Hell out of my sight before I tear his fucking head off!"

As Ashley flexed her fingers and rubbed her knuckles, Telford looked at her and growled out, "You owe me for that one, Williams... I wanted the privilege of doing that."

"Well, you can do whatever in Hell you want with him, now." Ashley shrugged. "Just keep him alive long enough to see Shepard and Liara come out of those ruins alive... After that, find the deepest hole available in those caverns and toss his ass in. Let him think about his life as he slowly freezes to death down there." She glanced at the guards. "Oh, but please... feel free to take him to your medics first so his jaw can be set and wired shut... and tell them no anesthesia… Spectre authority!"

The guards grinned malevolently as they roughly heaved the agent to his feet once more and dragged him out of the Operations Office.

* * *

 **Prothean Ruins, Feros** **, Theseus**

The rescuers had been digging for more than forty-eight hours when someone gave a shout. "Hey! Over here! I think we've found the damned jammer!" A gray, military-grade metal case lay twisted but unbroken in the rubble, revealing some sort of electronic device, its green operational indicator shining through the small gap in the lid where one of the clasps had been bent askew, either by the explosion or the collapsing rock. It was that glowing light that drew the attention of the diggers, revealing the case's location just before dawn of the third day. The team quickly focused on moving enough rubble to extract the insidious device from its prison.

Practically tearing the lid from its hinges with biotics, a refreshed yet still very angry Riana Iregos ripped the device from its protective shell and smashed it into the rocks. Almost immediately, everyone's comm units began chiming with the backlog of messages suddenly surging into whatever personal devices they had in their possession. Without delay, Riana queued her comm and practically shouted into it. "Liara! By the Goddess, Mistress... please answer me!"

A deafening roar enveloped the group as people cheered when they heard Liara's answering voice. Riana waved her hands, trying to get people quiet so she could hear. A wide, relieved grin dominated Riana's face as she said, "Please repeat... People are celebrating you being alive. I could not understand what you said."

Liara sounded extremely tired as she spoke. "Yes. We are alive, but not... not much more than that. It is extremely cold down here... I can only assume it is nighttime because a deep chill has settled into the cavern." She coughed and sobbed at the same time. "I hope you are close, Riana. Sam... Captain Shepard... is not doing well."

Riana motioned to Karin to come closer so she could listen in as well. "What's wrong, Mistress? What has happened?"

"The engineer that was with us is dead." Liara paused to cough again, seeming to wheeze as she spoke. "I fell... smacked the back of my head... and Shepard broke her right hand and wrist."

"Liara." Karin Chakwas joined the conversation. "Is Shepard showing signs...?"

"... of hypothermia?" she finished for Karin. "Yes, she is, Dr Chakwas... and I believe I am as well. Sam woke me a couple of hours ago... I think... The passage of time down here seems to have lost all meaning. She was shivering violently... Since then, we have been up, slowly moving rock and trying to stay warm, but I have a severe headache and she is becoming lethargic. I am fairly certain it is more than simple exhaustion."

"You know to keep her awake if you can. If she goes to sleep, her body may slow down even more... especially if she gets any colder... and you fully realize that could be bad." Karin looked at Riana, seeing her own concern mirrored in the pale blue face returning her gaze. "Where, exactly, are you? What direction are you from the main entrance tunnel?"

Liara let out a deep shuddering sigh. "As far away as we could get. I was near the center of the chamber and Shepard was barely in the room from the main tunnel, looking at a glyph to the left of the entry, when the column started to collapse." She paused for a few moments before stating, "Karin, this was no accident."

Riana cut in, "We already know that, Liara, but that's not important right now. Where are you?"

"Oh, right." Liara sniffled, and both Riana and Karin could tell the Asari was near tears. "It was like Therum. Shepard saw what was happening and _charged_ to me, grabbed me, and _charged_ again... into the tunnel that was in line with her direction. There was no time to turn us around to face toward the exit." She paused and put it together in her head before stating, "So, she went from left of entry to the center, then to the right rear tunnel at the very back of the cavern." Suddenly realizing just how far from the entry they were, Liara was unable to stop the next sob as she choked out, "By the Goddess... that... is a lot of rock to move. Please tell me you are through the majority of it... I... I am not sure how much longer we have."

Riana looked stricken and was unable to speak, so Karin responded, "We've cleared the left tunnel already. Luck would have it that we've worked from left to right... so the tunnel you're in is all that's left. If I have to estimate time, based on how long it's taken us to clear the other quadrants, we have ten to twelve hours to go, Liara. You can do this. You haven't left the immediate vicinity of the cave in, have you? You're still close to the main chamber?"

"Yes. We looked for the engineer, but turned back when we saw him at the bottom of a fairly wide chasm. We could have gotten across with biotics, but felt it more prudent to remain where we were." She paused and took a breath. "Karin. We have not had water in at least a day and ate the last of our energy bars... probably six or seven hours ago." She dry-swallowed and coughed again. "There is nothing but dry, dusty air down here... It is pitch black outside the light of our omnitools and we are thirsty, hungry... and very tired, but I am still of sound enough mind to know that if we stop, we sit... and if we sit, we sleep, get cold... and we will die where we lie."

They heard Shepard's voice in the background for the first time. "Hey... 'nuf o' tha'. No talkin' o' dyin', T'Shoni."

"Liara? Is Shepard slurring her words?"

Karin's concern ticked up a couple more notches when Liara replied, "Yes... and has been for some time… at least two… maybe three hours now. That is why I am unsure how much longer we… she… will last down here." Liara squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth before finishing with a plaintive, "Please... Hurry."

The comm link fell quiet and Karin looked at Riana. "Based on how heavy her slur was, I give Shepard eight hours, at best, before she falls unconscious. If we're lucky, possibly ten before she goes into cardiac arrest. We _have_ to dig faster."

"And Liara is not as well as she sounds." Riana's face was full of despair. "Did you notice her diction? She was having to concentrate on her speech... each word very precise. She long ago fell into Shepard's habit of using contractions when she speaks... and there were none the entire time she spoke just now."

"That's good... She's purposely focusing. Paying attention and keeping them doing what they need to do can help her delay onset of more severe symptoms." Karin shook her head. "Not by much, but I'll take whatever we can get. Even so, she's likely only a few hours behind Shepard." Karin turned and searched with her eyes as she shouted, "I need Richard Telford and Spectre Williams... Now!"

* * *

With the motivation of knowing they were no longer digging simply to recover bodies, the rescue workers found a new sense of purpose and doubled their efforts. After a few hours, Karin still feared they were not making progress fast enough and once again called Telford and Williams to her side. Telford sadly stated, "It's an archaeological dig, Doctor, not a mining operation! We don't have heavy equipment other than the lifts. I'm sorry!"

"Damn it." Karin shook her head in apology. "I'm sorry. I know you have every one of your people here... and if you had the equipment available, you would have brought it in a long time ago."

"It's alright. I know you're worried." Telford set his jaw and stared at the work crews. "They've been at it for more than two solid days now... I'm actually surprised they're still going as strong as they are. Having your mechs in there certainly helps."

Ashley gave him a sideways look. "They are much more than mechs, Mr Telford. I know a lot of people don't like it, but they're both fully sentient... AIs... and they've saved our skins more than once."

"Sorry. Didn't mean any offense." The engineer stared hard at the two vastly different synthetics working side-by-side in the pit. "It's just... Well, you have to admit, the last time synthetics were here, they caused ExoGeni quite the stir."

Ashley practically snorted. "I know. I was here... as were Shepard and Liara... and Doctor Chakwas!"

"I was unaware of that... All of you were crew on the original Normandy as well?" The man looked at them with newfound respect. "You were the ones responsible for killing the Thorian and freeing the surviving colonists! I'll be damned!" He shook his head. "Well, that does change things a bit. If _you_ can trust a Geth after all of that, then I can certainly make my best effort to do the same."

"That's great, but still doesn't solve our current dilemma." Ashley's voice reflected defeat. "The skipper's done so much for all of us... I just can't accept the thought that we can't dig them out of there in time to save her and Liara."

"Well, I have an idea... but feel strongly that we shouldn't do it unless the situation becomes truly dire." He saw the expectant faces before him and realized they were waiting for him to explain, so continued, "I've already pointed out that we're not a mining company, so don't have heavy equipment or explosives... but I'll wager that Geth Prime certainly does."

It took only a moment before Ashley exclaimed, "The combat drones!" The Spectre's eyes lit up in understanding. "Why in Hell didn't I think of that?"

Rich shrugged. "I believe that if he can put them in the right places, he can blast the bigger stuff and speed our debris removal... but there are risks involved."

"Yes. It risks collapsing more of the tunnel... and could potentially make the situation worse." Karin was nearly in tears at the thought of inadvertently burying the very people they were trying to save. "So, as you suggested, I think we wait... If it comes down to it, we use Legion's drones only as a last resort, maybe to blow through the last of the debris when we get closer to the end." Neither of those speaking with her cared to ask if she meant closer to the end of the rescue... or closer to the end of Shepard's life.

* * *

Liara and Shepard were exhausted, but hadn't dared to sit down since the conversation with Karin, which had been hours prior. Samantha had stopped answering the Asari's banter awhile back and Liara was growing increasingly concerned about her _siame's_ condition. The Human's movements had become like those of a mech; pick up a rock, turn and toss it behind her. Turn back to the pile and repeat the action... time and time again. Liara's arms were simply too tired to lift another stone, so she finally gave up and approached her Promised. "Sam. Stop and talk with me a minute."

The captain turned and tossed the rock she already had in her hands before stopping and looking at Liara, her normally brilliant green eyes dulled by fatigue and the lethargy brought on by her lack of food, water and warmth. She was breathing heavily, obviously just as tired as Liara, if not more so. When she spoke, it was with a belligerence brought on by thirst and exhaustion. "Wha'? Gotta move th' rocks."

Liara's forehead wrinkled in worry as she wrapped her arms around the woman. "Goddess, Sam. You look ready to drop. We need to rest for a moment."

"Wha' for?" Shepard tried to push away, but didn't have the strength. "Haffa move..." She lost the word and gestured at the wall. "Th' stuff."

"Shush, Love." Liara held on and hugged the woman with what little strength she had remaining before letting go and stepping back. "We need to... take a bit of a break. Sit down. Tired." Liara staggered back against the wall and half fell, half sat on a good sized boulder. "Come. Sit with me... for just a minute."

Shepard did so, but didn't stay sitting. After only a few moments of inactivity, she started shivering again and stood up. "Can't... 's t-too c-cold." She had shuffled two steps and begun her turn to head back to the wall of stone when she stumbled; in her tired state, her foot was unable to push a small rock in her path aside, which caused her to crash face-first to the floor. She hadn't even attempted to break her fall, and made no move to get up as Liara hurriedly pushed herself up from the boulder.

"Goddess! Sam!" The Asari also stumbled and sprawled on the debris-strewn floor. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, weeping as she crawled the two meters to the side of her loved one. "Sam… talk to me, please?" She grabbed the captain's shoulder and rolled her over to spy a new gash on the woman's forehead – and Shepard was out cold.

Panicking in her dulled state, Liara fought to activate her omnitool, taking three tries before she finally got the right combination of commands to open its communications function. No longer able to think clearly, Liara simply cried out, the despair in her voice obvious. "Ashley!"

Surprised by the tone of Liara's voice and her complete disregard for comms protocol, the Spectre responded in much the same way. "Liara! What's wrong?"

"She fell, Ashley... and hit her head." The Spectre could tell Liara was crying as the Asari continued, her voice hitching in grief. "She won't wake up!"

"What happened?" Ashley waved frantically at Karin, who ran over and listened to Liara's exhausted response.

"We stopped... for just a minute... to breath." Liara sniffled and continued, "So tired... She got cold... fast... too fast... so stood up to go back to work and... tripped. Or stumbled... over a rock. She has a bad gash on her head and won't wake up!"

"Dear God! Shepard's down!" Karin turned and called to Telford. "Rich! Clear your people!"

Telford looked at her in shock and realized something serious must have happened to spur such an urgent demand. Not wasting any time questioning the doctor's decision, he immediately activated his omnitool and made a system wide broadcast. "Clear the recovery area. We're blasting!"

Having already been notified of the plan to use the explosive drones, Legion stood still, simply rotating his chassis back and forth as he minutely inspected the wall of debris before him and made the necessary calculations while waiting for the command to deploy. Ashley had continued speaking with Liara, explaining what she needed the Asari to do. "You need to get back from the wall, Liara. You have enough left to move Shepard by yourself?"

"I have to, don't I?" The Asari's voice sounded small, but it was not a question and Ashley realized Liara understood what she had to do.

"Keep the comm open, Liara, and tell me how far you are from the wall as you move away."

"Okay... We are starting at only about two meters." Liara took a deep breath and grabbed Shepard's good arm. Giving a firm tug, she couldn't move the woman at all. "Goddess, Ashley. I am too weak. I will have to resort to biotics."

"Whatever it takes, Liara. You have to do this... You _can_ do this."

Liara pushed herself to her feet and slowly walked a good ten meters down the tunnel, knowing this was an all or nothing gambit. She told Ashley where she was and what she was going to do. "Just like Therum, Ashley... I will give it everything I have left... pull Shepard out of that damned volcano... one... more... time."

Liara set her jaw and closed her eyes, digging deep within herself. Relying on pure determination and muscle memory from years of practice, her entire body lit with power and she snapped her right hand out, focusing entirely on Shepard. She closed her fist quickly and tugged... _hard_ ; in a repeat performance of Liara's effort on Therum, Shepard's body flew through the air, crashing into the Asari and knocking her to the ground. Ashley heard a whispered, "It is done." before the comms went quiet.

Down in the cavern, it took everything she had left to push Samantha off to the side. Liara rested her head on Shepard's chest and wept for only the briefest period of time. Before darkness took her, she managed a resolute whisper. "Hold on, Love. They're coming..."

Even at more than ten meters, the blast pelted them with debris, but they were well past the point of caring. The team scrambled through the ragged breach and rushed to the stricken captain and her Promised; Karin's face paled when she read the results of the initial scans. She quickly swallowed her fear and told the medics, "Get us to the Normandy med-bay, STAT."

As they were moving, Karin called in. "Medic Werkheiser. We are enroute – both patients non-responsive and demonstrating moderate to severe hypothermia symptoms. Dr T'Soni is stable but Captain Shepard is extremely critical. I need you to prep the transfuser and a warmed saline intravenous drip." She paused for only a moment before adding, "And Truman? Have the defibrillator on stand-by; her body temp is below 32°C."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Feros Orbit, Theseus**

"It was closer than I care to admit, Hannah, but they'll both pull through." Karin released a tired sigh. "The rescue teams were a rather somber bunch when they pulled two unconscious people from the tunnel, that's for sure. Samantha was experiencing symptoms of severe hypothermia and Liara had passed out from exhaustion and a minor case of biotic shock. It's almost lucky she was so tired... else, I imagine, she would have attempted to erect a barrier against the blast. I believe she fell unconscious before she was able to try."

"Thank the Gods for small favors." Hannah ran her hands nervously through her hair. "What's her current status?"

Karin smiled. "I assume you mean Sam, so I'll start there and give you both." Karin smiled. "We dare not attempt a sedative in her weakened condition, so I'm simply waiting on Sam to wake up naturally. When we picked her up, her core body temperature had dipped below 32°C and she was non-responsive. She's currently hooked up to the transfuser and we're slowly rewarming her blood and recycling it back into her body. She lost a little through the gash on her head but, honestly, her system was so suppressed, she didn't bleed much. So, we're replacing the volume with a warmed saline intravenous drip." Karin glanced up from her omnitool for a moment to check on the med-bed readouts. "She also has a breathing mask to help rewarm and rehydrate her lungs and nasal passages. Her current temperature is 35°C and still rising... I honestly expect her to wake any time and complain about having to stay in bed."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "If not for the fact you just brought her back from the edge, how would you even know she was suffering from hypothermia? Complaining about being on medical hold is a normal condition for her."

"You are so right, Hannah." Karin chuckled at the much needed humor. "Now, Liara, on the other hand, is a more complicated case. She was suffering from exhaustion and only moderate hypothermia, but her treatment is slightly more intricate, as we're also dealing with mild biotic shock. For her, I need to use a warmed, high-concentration eezo-infused intravenous drip, which means she has to be in an isolation bed to prevent accidental exposure to the rest of us."

"You've done that before, haven't you?" Hannah frowned in her puzzlement. "I don't remember her having to be in isolation for that."

Karin smiled. "That's because she was simply out of balance, not in full shock. In this case, the concentration required in the drip is enough to warrant caution. I have no intention of giving myself cancer... or biotics... at my age. We're simply not as resilient as we used to be, my dear."

"Ha." Hannah grinned. "Speak for yourself, Doctor. I'm still fit as a fiddle... eating right, exercising and staying in shape, thank you very much!"

"Yes," Karin huffed, continuing sarcastically, "But _you_ don't have the added stress of watching over _your_ daughter every day, something I believe is an extremely unfair advantage."

"By the Gods, I miss you, Karin," Hannah laughed. "I very much look forward to the end of this stupid tour and getting the Normandy back home again. I miss _all_ of you."

"I know." Karin was solemn as she said, "And it's a horrible thing to say, but I almost miss the time in the hospital. I know Sam was horribly injured, but simply being _together_ again... all of us... was lovely in its own way."

"I know what you mean." Hannah gave her dear friend a parting smile. "I need to go, but call me anytime to give me updates... I don't care if I'm meeting with the Committee or with Admiral Hackett. I'll take your call. Now, you go take care of my girls."

"Yes, Ma'am." Karin smiled as the system dropped out and the screen turned black.

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

"God damn it!" Zoë Lawrence was out of her chair and moving before the news flash ended with, _'…_ _even though both were recovered alive, the Alliance refuses to release any information on the condition of either Dr T'Soni or Captain Shepard. We will continue to monitor this developing situation and bring you the latest news as soon as we have it. This is Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, reporting for Westerlund News.'_ She stormed out of her private office and shouted across the main research floor. "Jana! Get the team in here, now!" Jana needed no details on who Lawrence was speaking of; it had become quite apparent to everyone that Zoë had been grooming Jana and two others, Angelique Warren and Tim Stafford, as her core leadership team. They were holding regular, bi-weekly meetings to exchange information with a standing rule that any time-sensitive data was to be passed on immediately upon discovery.

Jana quickly notified the other two and warned them to come prepared, "I'm not sure, but based on her tone, something else has happened concerning Shepard and T'Soni and we missed it."

Once they were in Zoë's office, she told them to take a seat and explained what had been happening on Feros for the last three days, concluding with, "So tell me, how the fuck did we miss something like that?"

A rather disgruntled group looked back and forth across the table at one another. Angel and Tim started speaking at nearly the same time before both abruptly stopped and looked at Jana, who cast a worried glance at her boss before offering herself up as the target for Zoë's wrath. "My guess is we've been so focused on a future attack, we haven't been looking at the current message traffic fast enough. There's too much info and we're getting backlogged; we simply need more people on the team to focus strictly on the daily traffic. We can't read all that _and_ research LEAP locations and personnel at the same time." She paused for only a moment before making an educated guess. "But, we've not seen nor heard anything in message traffic or call logs to indicate _any_ activity on Feros. This was not a standard planned operation, I'd bet my life on it."

A scowl crossed Zoë's face. "We very nearly bet both T'Soni's and Shepard's lives on it... and neither of those is something we have any right to gamble with." She took a deep, calming breath and sat down across the conference table from them. "This incident was bad enough the Alliance hasn't released any information on the condition of either of them; conjecture is they were both physically injured and suffering from severe hypothermia... but alive."

Jana nodded. "And it sounds like neither is in imminent danger of dying." She glanced at Tim and Angel before focusing her gaze on Lawrence. "So, what's next for us?"

Zoë clasped her hands together on the table and leaned forward slightly. "For starters, we're going to begin meeting daily... Our first task is to assess what's required to get on top of this and then do it, before LEAP can succeed. We have to determine how many more people we need to assign to this. Are the three of you ready to take on a more active leadership role?" Getting no pushback, she continued, "To date, you've all been _my_ team… that changes immediately; I need each of you, Tim and Angel, to pick two people and repeat the process." Looking intently at each of them in turn, she added, "You're now my Directors of Field Operations; get together, discuss what you need, then tell me how you want to divide the duties." Her gaze shifted to Jana. "You've just been promoted to Deputy Director of Research and Recruitment. Make contact with all the cells and find me _in-place_ field agents, Jana. If we want to catch… and stop LEAP, we're going to need a much bigger net."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Feros Orbit, Theseus**

"Dr Chakwas?" A hand gently shook her shoulder.

She bolted upright in her chair and looked at her med tech. "Truman. What's the matter?"

The man chuckled. "Relax, Doctor. It's 0426 hours... and I can't believe you slept in that chair without falling out of it onto the floor." He glanced across the compartment toward their two patients. "I do believe Dr T'Soni's eezo level has stabilized, so I've discontinued the drip, but the main reason I woke you is because the captain is finally on her way toward waking up."

"Not even 5AM?" Karin shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs and stood slowly, stretching. "I can't believe I slept in a chair at all. I thought I passed that stage of my life years ago and I know better. I'm going to hate myself for it later, I'm sure." She gave the man a light smile and walked to Shepard's bed, running a scan and checking all the captain's vitals. "She looks good, doesn't she?"

Truman smiled. "Yes. Particularly given what she went through over the last two plus days."

"Yes. Thank you for waking me, Truman. Would you be a gentleman and get some tea for an old woman?"

He laughed. "I don't know about an old woman, but I'll certainly get some for you, Doc. Be back in a bit."

As the door slid closed behind him, Karin's attention was drawn to a pair of deep green eyes blinking and attempting to focus on her. "Shepard. Good to see you awake. Do you know where you are?"

The captain's eyes closed again and she whispered, "Whenever you ask that question, the answer is always the same... med bay?"

"Good." Karin chuckled. "You've kept your sense of humor." Her brow knit as she asked, "How do you feel?"

"Like every part of my body had a Dragoon's lash wrapped around it for hours... and my head feels like I went three full rounds with Wrex... with a head-butt in every round." Shepard didn't pause long before she asked, "What about Liara?"

"She'll be fine, Sam. You went down and we had to take a rather drastic approach to get to you in time; you would have been proud. Ashley had Legion use his explosive drones to blast the rest of the way through the rock still blocking the tunnel."

"Sweet!" Shepard managed a small smile. "Sorry I missed it. But... how does that pertain to my question about Liara?"

Karin raised an eyebrow and smiled in return. "The details aren't important. Just know that Liara was exhausted and pushed herself into biotic shock protecting you from the blast. If she remembers, I'll let her tell you the tale. If not, I'll tell you both what I know. How's that sound?"

"It sounds like the only deal I'm going to get from you, so I'll take it." Shepard cracked her eyes open again. "So tell me what happened to get us to that point. What happened up here while we were down there?"

Karin pulled a chair over and sat down, filling Shepard in on the timeline from when the initial bomb went off to begin the crisis until the final one blasted away the debris so they could be recovered. "It was much longer than your scheduled three hour tour, which was supposed to be completed before lunch. All total, you were down there for roughly 56 hours... temperatures ranged from 15 down to 10°C." A tear ran down her cheek as Karin reached over and took the woman's hand tenderly in her own. "Sam. We came so damned close to losing you! This was worse than after Despoina. The temps weren't as cold, but it was a much longer period of time. Your core temperature was below 32°C... I felt the need to keep the defibrillator on standby until we got you back over 35°, just in case."

Shepard hated seeing anyone she loved weep for her and squeezed the woman's hand. "I am so sorry, Aunt Karin."

"Don't be silly, Samantha." Karin brusquely wiped the errant tears away and smiled. "You survived and are still with us. None of this was your fault and you have nothing to be sorry for." She sighed, "Your body is tired... You slept for over ten hours solid which, for you, is unprecedented, so please promise me you'll rest and give yourself time to recover. Seeing as you've been in basically the same condition before, you know the rules – no iced drinks, alcohol or caffeine until I say so."

"Yes, Ma'am." Shepard's head turned for the first time as she looked across to the next bed. "Can I get up and see Liara?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, assuming Liara is ready for a visitor." Karin stood and pushed the chair back. "When Truman told me you were waking, he also mentioned that Liara's eezo levels were stable so he had removed the eezo drip. Behave yourself and sit tight for just a few minutes while I perform a scan and make sure it's safe for us to disable the isolation barrier. If it is, then I'll let you two chat for a bit."


	59. Planning Ahead

Notes:

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

Ankou - Celtic God of Death

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Planning Ahead**

 **Normandy SR-2, Feros Orbit, Theseus**

As Karin walked away to ensure the eezo levels had dropped enough to disable the isolation barrier surrounding Liara's bed, Shepard closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. _{Liara? Are you with me?}_

 _{Siame! Thank the Goddess... I was so worried for you.}_

 _{Not sure why, I_ _onúin Álainn_ _. I wasn't concerned at all... I had_ _ **you**_ _watching over me.}_

Liara blushed lightly as Karin performed the necessary safety protocol procedures to shut down the barrier generator. "No residual eezo detected, so you're free to get up and move around a bit. However, I do want both of you to remain in the Med Bay for at least thirty minutes, until I'm confident standing and walking around isn't going to cause any adverse reactions or unexpected complications." She looked at the expression on Liara's face and turned back to the captain. "And you, Shepard, behave yourself. Liara needs the rest just as much as you do so no heavy physical activity or melding, other than the link, for the next 24 hours."

"Yes, Ma'am." Shepard had stepped up beside the bed and helped Liara sit up. Placing her right hand on Liara's back, she slid it soothingly up and down while tipping her head forward and leaning in to carefully touch their foreheads together. Whispering quietly, she said, "Honestly. Thank you, _Mo cheann geallta_ , for watching over me and getting me through that. Just like Despoina, I would not have made it through without you. You are my love and my light."

"As you are mine, _Siame_." Liara ran a gentle hand through the hair on the back of Shepard's head and shifted to the side, to nuzzle cheek to cheek. "It is good to feel your warmth; I was very frightened for you... for _us_."

"We're good, Liara... and as long as we're together, we always will be." She pulled back and placed their lips together, lovingly kissing the Asari for as long as she dared, no wanting to incur the wrath of Karin.

Liara chuckled as the thoughts tumbled through the link and she pulled back, a bright twinkle in her eyes. "As long as we're together? That, my love, will be a very, very long time."

"Yes, indeed." Shepard smiled softly and spun around to push herself up and onto the bed, sitting next to Liara and holding her hand.

"I know you'll think me crazy, but I want to go back someday, Samantha." Liara gently squeezed the hand in hers.

"Back where, Liara?" A thought drifted through the link and Shepard sat up a bit straighter in her surprise. "Back into the tunnels that so recently almost killed us?"

"The tunnels weren't the problem..." Liara's tone was serious. "Lamendola was." She turned her head and committed blue eyes met cautious greens. "There were multiple unexplored passages, Sam. Goddess knows what secrets lay in the depths of that hidden city! I would like to see it someday. A small slice of Prothean history untouched by raiders and looters... Who knows what secrets may be discovered?"

"You and your insatiable curiosity." Shepard's face held traces of an emergent grin, begging to come out. "What happened to the Asari who was angry at us for being down there in the first place?"

Liara chuckled lightly before responding, "That was the frightened maiden... who has now been replaced by the _insatiable_ archaeologist who wants to see it all, now that the threat of our imminent demise has passed." She paused and then quietly whispered, "Please?"

"Gods forgive me, but how am I supposed to say no to that?" The grin escaped Shepard's rein and erupted in full. "Of course we'll come back, Li. You truly will be the death of me someday, you know that?"

"Perhaps so, Captain." Liara smiled mischievously before continuing, "But it will be many, many expeditions and any number of blue children down the road from now, Samantha."

Before Shepard could respond, Karin laughed, reminding them where they were and making Liara blush a rather appealing blue. Chakwas shook her head in amusement. "Alright you two. I know I said thirty minutes, but I can't stand all this sappy sentimentality. Get out of my Med Bay so I can get some work done!"

* * *

 **ExoGeni Research Facility, Feros** **, Theseus**

The memorial ceremony, a rather subdued affair given the recent events, had still gone rather well. Even though most of those trapped by the ceiling collapse in the cavern came through with no serious injuries, the ExoGeni family _had_ lost one of their own, Engineer Karl Starwalt **.** During the ceremony, absolutely nothing was said about Graham Lamendola or his role in the cave-in; they had all agreed that, officially, the blast would be attributed to an unfortunate build-up of methane gas due to a malfunctioning detector in one of the newly opened passageways. Lamendola had gotten what he deserved and was dead... and Starwalt's family received the credits due them from a workplace 'accident' – had his cause of death been officially listed as murder, the family would have received nothing more than funereal benefits from ExoGeni.

After the last of the reporters faded away and the cameras were all gone, Telford shook everyone's hand. He paused when he got to the Spectre and Liara. "I don't know what I can say or how to even begin to apologize for what happened here... or to thank you for your amazing dedication and continuing with the ceremony as scheduled."

A still tired Shepard and Liara stood side-by-side, seemingly joined at the hip since the sequence of events that had come quite close to taking both of their lives. The captain simply replied, "We can't exactly say it's been a pleasure, Rich, but there's certainly no hard feelings. Your people worked hard to save us and definitely did you proud. Don't ever be ashamed of what your folks have done here."

"Thank you, Captain." Telford's gaze swept across all the Normandy crew arrayed before him as he nodded. "Thank you, all. I'd love for you to stay for the events that were scheduled over the next few days, but I had a long chat with our medics and your Dr Chakwas. According to them, the more prudent course of action is for all of you to get back on your ship and find some quiet star system to hide out in for a few days before your next string of appointments in Artemis Tau... And I can't say I blame them; your time here wasn't exactly pleasant… or restful."

"Nothing about this tour has been pleasant or restful, but thanks for understanding, Rich." Shepard managed a smile for the man. "Best of luck with your endeavors here… and we'll be sure to keep you posted on anything we track down concerning Lamendola's activities or known associates if they pertain to Feros in any way."

"Nothing personal, Shepard, but if that's the only news you'll be delivering... I don't really care to hear from you. Other than that, you're welcome to call or visit anytime." Telford smirked and waved one last time. "Safe travels, Normandy."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Artemis Tau, At Large**

Between the assassination attempts at both Horizon and Feros over the past two weeks' time, Shepard and Liara were more than happy to accept Karin's edict that they stop and rest. Unfortunately, it seemed the rest of the Alliance command structure disagreed with their decision and Shepard and Liara found themselves spending an inordinate amount of time sitting in the communications center, speaking with either the Council or Admiral Hackett, neither of which was very pleased with the trend... but neither were they willing to call a halt to the Victory Tour.

Having been the on-scene commander while Shepard and Liara were buried underground, Ashley was present for the discussions; normally, she would have been content to remain silent, but she needed Hackett to hear her out regarding the Normandy's lack of experienced ground team members. "Admiral, I have a serious concern as to the Normandy's state of readiness." After a prompt from Hackett, she continued, "If we pull every one of our ground-qualified personnel right now, including Lieutenant Cortez, we only have eight guns. We've been much too cavalier about maintaining the strength of our force, Sir. Over time, we've lost four extremely qualified soldiers, whom we've never replaced." She paused and took a deep breath before reading off the litany of names. "Bethany Westmoreland and James Vega, who, as you are well aware, are both deceased... and Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch have returned to their respective homeworlds, Palaven and Rannoch." She paused again, only briefly, before presenting her final point. "With Riana Iregos on the ground while Shepard and Dr T'Soni were otherwise occupied, I couldn't even put together a basic six-man squad. Considering everything that's been going on, we seriously need to fix that, Sir... and sooner, rather than later."

"Understood, Commander." Hackett frowned in thought. "The problem is, with all the relief efforts underway and the level of unrest at various food distribution sites, I'm not sure how quickly I could divert assets your way... at least not assets I'm positive we can trust." His gaze shifted to Liara. "Doctor. Have you picked up any indications of Cerberus or LEAP activity in Artemis Tau?"

"We hadn't seen or heard anything prior to this event, Admiral." Liara sighed. "Karin prohibited us from working for at least 24 hours and, technically, your call came in before she's cleared us for duty." She suddenly smiled, partly due to a thought that bounced into her mind through the link as she continued, "And, for once, we actually cooperated with the restriction... _willingly…_ so I haven't spoken with my agents yet since we've been up and around to see if anything has changed."

"Good for you." Hackett chuckled as he responded. "You get clearance from Karin and make those connections while I approach the Admiralty Board to see what we can do from this end. In the meantime, sit tight in the shadow of some remote moon for a couple of days to give us time to work through your request. Hackett out."

Liara looked at Shepard, obviously communicating via the link, before turning to Ashley. "We may have a solution, if you're willing to entertain it."

Ash smiled. "If it's coming from either of you, I can't imagine turning it down. What have you got for me?"

"Not just you, Ash. Us... _all_ of us... and don't be too sure about your willingness to accept this one." Shepard fell silent and glanced Liara's way.

"We've been contemplating this for some time now and we already have a few projects in the works, so it wouldn't be difficult to kick things off a bit earlier than we originally planned." Liara smiled. "I have commissioned a new ship to replace the _Aletheia_... which has become much too well known to effectively serve the Brokerage any longer." She paused and looked at Shepard to continue.

The Spectre gave a light nod and began, "Sorry to spring this on you out of the blue, as it were, but when the tour is over... Liara and I have been thinking about passing command of the Normandy to you and me taking the _Aletheia_ as my new Spectre ship. Until that happens, we'll have the _Aletheia_ shadow us... and her crew can provide the extra security and firepower we need on the ground."

"What?" Ashley stared at Shepard in surprise. "What's Hackett have to say about that?"

"I don't know." The captain shrugged as she continued, "I haven't said anything to him yet... but, if it comes right down to it, he can't stop me. The Normandy SR-2 is a Council vessel, not Alliance... and, as a Spectre, I get to choose my own ship and crew." She smiled and reached out to give her friend a gentle shove. "As do you... and it's way past time for you to have your own command, Ash. You're a Spectre and need your own ship."

"But who's going to crew the _Aletheia_?" Ashley's brow knit in thought. "Admiral Hackett's not even sure he can get us four more soldiers... How is he supposed to provide you with a whole additional crew?" She paused for only a moment before she realized the implications and blurted out, "You won't need an Alliance crew because you'll use T'Soni commandos... and you're planning to leave the Alliance!"

"Very possibly." Shepard's face pinched with regret at the disappointment on her friend's face. "It's not a firm decision yet, but that's the direction I'm leaning right now." She sighed softly. "I'm tired, Ash… so damned tired. I've died once already, twice if you count the time during my reconstructive organ surgery on Earth... and I've come much too close a few times between and since those two events. I simply don't have any more lives to give." She reached over and took Liara's hand as she continued, "I want the chance to raise children and grow old with my family."

"I guess I can understand that." Ashley frowned and huffed, "And, I suppose, them leaving you for dead on Alchera didn't exactly endear the Alliance leadership to you... especially with Admiral Anderson gone and..." The look on Shepard's face made her stop midsentence. "Sorry, Skipper... I can sympathize with you, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I know, Ash." A light smile came to her face. "Besides... the change of command wouldn't happen until after the tour, so you have several months to get used to the idea."

"Gee. Thanks, I think." Williams smirked and shook her head. "Alright, fine. So what's next?"

"I suppose I need to place a call to Miranda and tell her to head to Thessia... immediately." Liara looked at Shepard. "And we need to sit down and put some thought into who we want where, Captain, so we can get the crews in place for the upcoming tour stops."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, T'Sere Shipyard, Thessia**

The call from Liara had caught them all by surprise; the advancement of the schedule was unexpected, but once Miranda had a chance to think about it, it all made perfect sense. If the Alliance couldn't guarantee Shepard's and Liara's safety, someone had to... and the T'Soni commandos were certainly the most logical choice. They had returned to Thessia immediately and the final configuration on the new ship was almost complete, the equipment from storage at the Estate had arrived and was being installed as Judea, Livos and Liara spoke about personnel assignments.

It was decided that Livos and her full team, as Liara's personal guard, would finally be reunited aboard the _Aletheia_ , while Miranda and Judea would be joined aboard the new vessel by Arla Shasia and Shiala Treya, since Sellis Boni and Iryna Velros would remain on the _Aletheia_ as part of Livos' team. The consolidation of Liara's personal guard would also result in Oriana being alone on the _Rakhana_. The current call was prompted by Miranda suddenly realizing that fact and was the main topic of discussion. "Who else do you want to move so Ori isn't alone?"

"Goddess! I'm not thinking straight!" Liara suddenly exclaimed. "We are also pulling Tra'ana Iremi from the _Chiroquol_... leaving a vacancy there as well. So, we move Oriana to team up with Arlyna and Niria, all of whom can share piloting duties, and Barla Von... well, he's Barla Von; for him, nothing will change and he'll continue with his financial assessments and analyses, just as he's always done for us."

"Such a move makes sense..." Livos looked puzzled and queried, "but... What of the _Rakhana_?"

Liara smiled. "I have a friend – you remember Rasha from Kahje – locating a decommissioned Halyan Class R'sho to be shipped there, to T'Sere Shipyard. We will strip it down and utilize the parts' registration numbers to... remake... the _Rakhana_ into whatever vessel shows up; the Broker equipment will be sent to the Estate to replace that which we have just removed. Then the ship will be gifted to Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch as a personal transport vessel while we make sure the hull of the _Rakhana_ simply... disappears."

"Nicely done, Liara." Judea laughed. "That is one option which never crossed my mind. It will be good for Tali'Zorah to not be so reliant on others for transportation, should she need to leave Rannoch in a hurry... or simply quietly without drawing undue attention... for _any_ reason."

"Thank you." Liara smiled softly. "So, if our business is concluded and all of us are clear on where everyone it supposed to be headed, I would appreciate it if you two, meaning Judea and Livos, could make the appropriate notifications. Riana will be monitoring the network, should you need to reach us, but Shepard and I are celebrating _Samhain_ this evening... and tomorrow we arrive at Ithaka. Our brief respite will soon be a thing of the past."

"A couple more things before you go, Liara." Judea grinned. "First... What is the name of the new ship? Have you even thought about it?"

The maiden smiled indulgently and shrugged, "I don't know. It is your design and she will be under Miranda's command. You two figure it out."

"As you will, Shadow Broker." Judea smirked, dipping her head in acceptance. "That is welcome news, as Miranda and I have already discussed it... anticipating you had not yet selected a name... She shall be called _Night Shadow_."

Liara raised an eyebrow and glanced at Shepard, who grinned and stated, "I like it. It would make a wonderful name for a Spectre vessel."

"Or not, Captain. She has a full Broker suite and can carry a crew of only four... with up to eight short-term passengers." Judea laughed lightly. "But, now that _Night Shadow_ is complete, T'Sere has started construction on a heavy combat model. _That_ one will be your future Spectre vessel. I will pass you the specifications for your viewing pleasure... and so you can begin thinking about who you want to request to crew her."

Shepard's eyes lit up with anticipation and she smiled. "I'll look forward to it, Judea. Thank you."

Liara had been caught by surprise at the announcement. "Wait... I thought we had agreed to use the _Aletheia_. Why do we need yet another vessel?"

"For many reasons, Liara. The _Aletheia_ is not a combat vessel. She's too small and can carry only one ground team and crew. In her configuration as the T'Soni flag ship, she only holds ten, whereas the new ship will have a complement of 24, including VI assisted combat and navigation systems and 12 ground assault personnel – two full teams to support Spectre operations."

Shepard whistled softly. "Shit, Judea. Now I really want to see those specs!"

Laughing, the designer responded, "You'll have them this evening, Shepard. I promise."

All business, Livos' eyes remained focused on the Broker and her voice interrupted the pleasant banter. "Our second topic. We anticipate all the personnel changes to be done in a couple of days so we'll simply leave Oriana in the care of Lyessa at the Estate and head out. She'll be perfectly fine waiting there for the arrival of the _Chiroquol_ and, given your travel schedule, I anticipate the _Aletheia_ should be able to rendezvous with you before you depart Therum."

"Thank you, Judea, that would be wonderful!" Liara glanced at her chrono. "Tell everyone we said hello, but we really need to go. Have a good night."

"Good night Liara... Captain. We will see you all soon."

Miranda's arms wrapped around Judea's shoulders from behind as the screen before her went dark. "It's hard to believe Shepard is actually going to do it. I never honestly thought she'd voluntarily leave the Alliance… it's been her life for over sixteen years... her _whole_ life if you count growing up on Alliance bases and vessels with her parents."

Judea tipped her head back and whispered, "Are you opposed to it?"

"Absolutely not." Miranda, a visible scowl on her face, spun the chair around so Judea was facing her. "The Alliance, in general, has given her little but grief since all this began... and then expected her to miraculously have all the bloody answers, ride to the rescue, and save their worthless asses. I know Shepard has her supporters, but most of the officers occupying any position of influence either ignored her or became outright hostile toward her and her warnings. I don't honestly see them as much better than the Collectors... working toward the benefit of the Reapers, intentionally or not. So... Fuck every damned one of them!"

Judea's eyes opened wide. "Miranda!"

"Sorry, but I agree with her decision to leave... except, perhaps, her choice to stay on as a Spectre. Though I'm not really sure that's a job one _can_ quit, I'd rather she be part of the Broker team. Anyway..." Miranda took ahold of the Asari's hands and pulled her up out of the chair. "It's long past dinner time and I'm starving. Let's go eat."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Proteus Orbit, Artemis Tau**

The conversation with Livos and Judea had gone better than anticipated and left Liara feeling more relaxed than she had been in a while. Simply knowing plans were in motion made things easier... and she had the sense that Shepard was feeling better every day about her decision to leave the Alliance. Liara honestly didn't have an opinion, other than it needed to be what Shepard truly wanted to do... not what everyone else wanted her to do, and Liara would support Samantha and remain at her side... no matter her choices.

Tonight, however, Liara had other things on her mind. The mostly Human crew had all dressed in the oddest things for a holiday that apparently had many names. Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, All Saints Eve... _Samhain_. It represented many things... summer's end, the end of the harvest season, the start of winter... but, for Shepard, it was primarily considered the festival of the dead. Liara absolutely hated what it did to her _amantia_ ; Samantha hadn't written any names in her diary since the deaths of the commandos on Thessia. But tonight... Tonight, the book would come out of the small desk drawer, names would be added, and the whole list would be read through... honoring all those who had been lost during their desperate fight for survival. With a sad sigh, Liara gave Riana a silent nod and turned to leave the office, heading to the loft.

* * *

Shepard woke just after midnight with a start, her heart hammering madly in her throat. She gulped down her anxiety and took a deep breath, the comforting scent and warmth of Liara pressed to her side having a reassuring affect. The Asari's simple, relaxed presence immediately told the captain all was well aboard the Normandy... despite any bad dream that may have awakened her. She tenderly ran fingers across Liara's shoulder and down her arm, enjoying the sensation of the pebbled skin beneath her fingertips. The Asari murmured quietly in her sleep and Shepard smiled softly at the indecipherable noise. _How in Hell did I get so lucky as to deserve you, Liara?_

The evening had passed rather painfully; though she detested the ritual, Liara had sat resolutely by Shepard's side, knowing being together would soothe each other's souls as they remembered the deceased of the years past. Liara had been surprised when Samantha did not take her journal out to add the many names to the list. Instead, they had simply shared their memories of each, both laughing and crying at certain events. It had gotten late by the time they ran out of things worth mentioning regarding friends who were no longer with them.

Shepard had closed her eyes and whispered quietly, "It is with heavy heart that I release each of you to Ankou. May you go forth under the strength of heaven, under the light of sun, under the radiance of moon; may you go forth with the splendor of fire, with the speed of lightening, with the swiftness of wind; may you go forth supported by the depth of sea, by the stability of earth, by the firmness of rock. May you be surrounded and encircled, with the protection of the nine elements, as you travel your path to the Otherworld." She then reached out and, before turning in for the night, snuffed the candle burning at the center of their small dining table.

Now, she lay in bed – Liara lying contentedly in her arms, having somehow slept through Shepard's abrupt awakening. The Asari began to stir, a result of Shepard's constant caresses, which she stopped immediately upon realizing she was disturbing the peaceful repose of her lover, but it was too late. Liara's eyes slid open and she smiled tiredly. Having sensed Shepard's disturbed thoughts, she queried, "Can't sleep?"

"Had another stupid dream." Shepard pulled Liara in tightly. "Go back to sleep, Blue."

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to do that, when I know you have been upset by something?" Liara stretched and pushed herself up onto an elbow, leaning over to brush her lips softly across those of the captain. "Tell me about it. Was it the forest?"

"Of course it was..." Shepard sighed. "And the voices seemed particularly clear this time. The priests would say it is because the veil is thin right now, so it is easier for them to speak to me. I figure it's because we thought of them all tonight... and discussing specific memories of each makes it easier to recall their voices for my subconscious to replay to me."

"Perhaps those two theories are not so far apart from one another as they first appear, Sam." Liara returned to her prone position and snuggled into her favorite niche on the Spectre's shoulder. "With the ceremony, they are in the forefront of your mind... So, they _are_ closer to you tonight than normal, is that not so?"

Tipping her head to kiss the top of Liara's crest, Shepard drew the Asari tightly against her. "Is that the anthropology side of you coming out, Doctor?"

"Well... I suppose you could say that, but it is more the concerned _amantia_ , trying to soothe the soul of her Promised so we can rest. We have a long day tomorrow."

"That we do, Liara." Shepard released a long, slow exhale, not quite a sigh. "And all I can say about rest is that I'll try."

"That's all I can ask, _Siame_." Liara smiled softly as her right hand wandered, gently massaging Samantha's chest.

"Hmmm. Feels good, Liara."

 _{That is because I love you, Sam... and you can sense it in my touch.}_

"Much more so than just the physical touch, as you are well aware." Shepard placed another soft kiss on Liara's crests, enticing the Asari to stop her massage and lift her head as she pushed herself slightly higher on the bed, her lips eagerly meeting those of the captain. _{Gods, Liara! That's not very restful!}_

As the Asari giggled at the thought, Shepard felt a surge of desire course through the link and into her body and she groaned into the kiss, unable to disguise the physical sensation that accompanied the emotions... particularly when she felt Liara press into her in response, whispering breathily, "It is not what I intended, Sam, but... Goddess! I want you."

The Asari's hand suddenly slid down her body and the captain gasped as it found its target remarkably fast, her hips jerking in response, unable to control her own body as her Promised also slithered wantonly into her soul. She moaned quietly, "By the Gods, Liara... " She breathed heavily as her insides twisted with pleasure, before managing to groan out, "I have no control when it comes to you." Her hands frantically grasped at the sheets as her back arched, unable to stop the surge of wetness that both coated and encouraged the Asari's very talented fingers. "Gods! Not that you need specific permission... but do what you will with me, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _._ "

Fingers plunged deep as Liara slid down, her mouth and tongue wrapping around a breast to tease an already hard nipple. _{I have every intention of doing exactly that, Samantha.}_

* * *

 **Proteus, Athens, Artemis Tau**

Like the Hanar homeworld, Proteus was largely covered by water and while it's oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and carbon-based biosphere had tagged the planet for colonization, the incredible heat generated by Athens powered colossal typhoons that raged across the surface year-round. It was for this reason that Ithaka, the primary colony, had been established below the ocean surface, safe from the worst effects of the weather, not unlike the cities of Kahje. It was the first of a pilot program... a feasibility study that seemed to be going extremely well. The city had flourished since its recent establishment in 2179, and currently boasted a population of over 12,000; remarkably, the planet had been untouched by the Reapers. As there was no need for a memorial ceremony for the citizens, the Normandy stopped to allow Shepard to firm up trade agreements.

The underwater gardens and fisheries would be essential to feeding the galaxy during the rebuilding period and the governor of Ithaka could demand a high price for their cooperation... which she did. To gain access to their abundance, the Alliance would need to provide materials and personnel to complete the construction of two more underwater domes of equivalent capacity to the Ithaka dome. The Alliance Bureau of Colonial Affairs was more than happy to agree to the deal, as it was mutually beneficial – the Alliance would gain access to a very valuable trade commodity – in return, the 'price' they had to pay would work in their favor by advancing the Proteus pilot program by decades.

Hackett had called to congratulate her on the excellent work and both sides had unexpected news to exchange. "You did well, Captain. Now, if you can just get the governor of Therum and the Eldfell-Ashland Energy mining facility to agree to the deal, we'll have the resources we need to complete the construction on Proteus without having to ship materials halfway across the damned galaxy."

"I imagine that won't be too difficult, Sir. It will save both sides of the trade significant credits for transport costs... and I can't imagine Nova Yekaterinburg _not_ needing a more stable food source." Shepard smiled. "Don't worry, Admiral. We'll make it happen."

"Good. Now, I have news... not sure whether it's good or bad, but here it is." Hackett paused before continuing, "I know you already have a busy schedule, Shepard, but we need to stuff another visit into November... before you head out to the Nubian Expanse."

Shepard frowned. "We already have six stops this month, Admiral... no break to speak of for the Thanksgiving holiday... and I'm beginning to wonder exactly what my crew is supposed to be thankful for, Sir. We've been just as busy as we were during the war... and, unlike those who are dictating this shit to us, we're still getting shot at... a lot! I sincerely hope this has something to do with stopping whatever the rumors are hinting at for Trident."

"I know, Shepard... and I'm sorry on both counts. I realize your schedule has been crazy, and I'm also sorry to inform you we haven't discovered anything new on the Trident threat." Hackett sighed. "But the relay in Maroon Sea has opened up and we need you to check in on the pioneer teams we dropped there just as this whole mess started. With the planets the Reapers nearly destroyed, we need to know if Chasca is going to be a viable world, Shepard."

"It's alright, Shepard." Liara sensed the woman's growing agitation and took her hand as she looked at Hackett. "Admiral. We were counting on those extra days for a chance to get back down into the Prothean ruins... where Shepard saved me from the Geth on Therum... Assuming, of course, the volcanic eruption did not totally destroy the entire facility. But, given recent events on Feros, it does not bother me in the slightest to skip that portion of our visit to the planet." Shepard squeezed Liara's hand in understanding as Hackett replied.

"I had hoped you wouldn't be terribly disappointed... and that very thing was why I wasn't sure if the change would be good or bad news." Hackett looked back to the captain. "I can't imagine it taking more than a couple of days, Shepard, so the remainder of your schedule should remain unchanged. Chasca's habitable band is rather narrow, so should be easily scanned from low orbit to locate the five pioneer teams; each team consists of only thirty persons – a number of scientific specialties and a security team... Your job is simply to find who you can and reestablish communications so they can send us their survey results. That's it."

Hackett could tell she wasn't very happy as she exhaled heavily, so he quickly added, "This is important, Shepard. Those folks are on their own out there and we need to either make sure they're okay or dispatch new teams. We need Chasca's resources."

Shepard squared her shoulders, her voice crisp and her tone purposefully neutral as she answered, "Understood, Sir. Do you have any other wonderful news for us?"

Sensing her subdued sarcasm was how she dealt with the disappointing news, Hackett didn't react to it, answering simply, "No, Captain, I don't. I assumed that would be more than enough for you to absorb in one day."

Shepard knew what was coming, so cut the admiral off before he could say goodbye and sign off, deciding it was time to deliver her own, likely unwelcome, news. "I have something for you as well, Sir." Hackett paused and nodded, waiting silently for her to continue. "You can ignore Ashley's request to assign more personnel to the Normandy." She noted his surprise and pressed on. "We have the _Aletheia_ headed our way with a T'Soni commando team... Liara's personal guard. I've worked with them before and they are a well-integrated squad of six, with an infiltrator and a sniper included."

"I'll keep working on getting you some more Alliance soldiers, Shepard..."

She interrupted him again. "No, Sir. I'm sorry, but I don't want them." She noted his building indignation at being repeatedly cut off but, strangely, she discovered she didn't care. "The _Aletheia_ gives us the advantage of a second ship and the commandos are a complete package, Sir, made up of people I know and trust. As a Council Spectre, they are the team I choose to augment the Normandy squad."

Hackett glared at her and it was his turn to keep his voice carefully neutral. "Did you just pull rank on me, Shepard?"

The Spectre calmly replied, "No, Sir, I did not. I am simply informing you that I have selected a crew... so you don't need to waste time on a task already completed... and can manage Alliance soldiers to your advantage for Alliance business, instead of Council busy-work."

"I see." Hackett pursed his lips; this was something of the rebellious side to Captain Samantha Shepard which he had normally seen directed at the Council, not him. He silently hoped it was simply a matter of exhaustion due to the pace... _The pace of what? The last four frantic years of her life while everyone else tried to pretend nothing was wrong? Having died at least once for the Alliance? Being ignored by the Council... or, worse yet, by her own Alliance Defense Council until it was almost too damned late to do anything about the Reapers?_

All of these thoughts raced through his mind in a heartbeat and he suddenly realized he'd better be very careful here... or he was going to lose the best damned officer ever to wear an Alliance uniform. He smiled apologetically. "I'll talk to the Council, Shepard, and see what I can do to get you and the Normandy some down time." He signed off and the Spectre's image dissolved from his terminal. _I need to have conversations with Karin Chakwas and, possibly, Ashley Williams... sometime in the very near future._

* * *

 **Therum, Knossos, Artemis Tau**

Though a much older colony, Nova Yekaterinburg was basically a repeat of Ithaka on Proteus, the main difference being they still held a memorial ceremony; the Geth attack in 2183 had cost the colony a significant number of lives, not to mention the Reaper bombardment of the mining facilities during the war.

The trade negotiations took much longer than planned; Eldfell-Ashland Energy had suffered massive material losses because of the Reaper onslaught across the galaxy. Most of their helium-3 facilities were destroyed, causing great financial distress to the company, so their position was that if the Alliance needed the raw materials quickly, the Alliance was going to have to provide all the specialized equipment necessary to reopen the mines. Because of that, the Normandy crew simply relaxed and found whatever they could to keep themselves busy while Shepard and Liara sat in extremely frustrating meetings for hours on end. By the time they were done and had a signed agreement, Shepard sincerely wished she had never been the recipient of the authority granted her under the Emergency War Powers act at the start of the war.

She was sitting on the couch in the loft, her head laid against the back and her eyes closed when she heard the door slide open. Liara walked, almost silently, down the stairs and sat at her side, leaning in to place a tender kiss on her cheek. Shepard detected the smile in her voice as the Asari whispered, "Good news, Captain. The _Aletheia_ has just arrived at the Artemis Tau relay."


	60. Atlas Rises

Notes:

 _Ai'a me -_ a trusted friend and unquestioned ally (Thessian/Source: CDN)

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

 _Kaffe_ \- equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate; blends originating in Dassus are considered among the best (Source: CDN)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Mo cheann geallta_ \- My promised one (Gaelic)

 _Pasan_ \- A sour Asari fruit native to Thessia, similar in taste to a very tart plum (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

* * *

 **Atlas Rises**

 **Normandy SR-2, Artemis Tau Relay, At Large**

"I don't particularly give a damn, Steven." Hackett looked at Karin Chakwas with something akin to shock; never had the doctor been quite so openly disrespectful. "And don't give me that look. This is Samantha we're speaking of... and you know damned well the Alliance and the Council have used and abused her since this entire situation began when she was first assigned to the Normandy! This break has been long in the making, Admiral."

"I didn't realize things had become so critical that she would turn to Asari commandos before her fellow Alliance soldiers!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but the only thing I can say to that is you must be daft to have not seen the signs!" Karin was livid... and she had asked and received permission to speak freely with the admiral, so was exercising every bit of her right to do so. "How many times does she need to ask you for a break? How many times do you expect her to, quite literally, _die_ for the Alliance?" The doctor's gray hair swung across her face as she shook her head in disgust; pushing it angrily out of her face, she continued, "I cannot count the number of times I have made a medical recommendation for down time... not just for Shepard, but for the entire Normandy crew... only to have it denied!"

"You're right." Hackett heaved out a heavy sigh. "You have every right to be angry with me... but our situation was dire and it wasn't always me. The Council... both the Alliance Defense and the Citadel Councils... have constantly made demands... and the Normandy is the only Spectre vessel we have that can meet them."

"Oh, spare me the politically correct _bullshit_ , Steven." Karin huffed and threw her hands up in disapproval. "Save it for the politicians, because it certainly isn't going to work on me. Grow a pair and tell them 'no' for a change, even if it is too late!"

At the sudden turn of direction in the conversation, Hackett knew his worst fear was about to come true but he couldn't keep from asking, "Too late for what, Karin?"

"Like you don't already know." Chakwas placed her hands on the desk and leaned toward the monitor, frowning as she said, "I would be _extremely_ surprised if, at the conclusion of this positively ridiculous and utterly unnecessary Victory Tour, Shepard remains in the Alliance."

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Until Zoë could be sure beyond any doubt that Atlas had exhausted all avenues in their search for the location of the next attempt on Liara T'Soni's life, she had changed her bi-weekly meeting schedule with Jana, Angelique and Tim to short, once or twice daily meetings in order to stay apprised of every development in their search.

Angel and Tim had compiled membership numbers for Atlas at each of the Normandy's scheduled stops; it turned out that the Human populations of Therum, Chasca, Yamm and Asteria weren't large enough to support either a stand-alone Cerberus/Atlas cell or one dedicated to LEAP. As for Trident, most of the pre-war Cerberus members had switched loyalty to the tenets of the new organization, particularly after Zoë had personally demonstrated that a 'kinder, gentler' version of Cerberus didn't mean Atlas would tolerate desertions to more radical groups.

Angelique Warren's belief that Marco Tilzer was the key component of their search remained unshakable; despite the few doubts put forth by Tim and Jana, Warren had steadfastly shared Zoë's belief and had been working tirelessly to make sure Tilzer's every waking moment was known to Atlas agents on the ground in New York City. Her persistence seemed to have paid off; she was speaking before they could even be seated, saying excitedly, "I think we know where, Zoë! After you made us get caught up on the reports, we found Tilzer's call to Feros – if we had been paying closer attention we would have known in advance about the bombing! Because of that, we're not letting that man _breathe_ without counting the seconds in between... and our agent just reported that Tilzer shuttled out to low Earth orbit before midnight local time. Once there, he rendezvoused with and boarded a privately-owned passenger transport with an undeclared flight plan."

Zoë shook her head, saying, "I don't see how that's of any help, Angel. We _have_ to know where he went."

"The same agent immediately sent out a system-wide watch notice." Warren smiled. "An Atlas agent at the spaceport on Trident, in the Hoplos system, reported Tilzer's arrival at 0525 local time. He was followed – discretely, by several different people – to the newly established offices of LEAP."

Zoë's eyes went wide at this revelation. "That's fantastic news, Angel! Is there any way to monitor what's going on there?"

"Unfortunately, their comms systems employ a particularly strong form of encryption... Even their unencrypted comms are heavily shielded. If we had access to the Shadow Broker, we might have a chance, but we don't even know if the Broker survived the war."

"I don't think that matters now, Angel. The important thing to us is the location. Assign everyone there to start looking and listening for any rumors concerning a long-range attempt on T'Soni and Shepard." Zoë paused for several moments, thinking back to the explosion engineered by Kathryn Briggs in Vancouver and the most recent attack in the ruins on Feros. "Scratch that. They have to be looking for brute force efforts as well… I wouldn't put it past LEAP to plant a couple of bombs under the stage as it's constructed. They've already demonstrated a willingness to inflict collateral damage if that's what they need to achieve their goal; I can't imagine the unintentional deaths of a few dozen officials, or however many of the Normandy's crew members, would bother them at all. As long as they take out T'Soni, a hundred or more additional fatalities are acceptable."

Jana and Tim nodded in unison. "We'll get right on that, Ms Lawrence," Tim said. "We should have more data by this time tomorrow."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Artemis Tau Relay, At Large**

Shepard stood between the two consoles at the rear of the hangar deck looking forward; the only thing between her and the vacuum of deep space beyond was the kinetic barrier... and the _Aletheia_ 's drop-shuttle that cruised in and settled gently on the central loading floor as the Normandy's ramp closed quickly behind it. Liara bounced at the captain's side, unable to contain her joy at the thought of her commando family coming to join them. The barrier dissolved as the shuttle's engines spooled down and the hatch opened, revealing a somewhat reserved Livos Tanni. She walked over to them and bowed deeply.

"Lady Liara. Captain Shepard. It is my pleasure to serve you, once again." Slowly returning to an upright posture, she smiled softly. "Goddess, it is good to see you both alive and well. It has been far too long. Please forgive my lack of proper etiquette." With that, she stepped up and hugged Liara tightly before turning and gripping forearms with Shepard.

With Livos' breach of decorum, Liara glanced toward the shuttle hatch; unable to control her own enthusiasm, she blurted out, "Where is everyone else?"

Liara blushed as Livos laughed heartily at her mistress' impatience. "It is good to know some things were not lost during the evils of the war, Mistress." Livos' smile had widened and taken over her face as she laughed. "Still the impetuous maiden we all love."

Shepard wrapped an arm around the Lady of House T'Soni and grinned. "Only on special occasions, Livos. There haven't been many opportunities for us to truly relax."

"Indeed... but that time is nigh." Livos looked at her mistress with a critical eye. "Everyone else is awaiting your arrival aboard the _Aletheia_. Iryna is preparing a traditional Asari meal and the main cabin has been completely refurbished for you and the captain."

Shepard and Liara looked at one another, each expecting recognition in the other's eyes but got none. Puzzled, Liara looked at the team leader and spoke tentatively. "I am sorry for the misunderstanding, Livos, but we will be staying aboard the Normandy..."

A booming female voice echoed through the hangar from behind them. "Don't be so dense, T'Soni. I've already arranged for the two of you to spend some time over there..." Ashley walked up, grinning ear-to-ear. "All the Normandy will be doing is jumping a relay and spending some time in FTL to get to Chasca. Then, we're fixing the comm buoys and cruising the temperate equatorial belt until we find all five pioneer teams and make sure they have communications access so they can upload all their reports and make the Alliance eggheads happy." She laughed and winked. "We'll figure out the rest depending on the status of the teams... and I'm pretty sure the second-in-command XO Spectre Williams can handle the mission without the Shepard-T'Soni hero team looking over her shoulder. What do you think?"

Shepard chuckled and shook her head. "Have you been planning this coup since I told you I _might_ be leaving, Ash?"

Williams laughed. "Nah. Just since the Thessia departure call came in from Livos after hours and you two were already in bed. I just happened to be on the Bridge, so took the opportunity to chat with her." She glanced at the commando and smiled. "After that, everything seemed to simply fall into place." She returned her focus to Shepard and T'Soni and smirked. "So, Captain... Respectfully, get your ass off my ship."

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

It had taken two full days for Tim, Jana and Angel to gather the information from the various agents operating on Trident, and the news was not good. Jana began the meeting by saying, "It appears that LEAP has at least two and possibly three members embedded within the colonial mayor's office."

"Shit! That means LEAP is in a position to influence the itinerary of the crew!" Zoë was livid. "Those miserable sons-a-bitches! This is beginning to look worse than anything I could have imagined possible. How in Hell are we going to stop this?" Sitting back in her chair, she tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling as her mind worked on the problem.

Jana, arms resting on the table with hands clasped, leaned forward to look intently at Zoe. "Same as before… you need to contact Matriarch Aethyta on Thessia so she can send a warning to the Normandy, and this time, offer the assistance of our members on Trident. I have a feeling they're gonna need all the help they can get. LEAP's efforts to murder Dr T'Soni have been ratcheted up considerably, and I feel certain this will not be their last attempt."

Zoë had been sitting back from the table edge, deep in thought as she listened to Jana's words. After several moments of silence from all three of her advisors, she returned her attention to those in front of her. "No. Not this time, Jana… This time, I want to be able to transmit directly to the Normandy… There's no damned reason why we shouldn't be able to find that ship's comms access codes… at least, those to which other Alliance ships have access. LEAP has upped the stakes considerably, and we need the advantage of time; get all the data together in a coherent form so I can transmit it to the Normandy. Angel, stay in contact with our members on Trident. They absolutely must notify us when Tilzer departs the planet; make sure our people on the ground in New York pick him up when he arrives… _and_ , it would be nice to discover where he goes once back home."

* * *

Initially, Zoë was unsure how they would be able to stop an attack by a group who had two huge advantages – first, LEAP had inherited a long-standing organization on Trident, with a lot of people embedded in a number of government divisions; second, they had months to plan such an attack... ever since the Normandy Victory Tour schedule had been published. After thinking long and hard, Zoë Lawrence formulated an action plan to deal directly with any and all LEAP members on Trident who were in any position to interact personally with the crew of the Normandy. _Only way to handle this is with a preemptive strike._

She decided to make personal contact with Jana's counterpart on Trident who, after Zoë explained her plan, sincerely doubted his Atlas cell had members with the specific skills that Zoë was looking for. The Trident Atlas Operations Director, Sheldon Webster, looked at the floor as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Ms Lawrence, but our group was never put together with any thought of performing wet work." He said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "We were basically here to subtly influence those in positions of power within the ruling council and colonial mayor's office. Even when we were reporting to the Illusive Man, if there was someone here needing to be… eliminated, as you say... it was always left to Kai Leng or Maya Brooks to take care of the problem."

Zoë chuckled to herself at the irony of Webster's mention of her former identity, even as she replied, "Webster... You're telling me that if I need to eliminate three people, all in the colonial mayor's office, you have absolutely no one capable of doing it? You listened to my speech when I created Atlas. You know they deserted us and joined LEAP… and yet you have no one who would be willing to remove them from their positions of influence within the government?"

"I understand, Ms Lawrence, truly. You swore that anyone leaving for LEAP would be painting targets on their backs. Unfortunately, any fear of retribution from Atlas has probably faded over time and the very people I would expect to handle your assignment are the ones who are now members of LEAP. I no longer have people qualified for the tasks you require."

Zoë stared hard at the image on her comms unit and let out a deep sigh of resigned acceptance. "Fine. I'll have two teams of specialists on the ground there by this time tomorrow. They will be acting on my behalf, Mr Webster, so extend every courtesy to them as if I were there personally." Zoë paused, softening her expression slightly before continuing, "In the meantime, have some of your agents take note of the schedules those traitors keep, and do it quietly. We already know where they live and work, so all we really need to learn is the routes they take back and forth... where they stop for lunch, that kind of thing."

Based on Lawrence's initial request, Sheldon Webster already knew the answer to his question, but asked anyway, in a voice that sounded unhappy at the prospect of planned violence in his colony. "What will these agents do once they're here?"

Zoë's chuckle had a hard edge to it as she ignored his question to simply inform him, "I'll be in touch tomorrow, Mr Webster." Cutting the connection, she sent a quick text to Tim and Angel. They were about to embark on their first little expedition without her watching over them.

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, Maroon Sea Relay, At Large**

"Oh, no you don't. Sit down and have dessert, Mistress." Livos helped clear the dishes as she grinned at Liara's surprise. "We have you aboard for at least three full days before we need to depart for the Nubian Expanse and Yamm. Tomorrow is soon enough for business if it is necessary but, in the mean time, Riana will notify us if something important comes through... and she knows to notify our watch, not you directly, under any circumstances."

Sellis Boni laughed and put her hands on the table, inviting their two guests to each take one. "It is good to have you both with us! Please, do not deny us a night of relaxation and simply enjoying each other's company. Do you realize this is our first chance to sit and talk about our future and _not_ have it involve our concerns about the Reapers?"

Shepard's expression was stern as she gazed across the table at the commando. "I guess I didn't have much time to think about that... My mind is too focused on the Human-centric groups trying to kill Liara and her race-traitor Human."

"Shepard!" Liara's forehead wrinkled and she reached over and laid a hand on the Spectre's arm as she virtually hissed the woman's name. "That was quite unnecessary."

"No, Liara; she is correct and I take no offense." As the team leader, Livos nodded at Shepard in agreement. "That is something we dare not forget... and the _Aletheia_ 's primary reason for being here now." Her eyes met Shepard's as she continued, "But... It is now even more obvious to me that _you_ are tired and need a break, so we are giving you both three days where you have nothing to think about but yourselves. You are under _our_ protection here and it is safe for you to take a deep breath without worrying where the next shot is coming from."

Shepard sighed quietly and smiled apologetically. "You're right, Livos... And even if you take no offense, I'm sorry anyway. I was out of line."

"But, before you wander off to the main cabin, you must first try this." Iryna walked in with a platter filled with individual custard cups and sat in on the center of the table, everyone releasing hands and pulling back so she had room. "It's not exactly traditional Asari... I've added a bit of that wonderful Human invention called chocolate. It is a _pasan_ fruit pastry..." She smiled when she saw the expression on Liara's face and continued, "... something I would normally never consider for dessert because it is rather sour. Mixed into a chocolate mousse and drizzled with enough _Chandra_ syrup, however..."

Liara eyed the bowl set before her with trepidation but Shepard, not having tried _pasan_ before, happily took one and dug in with her spoon, placing a generous portion into her mouth. "Oh, wow! This is good." She glanced at Liara and continued, "Don't worry about eating yours, Li; it won't go to waste, that's for sure."

"Meaning what, Shepard?" Liara looked at her with distrust. "That you would be happy to consume mine if I let you?" At the challenging smirk on her lover's face, Liara took a small spoonful of her dessert for a tentative bite and a wide, surprised smile appeared quickly on her face. "Goddess, Iryna! This is wonderful! I've never tasted _pasan_ so sweet!"

Shepard muttered a muffled, "Told you," as she shoved in yet another spoonful of the rather tasty pastry which she swallowed quickly. "We, meaning Humans, have something similar to this... in style, not necessarily flavor; they are called _turnovers_. I've had fruit turnovers and chocolate turnovers... but never thought about combining those two into one. Excellent, Iryna!"

Liara eyed Shepard as she swallowed another bite. "You mean you knew of these?" She paused for a minute before accusing the Spectre, "And you cook! You know how to make these and have never shared this dessert or the recipe in all this time!"

Shepard looked at her fiancée in bafflement. "And when, exactly, was I supposed to do that? I've barely _cooked_ for you, much less had time to bake!" Shepard turned a bit indignant. "Besides; you've been in my head... You know darn well I haven't even _thought_ of these! We've had other things to concentrate on!"

Shepard blushed lightly as Liara started to grin, realizing the Asari had been baiting her. "Damn, Blue! Have you been taking practical joke lessons from Jeff?"

"Only you, Shepard." Liara leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. "I only accept training from the best."

The small, five-person ensemble laughed as they sat and finished their first dinner together, chatting easily as if they had not spent the last four years apart and struggling for survival. At the end of the evening, Shepard and Liara slipped off to their quarters just as the night crew emerged from theirs.

* * *

Shepard woke early the next morning from another of her dreams and slipped carefully from the bed, so as to not awaken Liara. She moved to the small galley to find Tra'ana, Sella and Allia sitting down to eat a morning meal, having just completed their night shift. "Captain," said Tra'ana, with a welcoming smile for the Human. "Please, join us."

Shepard smiled weakly in return, offering a quick good morning to the group before focusing on Allia Vasia. "I'm glad you're here, as Riana asked me to say hello... She's not pleased with Liara leaving her behind to handle the Normandy Broker work."

If Shepard was going to say more, she was interrupted by a hearty laugh as Allia responded, "Goddess. She must be more than 'not pleased,' Captain. She is First, and should be at Liara's side through all. We have a full Broker suite aboard... and a guest cabin as well. She should be here, with Lady T'Soni."

"Perhaps. But her being here would not help the crew of the Normandy if they need information. A Broker agent needs to be physically on the Normandy... and, it's only three days... with all of you to protect us. Riana has been forced to guard from afar before and probably will be again, whether she likes it or not. It's simply the way things have to be sometimes."

"That is likely true, Captain, but the facts make the duty no less palatable." Sella smirked. "And all of us know Riana; she is very dedicated to her mistress and her duty. She is certainly not one to be trifled with and is First for a reason."

Shepard finally honestly smiled for the first time since she woke from her nightmare. "Yes, she is... and I am standing here today because of that commitment – I will never take her for granted, I promise you that. I will never take any of you for granted... Your lives are all precious to me, _Ai'a me_."

Allia, who had listened quietly to the exchange, finally spoke. "Captain. When this tour is over are you truly going to join us full time?"

Shepard paused and looked over her mug of _kaffe_ at the Asari who would be her team sniper. "No." She smiled at the look of dismay that crossed Allia's face. With a light chuckle, she continued, "Liara and I are still talking about it, but as it stands right now, I will remain a Spectre and it is you who will be joining me... at least for the immediate future."

"Honestly?" Sella's eyes sparkled in anticipation. "Working with you as a Spectre would be incredible, Captain! I assume our Lady T'Soni would accompany us as the Broker?"

"Again, that is yet to be seen." Shepard paused and her face held a adoring smile for only a moment before she refocused and continued, "She will most certainly be with us... but Jude is designing a ship for me – a heavy corvette – and Liara and I have decided it will have only a Broker communications unit, not a full up Broker suite, aboard."

"What?" Tra'ana, who was Livos' second, was caught totally by surprise. "Why would she give up such an advantage?"

"She won't be giving up anything." Shepard grinned, "Except maybe long nights sitting at that damned console instead of being in bed with me." Used to their shy maiden, Tra'ana blushed at the Spectre's response, making the captain let out a light laugh. "Liara is going to be my XO, my second in command, so depending on what's going on, there is a distinct possibility she wouldn't have time for Broker duties. We'll still have _Night Shadow_ and the _Chiroquol_ out there, so we'll have direct access to the best damned analysts in the galaxy... and, all of you worked on one of the Broker vessels during the war, so I'm sure we'll keep up with any information pertinent to whatever our current operation happens to be."

Allia, the most pragmatic of the group, asked, "So what is the name of this heavy corvette that will become our home for the foreseeable future?"

" _Knight Shade_." Shepard pulled up an image from her omnitool and displayed it for all to see. "And she is a beauty to behold. Check this out!"

Shepard happily projected the schematics and data sheets so recently sent to her by Judea... but, when the crew complement popped up, Tra'ana hummed appreciatively. "A crew of 24, Captain? Where will they all come from?"

Shrugging, Shepard answered truthfully, "I have no idea... yet."

A sleepy voice came from the passageway as Liara entered the compact Mess. "We're just beginning to think about this, so a lot of details still need to be worked out. We do know that our primary pilot will be Lusmeni Thoni from the Armali Strike Force... highly recommended by both my father and Captain T'Geya. We'll be getting an engineer recommendation from Tali'Zorah, though she doesn't know it yet, and you six will make up the first of our ground assault teams, with Riana filling the Information Operations position. The other thirteen?" She glanced at Shepard, who had risen to pour her _amantia_ a cup of tea as Liara smiled and said, "As our captain has already stated, we have no idea... but we have until June to figure it out."

Sensing the disturbance in Shepard's psyche as the Spectre returned to the table, Liara gave her a gentle good-morning kiss before quietly whispering, "Good morning, _Siame_. I missed you at my side when I woke."

"I was restless this morning, so I got up in order to keep from disturbing you, _Mo cheann geallta_." Shepard smiled softly in return before she glanced at her compatriots at the table with her. "Besides, we've had a great chat... about a number of things. But, all that aside, I'm happy to have you joined us."

Tra'ana glanced meaningfully at the rest of her squad and rose quickly. "Good morning, Mistress. We will leave you to your discussions. It is time we did some training, cleaned up and got some rest. The night shift is not something we've done lately, and it is tiresome until we reestablish our sleep schedule."

"I don't really see the need for everyone to be up." Liara shrugged. "If you truly believe it necessary, I would think a single night watch would serve the same purpose and more of the crew would be rested should something actually happen during our very short visit with you."

"I agree," said Shepard. "Especially since we're shadowing the Normandy. It's not like something will sneak up on us while we're vulnerable and unprotected. You go ahead and do what you feel you need to do, but we'll speak with Livos about it. I assume she's up in the cockpit?"

"Yes, _Nara_." Tra'ana dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Thank you for your consideration, but I want it known that we are happy to do whatever is necessary to allow you and Mistress Liara to feel at ease during your time with us aboard the _Aletheia_." She smiled as a small chuckle escaped. "An occasional night shift never killed any Asari that I know of."

* * *

 **New Cousteau, Trident, Hoplos**

Tim Stafford and Angelique Warren met with Sheldon Webster, the local head of Atlas, who had provided each of them with a detailed city map containing locations for Atlas safe-houses should anything go badly during the night. The pair, along with their new 'trainees' – a misnomer, as the four people accompanying Warren and Stafford were well-versed in the art of clandestine interceptions, surveillance and, should a situation demand it, assassinations – would be splitting up to cover as much ground as possible.

"All of these people appear to be quite successful, Angel." Tim had noted the addresses to which he would be going were all in exclusive sections of the city. "Is that because they're members of LEAP, or in spite of it?"

"I don't know, Tim, but after tonight, it won't much matter how successful they happened to be in life – they'll all bleed red. First things first, though. We take out the snipers and their support teams as planned… after that, we go after LEAP's foot soldiers. Lawrence doesn't want any of them left alive when we depart."

Zoë had vowed to eliminate the threat to T'Soni and, by association, Shepard by simply eradicating the LEAP cell on the planet – and Tim and Angel were going to do their level best to grant her wish. Each member of the team was armed with an M-11 Suppressor heavy pistol sporting some serious modifications; they would be employing their weapons liberally at various locations around the city. Tim was accompanied by Marisa Frost and Boris Sutton; each of the former Cerberus members had pledged their loyalty to Atlas as led by Zoë Lawrence, and had been itching to get out of Vancouver for some field work. Tim looked at his protégés, who both smiled as he said, "We know what we have to accomplish. Let's get going." Turning back to Angel, he said, "See you in thirteen hours or so."

Tim and Angel had each taken on the task of eliminating one of the LEAP snipers living in New Cousteau; Angelique, first to find her target, actually found the woman to be an easy mark, both to get to and eliminate. The woman was about thirty, but appeared to be much older, no doubt the result of the life she led. Warren had surprised her as she was sitting in her kitchen eating dinner. There was no one else in the house to hear the soft report of the M-11, no one to witness a person's sudden realization that fate had switched sides on this quiet evening. The woman's expression of surprise gave way to one of complete relaxation as the bullet entered her head; the light in her eyes went out and her head snapped back, leaving her sitting, slumped in her chair. Before leaving as silently as she had entered, Warren pinned a hand-written note to a sleeve of her victim's shirt, the message short and succinct: _'Not on our watch!'_

Tim's kill followed soon behind Angel's, as the Atlas team quickly discovered the LEAP targets to be overconfident to the point of carelessness, mistakenly thinking no one could… or would… touch them. As Tim and Angel worked their way through their own list of targets, they had given a list each to the two-person teams of Marisa and Boris, and Rich and Nina. Each of the four had been cross-trained in hacking surveillance and entry locks along with silently eliminating their targets, so could perform either task. In some instances, their LEAP targets had families, most with children. Zoë had been adamant that these people were not to be harmed under any circumstances; instead, all of their communication gear was to be disabled while they were being warned that Atlas had not forgotten they were turncoats... and they would be wise to resign from LEAP while they still had their families and their lives.

By the time the six of them got back together for an early breakfast, all but three of their targets had been dealt with; the only three that remained were the LEAP members holding key positions within the colonial mayor's office. Tim elected to take the admin assistant; this left Angel, Boris and Rich to deal with Daniel Abbott, the man employed by New Cousteau's security forces. Marisa and Nina would tackle city planner Dianna Hess – not to kill her, but to have her deliver a short message to her leadership in New York City on Earth.

* * *

Chief Administrative Assistant Katelyn Hurst was leaving her office for lunch; as she stepped out into the coolness of a cloudy mid-day, she looked around before taking several dozen steps towards the large, mostly full aircar parking lot. She was looking forward to the visit by the crew of the Normandy, particularly since she would be able to witness the deaths of two of the people she despised most in the world – the race-traitor Shepard and her squid-head whore, Liara T'Soni. Hurst was happily imagining the event as she approached her vehicle.

As the canopy rose and the side door opened to allow her entry, she felt a pair of hands shove her violently from behind; Katelyn fell awkwardly onto the extended door before collapsing halfway into the passenger compartment. Too stunned to protest, she felt herself being grabbed and pushed unceremoniously the rest of the way inside, where she lay uncomfortably in a semi-reclining position in the right seat. Hurst only saw her assailant for a split second as a gloved hand reached around behind her neck; she felt a sharp pain, akin to that made by a small hypodermic needle. The hand remained on her neck as the other, also gloved, covered her mouth to prevent any call for help. In a matter of seconds, she was beyond caring about anything as she slumped in the seat unconscious.

Katelyn Hurst was having a nightmare – one from which she could not seem to awaken. She was in her aircar, flying at high speed at the upper altitude limit permitted in the city. She couldn't move, could only watch and scream silently as near-miss after near-miss occurred over and over. She managed to turn her head so she could see if she was alone; there was no one beside her. As she turned back towards the front, she saw several amber warning lights flashing ominously within the 'available power' display, warning of an imminent failure. Katelyn realized the propulsion system was being over-stressed, and that losing power to propulsion would result in complete loss of power to the eezo core, causing an uncontrollable descent.

As she thought of this, she sluggishly brought her hands up to the controls and attempted to slow, or turn, or descend. She could do nothing – the haptic interface was completely non-responsive. The aircar lurched as it suddenly began descending, its forward speed increasing rapidly. Katelyn watched in horrified disbelief while the street below rapidly grew closer and closer – her mind kept repeatedly denying the inevitable, until Katelyn Hurst finally felt intense pain for the briefest moment, then oblivion, as the X3M flattened itself into an unrecognizable pile of shredded thermoplastic and ripped chunks of light alloy.

Tim Stafford smiled in satisfaction - the 'accident' would be all over the evening news shows, telling the tale of an unfortunate city administrative assistant's fatal plunge in an out-of-control X3M. It would be difficult for LEAP to ignore the warning being sent, particularly after so many members failed to leave their homes this morning; those few left alive would all be bearing witness to their leaders on Earth that the new group of people that had risen from the vacuum left by the elimination of the Illusive Man and Cerberus were serious about keeping their leader's promises.

* * *

City planner Dianna Hess had just returned to her office and taken a seat behind her desk with a small pastry and a fresh cup of coffee – or, what passed for such on this wretched water-world – when two young women entered unannounced from the waiting area outside her door. "I'm sorry," she said as she studied the pair before her. "I can see no one who hasn't previously made an appointment."

Marisa looked at Nina and smirked as she activated her omnitool. "That's too bad," Nina responded, just as the comms unit on the smug official's desk lit up and sparked, its circuitry irreparably overloaded; this caused Hess to jump in surprise and push away from her desk. "We won't take very much of your time, Ms Hess." Smiling at the now unsure official, she added, "Oh, I wouldn't do that, were I you," as Dianna started to activate her own omnitool. "I expect the burn you'd receive wouldn't be worth whatever action you plan to take."

Dropping her hand, Hess stood, and in a haughty tone of voice asked, "What do you want?"

Marisa used a gloved hand to carefully pull a small datapad from a pocket on her jacket; setting it in the middle of Dianna's desk, she skewered the woman's eyes with her own and said, "You're going to deliver the message contained on this device to your deplorably narrow-minded leadership in New York City, on Earth, after which…" Marisa's voice dropped to an ominous register as she continued, "… you will resign from your position as a city planner."

Hess reacted defiantly with, "New York? What makes you think I answer to anyone outside this office, why in Hell should I deliver anything for you, and what possible reason would I have for resigning my job?"

Marisa rested the knuckles of her gloved fists on the edge of the desk and leaned forward as she replied in a deathly whisper, "We know you're a former member of Cerberus. You were given an opportunity to become a member of Atlas; despite being warned you'd be painting a target on your back, you instead chose to join LEAP. So, you _will_ resign from this position with the city for health reasons, Ms Hess; you'll deliver the message for the same reasons."

Still defiant, Hess countered with, "There's nothing the matter with my health… why, I'm as…"

Marisa cut her off with, "… Failure to follow my simple instructions could prove fatal, Ms Hess. We're offering you a chance to continue living. If you choose to continue on as if nothing we've said today matters, I guarantee you'll never see your assassin until the instant before you die."

Hess looked from Marisa to Nina, whose expression was similarly ominous. Her bravado disappeared abruptly as she slumped into her chair. Swallowing in sudden fear, she stammered, "I didn't think Zoë Lawrence gave a damn about what was happening in the colonies. Why does she even care what happens out here?"

Nina responded, "It's all there on that datapad, should you care to read it; suffice it to say, LEAP lost a significant majority of its New Cousteau membership last night… permanently. You just received a second chance, Ms Hess. Don't waste it."

Nina nodded to Marisa, who carefully opened the office door; after a quick look outside, she went through the door, accompanied by Nina. Dianna Hess jumped to her feet and quickly went through the door, to find a waiting room devoid of life. _Damn it! Bitches must have been wearing cloaking generators,_ Hess thought. _I need to make some calls… spread the word!_


	61. Of Dreams and Nightmares

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Le'wĕth_ \- the soft ridges extending from beneath the rear of the scalp, merging into the back of the neck (Thessian/Source: CDN)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

* * *

 **Of Dreams and Nightmares**

 **Normandy SR-2, Chasca Equatorial Orbit, Matano System**

After nearly dying at the end of October, Shepard had been positively disgusted with the addition of yet another stop in the month of November instead of being given time to simply sit back, take a few deep breaths and recover. _It's not like we're still in the Gods-be-damned war – none of this shit is so important it has to be done_ _ **now**_ _!_ It did little to improve her feelings toward the Alliance or the Council – nor did it lessen the building vividness of her nightmares.

Thankfully, following the negotiations between Proteus and Therum, Ashley Williams had stepped in where the Council and the Alliance failed. Her taking temporary command of the Normandy ensured Shepard and Liara would have at least a few extra days of down time to relax aboard the _Aletheia_ while the Normandy surveyed Chasca. Chance would have it that the mission was a wonderful success; the Normandy crew easily located each of the survey teams and got them back in communication with Earth. The news was excellent and the Alliance was in the process of prepping five teams, each to establish a new colony along the Chasca equatorial belt. Each mission would launch as soon as they could get enough volunteers; since many of the refugees still stuck on Earth had nowhere to go 'home' to, the ship rosters were filling quickly with people eager for a new start.

During the search, Riana, even though rather disgruntled at _not_ being on the _Aletheia_ with her mistress, had resigned herself to checking the Broker feeds regularly. To date, the primary keyword search on Trident had yielded few results... until the morning of November 13th, barely over two weeks before their scheduled arrival at New Cousteau. The Vanguard sat up in her chair and highlighted a chain of news stories indicating a number of unexplained, atypically brutal murders. The numerous reports filled her screen and at first glance they had little or nothing in common but, as the names continued to scroll by, Riana paused the screen to open a recent personnel report she had received from Miranda. Her eyes opened wide and she immediately placed a call to the _Aletheia_.

Both Shepard and Liara answered her hail to hear the news. "I think we may have gained an unsolicited ally... and it greatly concerns me as to the extent they are willing to go." With a few finger strokes across the haptic interface, Riana sent the list obtained from Miranda to the terminal aboard the _Aletheia_. "Before you is the last known roster for the Cerberus cell on Trident." She made a couple more finger swipes to forward the news articles the query had turned up. "This is a collection of news articles concerning a string of mysterious murders... all of which occurred last night. If you compare them to the names on the list of Cerberus members, you will undoubtedly see the same thing I did; every single person killed last night was formerly associated with Cerberus... and, I presume, now belongs... or, at least, _belonged…_ to LEAP."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and glanced at Liara. "I think I need to place a secure call to Hackett... or, better yet, to Sharon, to see if it was some sort of Alliance special operation."

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Sam." Liara's eyes traveled quickly through the data before she continued, "But the Alliance didn't have access to the personnel roster provided by Miranda. How would Sharon have known precisely who to target? I sincerely doubt her group had anything to do with these murders."

Riana answered quickly. "If it was not an Alliance Op, then there is an unknown third party performing some rather specifically targeted assassinations... which I honestly believe is what happened here. I would also be quick to make the assumption that we know who conducted these killings. It is certainly within her skill set..." Her voice trailed off, not wanting to say the name that brought only bitterness to her tongue.

"I'm afraid you're probably right, Riana, but we won't know until we check the facts." Shepard turned to Liara. "I'll call Sharon first, then Hackett if she has no knowledge of the events."

"And, in the mean time, I'll help Riana sort through all these reports to see if we can glean any insight from them." Liara looked back at her First. "We also need to somehow confirm the victims' current allegiance; I know you are assuming they were all members of LEAP and that Maya Brooks is somehow responsible, but we need to know for sure. That's a lot of people… more than should be possible for one person to achieve in an evening, given how widely scattered across the city they were living. There are any number of mercenary groups on Trident. We could be reading too much of our own fears into this, when it is actually nothing more than a turf war between rival gangs."

Riana smiled as she watched Shepard push herself away from the terminal, turning to kiss Liara softly on the cheek. "I guess this means it's time to get back to work, huh, Blue?"

Liara smiled softly. "At least we had two days while circling Chasca, Shepard. Have faith that we will resolve this soon enough to enjoy our time on Asteria, once we get there." She looked once more to the communications terminal. "We'll see you soon, Riana. Thank you."

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

Tilzer grumped at being woken so early by his assistant. As he answered the call, the panicked look on the vaguely familiar woman's face caught his undivided attention. "It's awfully early here. I assume this is important."

City planner Dianna Hess attempted to swallow her fear, but the speed with which she spoke made it blatantly obvious to Tilzer the woman had been scared out of her wits. He asked her to repeat a few details and she spit out her response. "I'm not reliving that event again Mr Tilzer... for you, or for anyone! Did you not hear what I said? If I don't resign, I'm a dead woman!"

"Seriously?" Tilzer scoffed. "They may have frightened you, but didn't harm you in any way. You just confirmed to me that you didn't recognize either of them, meaning they aren't members of the Trident Atlas cell and most likely left immediately after speaking to you. Why would they bother to come back? You've delivered the message, like they asked... and no, I'm not going to open it right now to confirm any of what you're saying. For all I know, the file contains some sort of virus or infiltration software. The bottom line is that the mission goes on as planned."

"They're _dead_ , you idiot!" Hess looked at the man in bewilderment. "Just who in Hell do you think is going to assassinate that squid now? There isn't anyone with the skills to do so left on Trident!"

"We have two weeks, Ms Hess. I suggest you take a deep breath and go on as if nothing has happened." Tilzer frowned heavily. "I'll report this up the chain and we'll make sure you get replacements."

Hess suddenly laughed – a piercing, shrill sound due to her nervousness. "The port is temporarily shut down and new security protocols are being put in place; anyone you send will be too late! You'll not get any weapons through... nor anyone who hasn't been coded and cleared by C-Sec onto this rock until after the Normandy visit is complete!"

Marco simply shrugged. "We bypass security protocols all the time, Ms Hess. Relax. I'll get you the people."

Dianna's fear began to transform into anger at the man's intransigence and she growled, "You'll not be getting _me_ anyone, Mr Tilzer. As I was instructed by those frighteningly persuasive women, I am resigning tomorrow... and then leaving Trident at my earliest convenience. I value my life way too much to remain under the Atlas microscope for any longer than absolutely necessary... for _any_ reason."

"I'll report this event to my superior and contact you with further instructions." Tilzer sneered and his voice was low and cold as he cautioned, "And, if I were you, I would consider my actions over the next few days very carefully, Ms Hess. I would be especially careful to not take any rash actions that could potentially lead to... permanent... changes for either my personal or _professional_ situation. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"There isn't anything more permanent than _dead_ , Mr Tilzer."

"Precisely my point, Ms Hess." Tilzer's smile was not reflected in his eyes or his voice as he repeated himself and disconnected the call. "Precisely my point."

* * *

The captain sat, stewing in her chair, wondering why she had to suffer that fool of a messenger. The man was a worthless piece of flesh – she'd get more mileage from a passenger pigeon and it would cost less to feed. His performance was always less than stellar and today he had broken a priceless and irreplaceable vase that stood by her front door in his panicked exit from her top-floor abode. She rolled her eyes and wondered how he managed to operate the elevator on his own without stepping into the shaft and falling to his death. She chuckled at the thought as she waited in her office for Tilzer's arrival. The messenger had come simply to give her advance notice of Marco's pending arrival... apparently with some very time-sensitive news. Jessica knew it could not possibly be good if he was delivering the news personally.

It wasn't long before Marco entered her office, seeming a bit out of breath. She hadn't even turned to look at him yet when he said, "I believe we have a problem on Trident." Tilzer stood ready for the response he knew was coming, but could not avoid.

Jessica spun her chair to face him, her eyes dangerous slits. "What do you mean, a problem?"

He had watched the short video and decrypted the data files provided by Dianna Hess and knew the captain was not going to like the news... not at all. "First of all, every one of our snipers and their support teams on Trident are dead... murdered during the night by unknown agents."

"What the fuck?" Jessica vaulted to her feet and got in Marco's face. "You said you had that operation handled!"

"I did... but obviously, our leak is much worse than we initially thought." He raised his arm and keyed his omnitool, passing the file to his boss. "I have been provided a complete roster of all our personnel here in New York... except you... by a damned _Atlas_ agent, via the Trident City Planner, Dianna Hess."

"Hess! I thought she was on our side? She's a key component in all this!"

"Oh, she is... or at least _was_." Tilzer sighed. "Over the course of last night, Atlas killed a great number of our personnel there, including the mayor's admin assistant and our security guard. That left Hess as our only agent within the city offices and, according to her, they only left her alive so she could deliver the message; she says they also told her to resign... or else."

"And?"

"And I told her to weigh her options very, very carefully." Tilzer smiled. "So far, she's still at work."

Jessica turned away and walked to her window overlooking the city before growling, "So, how do we recover?"

"She said they've tightened security, but I still told her I'd be sending replacements..." Tilzer let out another sigh. "However, once I checked it out, I realized it's not possible."

Jessica returned her cold gaze to the man she trusted with her most important projects. "And why not? We've done very similar operations in the past."

"Agreed." Marco shook his head. "But nothing like this has ever happened – Shepard and T'Soni are the galaxy's golden children. The Council has actually closed the Hoplos Relay to commercial traffic until the Normandy's visit is complete and they have departed the system."

"The system? What about their stop on Olor and our deal with Dalatrass Wius?" Jessica almost gagged as she said the name. "Do NOT tell me I spoke with that slimy reptile for over an hour for absolutely no reason!"

"We do share a common interest, so it wasn't for nothing," Tilzer smirked. "However, she can't help us on the third of December as we had hoped. The Normandy is skipping the stop entirely."

Not realizing it was Dalatrass Baon who had tipped Shepard off to the danger, Jessica jumped to the wrong conclusion. "God damn it! Not only do we have a leak, but it has to be someone on the senior staff! Who the fuck is it and how in Hell did Atlas get to them?"

Drawing a deep breath, Tilzer replied, "I don't know the answer to either of those questions, Captain. But I do intend to find out."

Jessica knew Marco very well and could tell by his body language he was planning something even _he_ considered risky. She almost didn't ask, but she simply had to know. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Provided you approve, I'd like to pull a substantial number of credits from the operations fund... to contact the only impartial third party I know of who may have the answer. We need the Shadow Broker."

"Is he even alive?" Jessica stared at him in surprise. "How do you know he survived the war?"

"I don't." Tilzer shrugged as he continued, "But, we still have the contact protocols – so all we can do is throw the question out there... and see if he answers."

"Do it," Jessica growled. "And I don't care how much it costs. I want that leak found... and plugged. Preferably with lead or some other suitable substitute."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Nubian Expanse, At Large**

While the addition of six Asari commandos to the security detail certainly eased safety concerns during the scheduled tour stops at the Human colony on Yamm, it did nothing to help solve the question of who performed the murders on Trident. Liara was growing increasingly frustrated with the total inability to back-trace any of their sparse leads. After-action reports from Yamm complete, Shepard stood behind her at the Broker terminal, gently massaging the Asari's neck, back and shoulders in an attempt to help ease some of the tension. As her hands worked on the knots in Liara's neck, Shepard sighed, "I believe this simply confirms our suspicions, Li. This is undoubtedly Maya Brooks' handiwork... and she is annoyingly good at what she does."

Liara's hands moved to the side, gripping the edges of the terminal stand as she dropped her head in temporary defeat. She sighed softly, partly in disgust at her inability to ferret out the information they needed, but mostly in relief as the captain's hands worked their magic. "Goddess that feels good, Shepard." Her eyes closed and she concentrated solely on the fingertips that worked their way into each and every knot they discovered. After a few moments of contented silence, a wash of affection soared through the link as she spoke quietly. "I love you, Sam."

The hands stopped as Shepard was caught up in the surge, before she whispered, "I love you too, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ ," in response. The captain gently gripped the Asari's shoulders, slowly standing her upright from her slumped position over the interface and turning Liara until they were facing one another, peering adoringly into each other's eyes. Shepard gently cupped the blue face before her, a white thumb running tenderly across a freckled cheek. "We'll get through this, Liara, together." She smiled and let out a little huff of satisfaction. "And I think I've just made up my mind about leaving the Alliance... for sure."

A playful smile crossed Liara's lips. "You think... for sure?" A short, entertained chuckle preceded a second query. "What exactly does that mean, Captain?"

The Spectre smiled. "You know what I mean, Liara. I want out. I want to move to Thessia with you and formalize our bonding. I love you with everything I am, Lady T'Soni... and I am ready for _us_."

A flood of devotion surged across the link and the word "Shepard" escaped the Asari like a whisper, but was more of a thought slipping through their connection than the actual vocalization as her arms wrapped lovingly around the Human before her. Their lips met in a slow, tender kiss which left them both breathless by the time they separated.

Foreheads leaning together, they remained quietly wrapped in each other's arms until Shepard finally broke the silence. "I think that's the first time I've called you Lady T'Soni and you did not object."

"How could I, with everything that came along with it? Focusing on those two words and objecting to what truly is my title would have belittled the rest of your avowal." Liara smiled softly. "And I certainly have no intention of ever doing such a thing, _Siame_ , because I feel exactly the same way."

Stealing another quick kiss, Shepard drew a deep breath. "So, the only question that remains is how and when to tell Admiral Hackett."

Giggling quietly, Liara said, "Those are actually two questions, but I understand your intent. I say there is no hurry; let us talk it out and firm up our plans before we approach him, so he understands exactly how resolute we are about the action when we do tell him."

"Sounds good to me, Liara." Shepard smirked as she continued, "Leaves my options open." She laughed and jerked back when the Asari poked her in the stomach. "Hey! Be careful what you start, Asari. I might be inclined to defend myself..."

A worried look flashed across Liara's face as she attempted to back away. "Don't you dare, Shepard. That's not fair... I know you're not ticklish!"

"I know..." A wide grin spread across the captain's face. "And I know that you are... very."

Liara shrieked when her attempts to evade failed and Shepard began to tickle her mercilessly. After only a few moments, Liara's breath was ragged as she quietly gasped out, "Sam, stop! We'll wake Riana! We need to take this to the loft!"

Shepard stopped and wrapped her arms around the Asari, hugging her tightly. Liara's chest heaved as she attempted to catch her breath and recover from her uncontrollable laughter. Surprised, Shepard asked, "Good point about Riana... but are you serious, Li? About stopping work completely and going to the loft right now?"

Still somewhat breathless, Liara simply nodded emphatically against her lover's chest, tucked securely in the Spectre's welcome embrace. Shepard ran her hand up Liara's _le'wĕth_ , sending a shiver of anticipation down the Asari's spine and eliciting a gasp of pleasure. "Most definitely, Sam... and _absolutely_ right now."

* * *

 **Tefnut, Kalabsha System, Nubian Expanse**

Their visit to the Turian consortium of space stations surrounding Tefnut was thankfully uneventful and passed extremely quickly. Too quickly in the eyes of the Normandy's captain, as it was their first opportunity in quite a while to rendezvous with Garrus. He had greeted the team with concern, appraising both Shepard and Liara with a critical eye. "You both look better than I anticipated, having nearly died only what? Three weeks ago, now?"

"Yes, well... We've done nothing since then but a lot of meetings and negotiations... and a few days of rest and relaxation aboard the _Aletheia_." Liara stepped up and hugged the Turian, deftly dodging the sharp points on his mandibles to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "And, I must say, it is very nice to see you, Garrus, as well as seeing a Turian colony for a change."

"Yeah." Shepard chuckled lightly. "With entry to each station being controlled by Turian security... and ex-councilor Sparatus gone so there's no Turians I know of trying to kill us... we might actually be able to relax a little while we're here."

Garrus cocked his head in skepticism. "The whirlwind tour of the various facilities surrounding Tefnut will be safe... but very fast-paced, Shepard. I wouldn't count on it being exactly _relaxing_ , as the schedule affords little time to rest. There are five separate stations, three of which are on the Normandy's visit schedule."

"Yes, we are well aware of that fact, Garrus," Liara confirmed. "The first is the centralized control station, which holds all the administrative and military offices for the entire consortium. The next two consist of a helium-3 collection facility and a refueling station, both of which are supposedly once again habitable, though still under varying stages of repair. Is that correct?"

"Yes, and if not for the SILC helping us on the homeworld, we wouldn't be anywhere close to this far along." Garrus' voice flanged and his mandibles flared with appreciation. "They've completed three of the four Shroud facilities and are very close to finishing the fourth." He paused and flashed a Human-like smile. "In order to put people back to work, we completed our freighter repair program and released the SILC from the resupply network. Turians are once again in full swing, providing the necessary ships and crews to move supplies for ourselves. Those who were eager to do more, or simply get off-world because of the air quality on Palaven, volunteered to come out here and assist in the rebuild of the Helium-3 processing facilities."

Shepard smiled grimly. "That's good to hear, Garrus, but I understand it's going to be many years before Palaven is what it once was."

"Yes. Estimates put it at approximately two hundred years before the atmosphere will be stable enough to decommission the first two Shrouds, Shepard." Garrus made direct eye contact with her and nodded. "But, that doesn't mean conditions aren't improving every day. We've taken a cue from the Drell and started to build domes, inside of which the atmosphere can be scrubbed a lot faster, creating clean zones for people to live in. Travel between them is still an issue, but that can be done within closed aircars and shuttles, so we're working around it." He reached out and gripped the Spectre's shoulder in camaraderie. "The Turian people are going to be fine, Shepard. Winning the war gave us all a chance... and we're not going to waste it."

"Good to hear, Garrus." Shepard glanced at Liara for a quick moment before continuing, "So, the Turians are doing pretty well as a whole, but how about you, personally? How are things with Desis?"

"Things are... excellent." Garrus cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. "She has completed her relocation to Palaven and is extremely busy coordinating relief efforts between all the orphanages. We have wonderful shared quarters, but between her travel and mine, we are hardly ever there at the same time to enjoy one another's company."

Liara stared hard at the Turian's wrist, suspicion tickling the back of her mind as she returned to the conversation. "Is that a... _bracelet_... Garrus? I have never known you to wear jewelry."

"Yes, it is, Liara." He suddenly beamed, his mandibles quivering in excitement. "Spirits! There was so much going on at the time, I forgot to tell you!" Garrus glanced back and forth between the two quickly and held out his arm for inspection as he continued, "I gave Desis a promise bracelet quite a while ago... back in early July. When she moved to Palaven, she brought this with her... and presented it to me when I returned after your promotion to Captain!"

The couple surged forward, both attempting to hug the Turian in congratulations at the same time, causing a collision and bouts of laughter as they celebrated the news. "That's excellent, Garrus!" exclaimed Shepard.

"You both deserve all the happiness you can find together!" Liara smiled broadly as she added, "And you chose the Asari promise bracelet tradition to make your betrothal – that's wonderful!"

"Couldn't help but follow the example of the happiest couple I know." Garrus chuckled lightly as he continued, "And thank you, both, for your well wishes. That honestly means a lot to me."

"So, what's the Turian tradition? Have you set a date for the wedding, or joining, or whatever it is you call it?" Shepard was grinning ear-to-ear as she asked her questions.

"No... we have not yet picked a date for our _union_." Garrus took a deep breath before stating, "We both want to wait until the Victory Tour is complete. We wouldn't think of having a ceremony before the Normandy's crew would be able to attend..." He paused and looked at Shepard. "Particularly since I would like _you_ to perform as my Hand."

"I'm not sure what that entails, but I'd think it's similar to the Human tradition of the groom having a best man." Shepard nodded in acceptance. "But no matter what it is, count me in."

Relieved, Garrus let out the breath he was holding. "Thank you, Shepard. I know you and Liara plan on being bonded after the war, so I don't want to impose on your schedule at all. I've already discussed it with Dee and we are happy to wait until you are done with all your festivities before we link our chains."

"Chains?" Shepard couldn't help but grin. "Humans have a saying about a significant other being a ball and chain... A reference to an old prison idea, where convicts out on work crews were chained to an extremely heavy ball of metal... making it impossible to escape, even though they were working outside the prison."

Garrus simply laughed as Liara looked at Shepard in horror at the thought. "Meaning what, Shepard? That your freedom was gone because you had familial obligations?"

The Turian shook his head in amusement. "That's especially funny to me, because that's _exactly_ what the chain represents to Turians – but in a good way! Being linked to another represents a lifetime commitment to that person... and, as you know, Turians do not take commitment lightly."

"Thank the Goddess for alternative interpretations!" Over her revulsion at the idea of being a 'ball and chain' to Shepard and inhibiting her freedom, Liara said, "I like the Turian concept much better than the Human version, Garrus, and we will be happy to attend your ceremony, whenever you chose to have it!"

* * *

 **Asteria, Hekate System, Hades Nexus**

After a wonderful three days with Garrus, Asteria had both Shepard and Liara looking forward to it for very different reasons. It was primarily an Asari world and Liara had planned a surprise visit from Sha'ira, hoping she could somehow temper Shepard's growing problem with her nightmares. Even though Shepard was unaware the Consort was coming, the Alliance captain was, for a change, looking forward to an anticipated warm welcome. The Asari-run colony of Blackdamp was where, as a young lieutenant in N-School, Shepard had managed to return 182 of the roughly 300 colonists taken by pirates.

Bringing home barely over sixty percent of those kidnapped, it was still many more than the colonists had dared hope, believing _all_ their loved ones either dead or sold into slavery. Of singular personal satisfaction, one of those recovered had been none other than Samantha's biotics instructor and dear friend, Arlyna Sheya. Even though Arlyna and Niria no longer called Asteria their home, it still evoked positive thoughts in Shepard's mind as she remembered the success of the mission. She had avoided the need to tell Niria that Arlyna was gone, having either perished in the slave camp or, in a fate possibly worse than death, had simply gone missing in the underworld of the slave trade.

As the Normandy crew disembarked along with their additional ground-team of commandos from the _Aletheia_ , they were overwhelmed by the greeting they received. Over 100 of those saved in 2178 were standing front and center and displaying a huge electronic banner hovering over their heads which stated, "Welcome Back, N7 Shepard!" When the Spectre grinned and raised a hand in recognition, the crowd roared its approval. The entire first day was much the same - a good sized crowd, happily welcoming their savior at each and every one of the small agricultural clusters the crew visited.

Over the course of the day, there had been multiple comments from the locals regarding the bonding bracelet they noticed on Shepard's wrist, accompanied by more than a few envious glances cast toward Liara, who simply took the Captain's hand and smiled proudly as she waved at Shepard's admirers. "This is amazing, Shepard; they adore you!"

"More so than many of my fellow Humans... Which is only one more reason why I want to retire to Thessia with you, my love." Liara did not respond other than to simply smile and squeeze Shepard's hand as she continued to wave happily.

The Blackdamp Matriarch, Ryvos B'Sayle, had arranged a large suite for the couple, one that was set aside specifically for visiting dignitaries. Being Asari, those dignitaries were normally matriarchs with large entourages, so the quarters consisted of a large common area for visitations, an adjacent kitchen and dining room, and four bedrooms, two on each side of the commons. When told about the facilities, Shepard wondered aloud, "What in the galaxy are we going to do with four bedrooms? Seems a shame to waste the space. Who should we invite to stay with us, other than Riana?"

Liara chuckled. "I've been in a few places such as this, Shepard... traveling with my mother when I was younger. The extra rooms are for the entourage and the commando guard... so Livos and her team, as well as my First, will accompany us there. It is... _expected_... with me being a leader of a great house. I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it, as it will likely be the same for every Asari world we visit."

"Ah." Shepard looked at her with a wry grin on her face. "I suppose I have to suffer through, seeing as you demand I function as your Captain of the Guard. It's a terrible burden, you know."

"Is it, now?" Liara got a wicked grin on her face. "I suppose, maybe, I'll have to work at finding some way to make it worth your while." She suddenly smiled coyly, stating, "Perhaps I could let you sleep with me, Captain, instead of staying in the guard quarters."

"Oh. Ouch." Shepard laughed as she replied, "You wound me, T'Soni."

* * *

As they stepped into the main foyer of the guest quarters, Shepard's left hand lit with biotics as her right dropped immediately to her thigh in search of a pistol that wasn't there. An unexpected group of Asari was already in the room... and given all that had transpired over the past month, Shepard wasn't taking any chances. Liara reached over quickly and stilled the captain's hand. "Shepard. Look at the faces. Do they not seem familiar?"

It took just a moment. As Shepard started to recognize them and began to smile, the group parted to reveal their primary - Sha'ira. The Consort smiled warmly in return as she walked through her group of acolytes to greet the newly arrived couple. "Liara! Captain! I was beginning to wonder if this stop was still on the schedule or if an important change-of-itinerary message had been lost in the ether of space." She hugged Liara tightly. "It is good to see you, Little Wing."

Shepard eyed Sha'ira suspiciously as she turned toward the captain. "And you as well, Shepard. It is always my pleasure to cross paths with the Savior of the Galaxy."

The Spectre couldn't help but smile and open her arms for an embrace when Sha'ira approached her. "Same here, though I have to wonder if there are ulterior motives to explain your presence here; it surely cannot be mere coincidence. Blackdamp is definitely a backwater colony for one such as you, Consort."

"Is that so?" Sha'ira clucked in feigned disapproval. "It cannot be as backwater as you say... seeing as it is at least important enough for _you_ to be here." The Consort pulled back and smiled. "But I will not dissemble; I understand you are having your nightmares again... so, I am here to offer my services."

Shepard blew out a heavy breath and closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them to peer into the guilty blues of her _I_ _onúin Álainn_. "Yes, I am... and, I have to assume Liara contacted you about the last few episodes being rather severe."

"Oh?" The Consort glanced at the younger Asari for only an instant to see the truth of Shepard's statement. "In reality, this has been scheduled for some time... since after Eden Prime... and Liara has not provided me with any updated information. In any event, being the first Asari world you were going to visit, this would have been my first opportunity to intercept you without drawing undue attention." Her focus returned to the Specter as she continued, "Fortunately for you, our Little Wing apparently has a touch of the gift of foresight."

Liara stepped up beside Shepard and wrapped an arm around the Human's waist. "Actually, it was Tali who suggested it... and I thought it an excellent idea."

The consort nodded in approval. "Well then. Let us be thankful for both our Quarian friend's thoughtfulness and your demonstration of good judgment." Sha'ira stepped back from the couple and looked around the sitting room, a pleasant smile on her face. "I have already spoken with Matriarch Ryvos so I am aware your schedule begins tomorrow morning at 9 AM. That means we have this entire evening to ourselves... so, shall we sit and enjoy some refreshments while we wait for the acolytes to prepare dinner?"

Even though she had been blindsided, Shepard understood Liara and her friends had colluded for her benefit – and she could not fault them for their concern. She chuckled lightly and shook her head in surrender. "I don't honestly see any other path before me, so we may as well enjoy ourselves." She took Liara's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she faced Sha'ira. "I am at your mercy, Consort. How long are you here with us?"

"You have my companionship and my services for a full three days, Captain. My acolytes are also prepared to provide assistance or distraction to any crew who may require or wish such camaraderie, time permitting, of course."

"What an unprecedented offer, Sha'ira!" Liara looked at the consort in shock. "Our travel schedule, combined with the huge demand on your time, made it extremely difficult for any of our crew to take advantage of such services... even when we did manage to stay at the Citadel for more than a day at a time. This is likely the chance of a lifetime for them!"

Shepard felt a nudge through the link, so followed Liara's statement immediately with, "As you are apparently aware, Liara and I have a number of obligations to fulfill while here, but the majority of the crew is free to do as they please. Seeing as you came all this way for me, I will make myself completely available to you during the evening hours." The Spectre dipped her head in respect as she finished, "The rest of the day, obviously, is yours to spend however you see fit, Consort."

"I am here at Liara's request to provide what ease I can to your tortured dreams, Samantha. It is my honor to serve at your pleasure... though I do appreciate your understanding." Sha'ira moved to Shepard and gently cupped her chin. "My acolytes will attend to your crew, but I will remain here to rest between _our_ sessions. The only other I will personally work with while I am here is Liara... Because the two of you are linked beyond measure, it is impossible to work with one and not the other."

Feeling a surge of loving protectiveness through the link, Shepard sighed quietly, caught happily between Liara's comforting thoughts and the consort's comforting touch. "Thank you, both, for caring." Pulling back from Sha'ira's warm hand to wrap an arm around Liara's waist, the captain smiled. "I was already looking forward to the visit at Blackdamp... Now? I'm thinking it just might be the best stop on the Victory Tour."


	62. December Freeze

Notes:

 _Inanna:_ pinnacle of Asari blending, perfect unity of two spirits into one (from 'real world' Sumerian Goddess of Love, Fertility, and War)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

* * *

 **December Freeze**

 **Asteria, Hekate System, Hades Nexus**

"Are you still thinking this is the best stop on your galactic tour, Samantha?" Sha'ira held the Human close as Shepard drew a deep breath, shuddering in her exhaustion; three consecutive nights of rather lengthy sessions delving into the roots of her nightmares had pushed the woman near the limit of her psychological endurance – close to but not past it.

Liara gripped her hand tightly as the Captain responded quietly, "Believe it or not, yes. I needed this, Sha'ira." Shepard tiredly squeezed Liara's hand in return as she continued, " _We_ needed this... especially when it seems like so many want us, at the very least, out of the way... at worst, dead. Thank you for all your help."

"Yes. Thank you." Sighing, Liara added, "With _Inanna_ , it is extremely hard, if not impossible, to establish the necessary barriers and still aid Samantha as required. I am too close to her and our minds are too interwoven... We celebrate together... and suffer together as well. Unless we are physically separated by at least a star system, which would happen only grudgingly, we remain as one, even if only at the back of our minds." She leaned against the back of the couch and closed her eyes, Shepard's hand still within hers. "Even if we could, it is a connection we would never willingly forsake... but I will be the first to admit it can be difficult at times."

"Remember to not focus on the difficulties, Liara. Focus on the intensity of your love for one another." Sha'ira shifted, pushing Shepard away and helping the weary Human to arrange herself comfortably against Liara's side. "Thank you, both... for trusting me to see the most intimate portions of your lives together. It is a bond the likes of which I have never witnessed and I am truly honored that you trust me to see its true depth and beauty." She smiled at the couple, thoughts of Raesia Tevos coming to mind.

"We will make time to continue the positive mantras whenever we can, Sha'ira." Liara wearily wrapped her arms around Shepard and drew her close. "Our near-term schedule has a break in it; with us skipping our stop at Olor, we have another three-day rest period before our five stops over the course of December."

"So you will use those three days to ignore the survival of the galaxy and focus instead on the positive aspects of your relationship?" Sha'ira's melodic voice was soothing. "You have both performed beyond all realistic expectations... It is past time to plan the future you have earned."

"Easier said than done, Shi." Shepard smiled softly. "You're not the one who still has to tell Admiral Hackett his favorite little soldier is leaving the Alliance."

Sha'ira gave Shepard an uncompromising look as she stated, "Samantha, your decision to ignore those who feel you have not yet done enough is the correct choice for you. The time has come to let others carry at least some, if not all, of that burden and for you to take care of yourself... and Liara. Do not allow the guilt from others' beliefs to reinvade your mind. Work together to keep _your_ priorities at the fore and do what you know needs to be done; you and Liara have done more than enough for the galaxy – someone else _will_ step up to fill the void."

Before the latest sessions with Sha'ira, Shepard would have shaken her head and responded, _"But everyone fought the same war... Doesn't everyone deserve the same rest? What gives me the right to back away from the recovery efforts when everyone else is still working so hard?"_

Instead, Sha'ira had finally broken through the wall of guilt that Shepard had built, one death at a time, in the back of her mind – a wall that grew and festered until it had threatened to come crashing down under the weight of the war – to crush Shepard's soul with all the death she had been forced to witness, too much of it dealt, of necessity, by her own hand.

Sha'ira's focus had cast welcome light into the dark forest and chased away whatever remained of the ominous whispers within the smoke and ash-filled air. The Reapers were gone; Shepard had delivered the galaxy to a time and place forever free of The Harvest. Now, the challenge before her and Liara was to keep the wall of guilt from rebuilding; to remain focused on the accomplishments and the future made possible by their dedication and achievements.

So, instead of rebutting Sha'ira's statement, Shepard sat calmly at Liara's side and simply answered, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Good." The consort smiled briefly before rising from the couch and stretching. "Then it is time for us to turn in. I will see you again in the morning before we leave to travel our separate ways... but you must stay focused, Shepard. These thoughts and memories remain within you and can return if you do not stay on guard until your mind is totally retrained. Three nights, however productive, are not enough to undo years of self blame."

The couple rose with her and both nodded in agreement. "Understood," Shepard intoned. "Now that you have demonstrated how to chase away the dark, we'll be more attentive. Thank you for all your help, Sha'ira, and we'll see you in the morning for our goodbyes."

* * *

 **New Cousteau, Trident, Hoplos**

Marisa Frost was incensed that city planner – and LEAP member – Dianna Hess had elected to continue in her job working for the city of New Cousteau, in spite of the rather pointed warning she had been given by Frost and Nina Delacroix to quit and walk away from LEAP. During the third breakfast meeting with her five companions and the local head of Atlas, Sheldon Webster told them his people had confirmed that Hess had been in contact with someone on Earth shortly after being visited by Marisa and Nina, so at least part of the message had been delivered. It was blatantly obvious to Marisa that whoever Hess had spoken with was more persuasive at long distance than Marisa had been in a face-to-face conversation; Hess had continued to go to work each morning as if nothing had happened. Apparently, the visit by a pair of grim-faced, black-clad women had not bothered her – at least not enough to make her quit her job.

After much discussion concerning the apparent lack of cooperation displayed by Hess, Tim Stafford and Angelique Warren put together a plan that would prove to LEAP's leadership that Zoë Lawrence, as the head of Atlas, was deadly serious about both her promise to eliminate turncoats and her endeavors to protect the stability of the galaxy and ensure the safety of its heroes. Frost recorded a short message to LEAP's leadership utilizing back-lighting and a black cowl over her head to hide her features; this would be transmitted to LEAP's leadership, along with a short omnitool-recorded video showing Dianna Hess' last moments.

As they didn't know exactly what follow-on actions Hess had been instructed to complete, they could not risk her eluding them by some miraculous stroke of luck. Thus, it was decided the entire team would work on this one – two attackers, while the rest providing a surrounding cordon to close off each and every potential escape route. To minimize the risks involved, Hess would be dealt with at her luxury condo, located in an exclusive section of town, just as she was departing for her office on the morning of the Normandy's scheduled arrival.

Being of approximately the same height and build as Zoë, the black-hooded Marisa was selected to carry out the hit. In preparation, she applied dark makeup to her face and neck, since any hint of bare skin that might possibly be exposed needed to look as dark as Zoë's. Understanding the necessity of complete silence so as to draw no undue attention from anyone else present in the condominium complex so early in the day, Marisa decided to get up close and personal for this kill; no firearm would be used, so she deftly slid her favorite blade into the sheath on her thigh.

* * *

Dianna Hess bustled about inside her condo, getting dressed for work as she drank a cup of _real_ coffee, the good stuff brought in from Earth, not the cheap swill that passed for coffee on this miserable water world. It had been four days since she'd been visited – at work, no less – by a pair of black clad women warning her to give up her ties to LEAP and leave her job as a city planner. _Of all the damned nerve!_

After she had reported the event, Marco Tilzer had berated her for even considering resigning her position, warning her to consider her options very carefully. After four days, she was beginning to relax again, having seen no hint of the women's continued presence and thinking, perhaps, he had been correct about them departing Trident after all... and their threat being totally empty.

With a quick glance at the chrono on the wall, she set her mug on the table and moved to her richly appointed office; she needed to gather up a few files that would be required for her mid-morning meeting with the city administrator. She truly wished that Shepard and her blue whore were going to meet their end today at the ceremony but, in the end, Marco had agreed with her assessment and ruled out any possibility of getting agents there in time to make the hit.

She pulled on a jacket to ward off the chill of a late winter day. _Damn, but how I hate the seasons on this planet being totally reversed from those of Earth's northern hemisphere!_ Before she left, she paused one last time to check her image in the mirror on the back of the front door. After straightening her clothing and rechecking her makeup, she opened the front door to leave, only to be met by a woman dressed in a black, one-piece cat suit, so tight there was no doubt about her gender.

Drawing a rapid breath in her fright, Hess momentarily froze in panic the instant she realized this was one of the women who had shown up at her place of work. As she stood in shocked silence, an arm seemingly materialized from thin air, coming from behind her left side to encircle her upper body and arms in a tight hug that left no doubt there was a well-endowed female pressed against her back. A flash grabbed her attention and Diana looked quickly to the right… towards the sound of heavy breathing and where the woman's face was totally hidden by the black cowl over her head. The flash had been caused by an object held in the hand of the second arm encircling her; the hand was holding a shiny, long-blade knife, gleaming as it reflected the light from overhead.

Marisa quickly shifted her left hand up to grab Dianna's forehead as she growled, "You were warned, Ms Hess. You chose to ignore the second part of the warning. I hope you made the most of your four-day reprieve." As she spoke, the serrated cutting edge of the knife was drawn across the milky white skin, beginning at Dianna's left ear and ending at her right; in an instant, her larynx and both carotid arteries were severed. Marisa used her torso to shove Dianna slightly forward; the woman clutched at her bleeding throat and fell to her knees, gasping for air that could no longer enter her lungs.

Gurgling through the blood pouring into her trachea, her eyes were wide with terror as she looked up at the knife-wielding woman for only a moment before falling slowly forward into the hallway outside her door. She thrashed weakly, vainly trying to get purchase on anything that would help her escape her fate, but the floor was much too slick from the blood that was being pumped out through the massive gash in her neck. It wasn't a long struggle, lasting only until her heart sucked in nothing but air and simply... stopped.

Nina had backed off a short distance while recording the entire incident with her omnitool; before the pair left, she crouched beside the still body to record a picture of Dianna's face. She had come to rest with her head turned to the left; her eyes, still open, were rapidly glazing over as the corneas died from lack of nutrients. Her expression, frozen in place, was one of complete incredulity mixed with disbelief. Nina grunted in satisfaction as Marisa wiped the blade on the seat of Dianna's stylish beige pants. "Come on, let's get out of here," she whispered. "Time to get changed and join the throngs preparing to welcome the Normandy."

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

Tilzer growled, "When can I expect to get results? For such a sum, I would anticipate a rapid response time."

The disembodied voice of the Broker chuckled. "You will receive a response when we have information to provide to you. No sooner. No later. Information moves at its own pace, Mr Tilzer; the fee assigned is based solely on the information's value... and I would think learning the name of the traitor within your organization would be most valuable indeed."

"Yes, it is, and I understand." Tilzer made a few strokes on the haptic interface and transferred a rather large sum of credits to the provided account. He knew that within moments of the transfer, the money would be moved again and the account deleted, leaving no trace and no way to recover the funds. "But you must also understand that the information is time-sensitive. If I discover the identity of the traitor before you, the data is no longer of any value and I will expect a full refund."

"Please, skip the pathetic attempts to threaten me, Mr Tilzer." Again, the Broker laughed. "If you could find the information on your own, we would not be having this conversation.

The corner of Tilzer's mouth twitched in aggravation, knowing the man was right – and LEAP was unable to do a damned thing about it. "Fine. Just get me the information." He brazenly reached out and terminated the connection before turning angrily and kicking his desk chair out of the way. "Goddamned pompous asshole!" He quickly dispatched the messenger to let Captain Mikhailovich know he was on his way before collecting his notes and the funds transfer receipt. _Jess is going to have a cow when she sees what this has cost us!_

* * *

The man arrived, only hesitantly ringing the bell for entry. A guard opened the door and waved him in, scanning for weapons before saying, "You're a worthless lump of flesh in Human skin. I don't know why Tilzer bothers with you. You rarely show up with an actual message, other than he's on his way. Anything different this time?"

"No." The man glared at the guard as he continued, "And I just do what he tells me to do, so don't blame me because Marco likes to be announced."

"So, you've got a pair hidden in them britches, after all. Just listen to you sassing me!" The guard smirked and laughed. "Good for you. Go on in... She's in a good mood, but I reckon that'll end quick enough with you walking into the room." Knowing what was coming, he kept his attention on the room, just in case the messenger attempted something stupid.

After he delivered the obvious message that Mr Tilzer was on his way, Jessica rolled her eyes and stood, walking out from behind her desk to move toward him – something she had never done before. "What exactly do you do for Mr Tilzer, other than run errands? Anything?"

"Whatever he tells me to do, Ma'am." For once the young man didn't stutter as he replied.

"So, what? You suck his cock for him? Or do you actually serve a more meaningful purpose?" She watched in wicked satisfaction as the man's face turned beet red before he dipped his head to stare at the floor.

"No." His voice was quiet as he responded. "It's normally running messages... _real_ messages... to his agents. Things he won't trust to the communications systems."

"We have excellent security protocols on our messaging system; that sounds like busy work to me." She lifted a brow. "So why did he hire you to begin with? Do you have something on him? Blackmail him for a job?"

"Because he trusts me to do exactly what he tells me, without question... no matter what he asks." The man actually sounded proud to be Marco's personal servant, stating, "He's told me that kind of loyalty can't be bought for any amount."

The Captain grinned as she announced, "He's right, it can't be bought... So go pack your things and get out. When he arrives, I'll inform Marco that you are no longer in our employ."

"What?" The man's head snapped back up as he stared at her in disbelief. "Mr Tilzer needs me and it's all I have! What am I supposed to do now?"

"That an insignificant fuck like you can't manage to find another job isn't my problem, but LEAP is done paying for your worthless busywork... so get out." The man blinked a couple of times, incredulous, before nearly jumping out of his skin when she shouted at him, "Now!"

He turned and quickly fled, not bothering to close any doors behind him, almost running into Tilzer on his way out of the building. Tilzer yelled something at him, but the young man either didn't hear or simply ignored him, a tear running down his cheek as he mumbled under his breath, "She's gonna pay for that... I'll figure a way, somehow. She'll regret the day she threw Blake Cantara out onto the street with no way to feed himself!"

* * *

"You're joking, right?" The Captain stared at the transaction receipt in shock. "You created this just to get my goat." At Tilzer's expression, she knew it wasn't a gag. "Holy shit. A million credits? For one Goddamned name?" She glared at him suspiciously as she asked, "You didn't ask them to find and assassinate did you? Because we can do _that_ ourselves... after we have a chance to question the traitor!"

"'Fraid not, ma'am. That's just the finder's fee for the information." Marco growled, "It sounded like he knew all about our agents getting taken down on Trident, so he knows we're desperate."

"Son-of-a-bitch." She waved the datapad around for a second before tossing it back to him. "For that number of credits, his damned network better get us that info fast. We have another operation to plan and we can't do it with a leak like that, open and bleeding us fucking dry!"

Tilzer didn't know what to say in response, so remained quiet. After a brief pause, Jessica spoke into the sudden silence. "Speaking of being bled dry, I fired your worthless messenger boy. I don't know why you kept him around, but he irritates me with his slovenly appearance and wretched fearfulness. He said more to me today once I fired him than all the times he's ever been in here... combined!"

"You fired Blake?" Tilzer looked at her in disbelief. "Without bothering to ask me first? What the Hell, Jess? He's my brother's dumb bastard! Most of the time, he needs specific direction to simply function and I swore to Jeff I'd take care of him!"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Marco. You hated Jeff and his idealism!" The Captain glared at Tilzer as she continued, "I can't believe you'd promise to watch over his son! That bastard is a complete waste of flesh... Where in Hell is his damned mother?"

Marco scoffed, "That scheming whore took whatever credits she could get her hands on, from both Jeff and the government, and then promptly dropped Blake at an orphanage. He never would have been adopted there... and Jeff couldn't exactly take him on the _Midway_... No room for family on a frigate."

"Wasn't the _Midway_ destroyed in the Skyllian Blitz in '76?"

"Yeah." Marco looked her straight in the eye, finally seeing realization dawning on the woman's face. "And that's when I took Blake full time; he was only 15 years old when Jeff was killed."

Jessica crossed her arms in disgust. "If you honestly care that much, go find the idiot and take him in... but as your dependent, not as an employee. We're not a fucking babysitting service."

"Fine." Tilzer clamped his jaw closed and grit his teeth to keep from saying something that could potentially come back to bite him in the ass. After a moment, he managed to gather his thoughts and returned to the business at hand. "Once I get a response from the Shadow Broker, I'll let you know who our leak is. In the mean time, I'm working on our next attack. It's two months away, at Arvuna."

Knowing they were running out of opportunities, the Captain was extremely concerned about operational security. Jess did not want to blow one of the few remaining chances to kill the increasingly annoying squid and her Human race-traitor fiancée – she still blamed them for ripping away her chance to command a ship such as the Normandy, as well as her potential for advancement up the ranks of the Alliance. Shepard had stolen her ship and Liara T'Soni had utterly destroyed her career; Jessica would not rest until they were dead. "Who are you working with on this one?"

"Nobody, yet," Marco growled, annoyed at her implication he would risk disclosing information about the operation while they had an unknown traitor in their midst. "Once the leak is taken care of, I'll contact our forward teams and let them know what I have... Being the local experts, they should still have plenty of time to fine tune the plan, as necessary." He squared his shoulders and stared at the heartless bitch in front of him. "If that's all, _Captain_?"

His emphasis of her title made her realize she had pushed as many buttons as she dared today; Jessica limited her response to a simple, "Yes. Thank you, Marco," and sent Tilzer on his way.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Hades Nexus, At Large**

Events on Trident had gone amazingly smooth – considering the number of people who had so recently been assassinated throughout the city, security had been ramped up to such a degree the officials at the port of entry had attempted to prevent Shepard from carrying even her standard service pistol. After a prolonged heated discussion that seemingly had no end in sight, the Spectre had finally issued an ultimatum. "Since the end of the war, numerous attempts have been made on my life and that of Dr T'Soni. So... either my entire team is permitted to carry their weapons or we unequivocally cancel our visit and immediately reboard the Normandy – period. This is neither a request nor a starting point for negotiations."

In the end, the assigned security and the mayor of New Cousteau had agreed to the Spectre's terms and the visit had proceeded as planned... and completely without incident. Even so, the protection teams from both the Normandy and the _Aletheia_ were still relieved when it came time to return to their respective ships and get underway once again. Both teams had been greeted with astonishing news the moment the decontamination cycles completed and the inner hatches had opened; Liara and Shepard scurried to the Broker Office to receive a full briefing on what had transpired while they had been groundside.

Liara's face took on a strange smile as the discussion had developed and the Asari's thoughts were shrouded just enough that Shepard couldn't get a clear read. And, with the conversation being a full-blown Shadow Broker event, the Spectre wasn't sure if she was honestly prepared to focus her mind and drag the information out of the reticent Asari. She knew Liara would eventually tell her, once she figured out how to do so.

After Miranda had played back her entire conversation with Tilzer, Liara's voice was surprisingly devoid of emotion as she peered into the communications terminal. "I cannot believe the luck that they actually came to us to ask for this information. Be that as it may, it certainly confirms the name of the rogue organization – Atlas."

"And LEAP has no idea it's not an inside leak... that someone from outside infiltrated their facility and stole the information from right under their very noses... almost three months ago!" Miranda was still shocked at the unfolding events as she continued, "Thank God for the voice modulation program! I couldn't believe it either... and I'm sure my real voice was squeaking with surprise as I talked to the man. Between identifying himself and asking for what he did, he laid both Atlas and LEAP open at our feet! The number of nagging questions his request answered is staggering!"

"Though the evidence is becoming rather overwhelming in that aspect, there is still no guarantee the Atlas leader, Zoë Lawrence, is simply the newest alias for Maya Brooks..." Liara turned to face Shepard. "And, seeing as we cannot provide the name of a LEAP traitor, as Tilzer requested, since there isn't one... What, exactly, should we do with this situation?"

Shepard's eyes opened wider by only the slightest margin, surprised Liara was hesitant to make what the Spectre considered to be an easy decision. "We sell them the information we _do_ have, of course! I figure we take a page out of Primarch Victus' book and pit the two factions against one another." The captain continued, "It doesn't matter who's running the show. Our wonderful multiple-assassination-attempt LEAP is asking for information on an organization which just killed a whole slew of people... without the slightest hint of hesitation or remorse, much less due process. No accusations, no arrests, no trials." Shepard frowned. "Even if it seems Atlas is helping us, they are nothing more than vigilantes and coldblooded murderers. So, we tell Tilzer the truth and, just maybe, the two groups will do us... and the galaxy... the favor of wiping each other out! All that will be left for us will be to clean up the mess when they're all done."

The strange expression on the Asari's face cleared in an instant and the Captain was almost overwhelmed by the wave of relief that Liara allowed to flow through the link as her barriers dropped completely. "I was concerned I was the only one thinking such a thing... and that it was a horrible path to even think about, much less travel. At the very least, we should be able to figure out who's at the top of the food chain of both organizations."

Shepard looked at Liara, remembering the innocence lost when her lover had initially delved into the information business and regretting what she was about to ask. "Liara... We already know about LEAP and their New York headquarters. We also suspect that Atlas is run by Maya Brooks... no matter _what_ her current alias is... and, now, we also know the organization is likely somewhere in Vancouver. What else do you need to make this happen?"

"With all the information we have on Atlas and LEAP put together? Give me ten minutes and I could start a war." Liara shuddered, concern flitting though her eyes only briefly before focusing herself and looking into Shepard's eyes as she queried, "The real question is... should we?"

* * *

Reassured by Shepard's response to her question, Liara used their supposed three days of rest in the first week of December to pit LEAP against Atlas. She took her time and put together a full package, worthy of the price tag, that provided Tilzer with all the information she had regarding the Atlas agent infiltration into their headquarters... along with newly confirmed data that the rogue organization, though they had relocated, still remained somewhere within the boundaries of Vancouver. She could tell by his tone that Tilzer had been shocked by the revelations... especially when he realized the infiltration had only barely preceded the assassinations of Bradshaw and Coffey _inside_ their New York City headquarters building.

"Son-of-a-bitch!" Tilzer growled. "They must have placed a bug... or a tap on one of the damned computer consoles. Why in Hell have we not been able to detect it? We sweep the entire building every week!"

Unseen by Marco, Liara had grinned as she responded, "I would be happy to take a few more of your credits, Mr Tilzer, if you would like the Shadow Broker network to discover the answer to that question for you."

"Screw you," the angry man growled. "For a million creds, I'd think you could throw that in!"

"Nothing in this galaxy comes free, Mr Tilzer," the Shadow Broker replied coldly before chuckling quietly – a deep, intimidating sound that indicated a large, powerful mass behind it that belonged to someone who had every reason to be respected... and feared. "Nothing."

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

Kasumi Goto moved almost casually down the dark alley, her cowled, dark form melting into the shadows of the gathering evening twilight. She had discovered her target was known to frequent the shops here, buying up the remnants of the foodstuffs that had not been sold over the course of the day. The shop keepers sold anything remaining at a discount this time of day, as the goods would be otherwise thrown out to be replaced by fresh foods come next morning. She was finally rewarded for her patience, the young man stopping at the vegetable cart closest to the alley where she lurked.

The shop keeper welcomed the regular. "Ev'ning, Blake! How you doin' tonight?" Kasumi smiled softly at the confirmation that the man was indeed her target. How Spectre Bau had managed to piece together the information that he could potentially be a disgruntled LEAP employee had amazed her, but she trusted Jon's instincts... so here she was, paying a very unexpected visit to Earth.

"Same old shit, Mike," the younger man grumbled. "Marco says I'm never going back to work... at least not for the League. The bitch won't change her mind, no matter what he says to her."

"My offer to let you work the receiving dock still stands, ya know." The older gent smiled. "I can always use a good strong back to unload the more delicate fruits from those freighters. The damned equipment jockeys always bruise the stuff and I end up selling a bunch to the processing facilities for half of what I could get for it out here!"

Shaking his head, Blake smiled and said, "Thanks, Mike... but Marco needs me. I don't care that I'm not gettin' paid. He keeps me fed and gives me a place to sleep, so I owe 'im." Blake's smile vanished. "Besides. I'm not goin' anywhere until I figure out how to get even with Miss Prissy Pants in the Park."

"Now, don't you be stooping to her level, Blake. You're a better person than that!" The merchant frowned. "Besides... that woman's dangerous! You'd best stay as far away from her as you can, young man! She's a future-wrecker if I ever heard of one."

Preferring to avoid the lecture he knew was coming if he let the man get on a roll, Blake said, "I gotta finish my shopping and get home, Mike, or Marco will worry. What do I owe ya?"

"Five for the whole bag, Blake. This time o' day, I'd be tossin' most of it out anyway." The merchant took the offered chit only because he knew the kid wouldn't accept any form of charity. As his young friend turned and walked away, he called out one last time. "You remember what I told you, boy! That woman's nothing but a whole bunch of trouble... You best stay clear!"

He only got a brief smile and a wave as the young man turned the corner and disappeared.

Kasumi cloaked and sped through the market under the cover of the gathering darkness, trailing Blake to a relatively modest apartment building in Lennox Hill, barely more than two blocks away from what remained of Central Park. The nickname Blake had used earlier suddenly made perfect sense as she realized her true target must live somewhere within or, at the very least, on the park's borders. _I wonder just how ostentatious this woman can be?_ Kasumi giggled at the thought. _Would she have remodeled and moved into Belvedere Castle?_ She smirked and shook her head. _No. She's going to be in one of those high-rise penthouses along the park's border... Manhattan, most likely, but I need to know for sure._

She sent a succinct note to Spectre Bau at the appointed time, both to let him know she was fine and that she had a solid lead. She had twelve hours before her next check-in, so opted to not do anything ridiculously dangerous, as it would be a long time before Jon would note her absence if anything went wrong. Instead, she spent the evening wandering the apartment building from rooftop to basement while mapping and memorizing its layout – particularly, open stairwells, fire escapes, and service tunnels... among other, less savory, escape paths such as laundry and garbage chutes.

She was back in the shadows outside the apartment building when the morning came, quickly picking up her surveillance when Blake reemerged. She sincerely wanted to bump him to place a tracker somewhere on his person, but feared that his benefactor, Marco Tilzer, was much too attentive and would discover it, tipping her hand and taking away any advantage she currently had. As a result, she had to depend on more traditional methods; at the end of the day, she returned to the building before Blake did, setting a small, nearly invisible camera where it could view the elevator within the building, noting after his entry that it stopped on three floors before beginning its decent. Overnight, she moved that camera and placed two more, all by the elevator entrances on each of those floors, hoping to find the floor at which either he or Marco boarded in the morning.

She sighed in disappointment when she reviewed the footage from each of the three cameras, finding no evidence of either man in the recordings. _So, smarter than the average merc... should have expected no less. Blake has the tutoring of Marco Tilzer, who isn't going to take any risks of someone being followed back to his residence. Guess I'll have to tell Jon that this is going to take a wee bit longer than we had hoped._


	63. A Long Winter's Night

**Notes** : The Salarian world of Senoquol has no 'canon' location. For purposes of my story, I have placed it in the Salahiel System with Ekuna, within the Phoenix Massing.

 _Ai'a me -_ a trusted friend and unquestioned ally (Thessian)

 _Alban Arthan_ \- The festival of the Winter Solstice in Druidry (Gaelic)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **A Long Winter's Night**

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

It didn't matter how many times Kasumi Goto reviewed the footage; she simply could not find any hint as to where or on what floor her two persons of interest exited the elevator. In the meantime, less than eight blocks away, Jessica read through the information on the datapad Marco had given her. "So, Chuck is going to handle this on his own?"

"Yes, he is." Tilzer nodded. "He'll pick a random system to stop in to send the orders... most likely more than one. He will also pick the special teams to assign to the job and I have no idea how many or which ones will be moving. I figured, in this case, since I have no idea if our residences are tapped or surveilled... which I can't imagine they aren't... if neither one of us has the info, Atlas can't get it from us."

"And you're sure this will work?"

Tilzer huffed out a small laugh. "No. But with Atlas cutting us off at every turn, we have to try something different, don't we?" If someone _had_ been listening in, which wasn't the case, they probably would have believed Marco and Jess were plotting the next assassination attempt. In reality, they were planning the deployment of multiple teams of watchers to Vancouver, Hell-bent on finding the relocated Atlas Headquarters.

Regarding LEAP, the information previously gained by Atlas was quickly becoming obsolete. As soon as Marco had arrived, the Captain told him her intentions and transmitted a single, simple message was sent out over standard communications channels. As it was received, agents throughout New York and around the globe, as well as every station throughout the galaxy, would begin the process of relocating. Anyone from an outside organization who read it would see a simple update to the LEAP security protocols manual; however, everyone within LEAP would understand it to be an emergency order to clandestinely move to a new location.

While other stations would move their entire operation, the New York Headquarters remained in place and had to trust that each member within the city simply vacating their personal residences and moving to an unidentified location would suffice. Since Jessica's very existence was shrouded in mystery and she was not listed in any databases or rosters, she could stay put.

Marco, on the other hand, had a problem he needed to solve. He had walked away from his apartment this morning just like it was any other day... but, because of the Captain's order, he could never go back. Somehow, he had to find and relocate Blake as well... before the young man he thought of as a son raised some sort of alarm about his sudden disappearance. If that happened, Marco had no doubts the Captain would happily eliminate the security risk Blake would become.

With great patience and skill, both Tilzer and Kasumi managed to track down Blake, at which point Kas followed them both, having to exercise extraordinary care to remain undetected, to the pair's new residence. Even so, she wondered if Tilzer had not sensed her presence... at the very least he seemed a bit nervous, as if he had the odd feeling they were being followed without being able to confirm it.

After having previously trailing Blake to the apartment house on the south corner of 66th Street and Park Avenue, Kas now tracked the two of them roughly a half mile north of that location to yet more apartments, this time on the north corner of Park Avenue and its intersection with 76th Street. Curious as to what forced the relocation, Kasumi hunted quickly for a vantage point to bunker in and send a message back to Spectre Bau.

When she got the response, it was direct from the Shadow Broker, explaining the apparently galactic-wide LEAP relocations and the Broker's new plan arising from the request by Tilzer. "You've had some incredible luck running into Marco Tilzer as you did and locating his new residence so quickly, Kas. On the longer time frame, our plan for each faction to reduce their adversary's manpower should work... but gets us no closer to our primary target. You, however, have managed to find the best lead we've got! I'm sorry, but I need you to sit tight in the hope that Tilzer will get called. We need you to locate the head of the snake, Kas – find the mysterious Captain for us."

"No worries, Liara." The master thief flashed a smile at her favorite Asari. "It's what I do best!" After the call terminated, Kasumi sat back and made herself comfortable; it had the potential to be a long wait.

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Leigh Maxwell – _Max_ to his friends – had been diligently searching through and analyzing the system-wide messages LEAP was sending from their New York headquarters. Max had been working for Cerberus, now renamed and refocused as Atlas, for nearly twelve years; during that time, he had been employed at a number of tasks relating to intelligence gathering. He was currently assigned as a cryptanalyst, specializing in breaking the encryption of intercepted message traffic – sent and received – from LEAP's home office. In his time working for Cerberus and Atlas, Maxwell had become so proficient at extracting meaningful data from encrypted comms traffic, people that worked with him joked among themselves that he was actually a Geth cloaked in Human form.

On this particular morning, Maxwell read a message from LEAP that appeared totally innocuous on the face of it. Normally, the cryptanalyst wouldn't have bothered to even look at such a routine message – it was short, and had been sent to every LEAP location, not only on Earth, but each and every one of the organizations locations throughout the galaxy – but to Maxwell's mind, anything seemingly routine was something that aroused his suspicions. Without waiting for authorization from higher ups, Max discretely contacted several agents on Earth and two of the far-flung colonies; something was up – something that had nothing to do with updating their security protocols manual. After making the calls, Max made one more, this time to the lead supervisor of Atlas. He needed to speak to Jana Cantrell.

* * *

Zoë was sitting in her office, sipping coffee and reading through the brief summaries telling of Angel's and Tim's actions in New Cousteau on the colony world of Trident. Thinking, _What does it take to get through to these people?_ as she looked through the report on the death of city planner Dianna Hess, she mused, _It seems the xenophobia Humans felt towards the galaxy's other races has only intensified since the conclusion of the Reaper War. Why won't these people see the truth? We accomplished so much more by working with the others than we ever could have by working alone._

Her thoughts were interrupted by an incoming call; with a heavy sigh, she set the datapad down, finished the coffee in her mug, then answered the impatiently trilling device on her desk. Seeing Jana's face on the other end of the connection, Zoë snarked, "What the Hell, Cantrell? Would it not be easier to simply knock on my door? You're just down the passageway."

Jana smiled at Zoë's rhyming rejoinder. "Really? Our relationship has come down to you thinking of me and Hell in the same sentence?" With a shake of her head, the woman continued before Zoë could respond to her good-natured razzing. "We need to talk, Zoë. Our lead cryptanalyst has seen something that, if true, could mean a lot of sleepless nights, for all of us."

All business now at Cantrell's tone of voice, Zoë asked, "What do you have, Jana?"

"Better if you hear it from the source, Zoë. May we come in?"

"You really think you need to ask? Come on in… may as well have my day ruined now as later." Cutting the connection, Zoë stood, stretched, then picked up her mug and walked to the small side table to pour her second cup of coffee as the split door hissed open. Zoë turned to greet Jana and the person accompanying her, saying, "Help yourselves to coffee, or make some tea… the water's still hot." Returning to her desk, she stood and waited as Jana and a man she recognized but couldn't pin a name on helped themselves to coffee.

As the pair moved to sit in the chairs in front of Zoë's desk, Jana introduced Leigh Maxwell and briefly explained what he did. Zoë had met Maxwell only once as the group settled into their newly appropriated offices at the southeast end of the old Vancouver International Airport, so knew him by reputation only, without realizing that the depth and breadth of accurate intel Atlas possessed concerning LEAP was a direct result of the man's ability to ferret out valuable data from the seemingly mundane communiqués originating from or received by LEAP.

"If Angel, Tim and their teams were back from the Hoplos system, I'd be going over this with them before bothering you…"

Zoë held up a hand to interrupt Jana, saying, "Jana, I'm not Jack Harper. I would hope you wouldn't hesitate to come to me regardless of who else is here. Now, what do you have, Mr Maxwell?"

Jana looked to Leigh as he began speaking. "Ms Lawrence, I have strong suspicions about the message…" He paused to set a datapad on her desk and slide it towards her, "… on this datapad. It was sent by LEAP, in the clear with no encryption, yesterday morning local time."

Zoë quickly browsed through the text on the device before looking up at Maxwell, dark eyes intently studying him. "Looks like a routine update for security protocols. Nothing unusual."

The man took a sip of coffee before responding. "A short time ago I took the liberty of contacting several of our agents across the globe; I asked them to be on the lookout for anything unusual concerning our adversaries."

"And?"

Maxwell looked straight at Zoë as he replied, "I believe it was a bogus directive, meant to keep us from deducing the true intent of the message." He looked down for a moment, then back up as he concluded, "I believe it was a relocation order, Ms Lawrence. The agent I contacted in Berlin has confirmed that several high-ranking LEAP members – people whom we ordinarily and regularly keep track of – are no longer returning to their residences."

Instantly alert to what Maxwell was saying, Zoë asked, "What the Hell? Did they leave the city? Are they bunkering down at the main offices?"

"No, Ma'am. There are people watching all commercial avenues for leaving Berlin. As far as we know, those agents are still in the city. But that's not the worst of it. Even the Berlin _headquarters_ has gone dark and I'm afraid it may take us some time to discover where that cell now calls home."

Zoë sat back in her chair as she absorbed this bit of bad news. Holding the datapad up, she said, "It was inevitable, actually. Our good fortune at having all their locations could only last so long. Once we started using it against them, it was just a matter of time before they countered in a meaningful way." Zoë looked at the datapad again, then set it back on the desk. With a tired sigh, she said, "Good work, Mr Maxwell." Looking to Jana, she said, "Follow up on this, Cantrell. We need to know beyond any shadow of a doubt if our cryptanalyst's instincts are correct. Get in touch with Angel and Tim – make sure they're aware of this. I don't want anyone exposing themselves by openly going to any of these residences."

"We'll get right on it, Ma'am."

* * *

 **Senoquol, Salahiel, Phoenix Massing**

The first half of December, along with the Normandy's visit to Hades Nexus, was closed out relatively easily, with only two small Human colonies at Volkov and Gei Hinnom on the agenda. The tour of the iridium mining colony on Volkov had proven to be the more interesting of the two, not due to the mines or the small population of less than 4,000, but to the Chazov Belt surrounding the planet, which had repeatedly deposited rather sizeable asteroids on the surface at irregular and unpredictable intervals.

It had not bothered the Spectre teams in the slightest when Shepard announced it was time to jump the relay to Phoenix Massing, even if their first stop following the asteroid deathtrap _was_ the Elcor colony of Bel Shadii on Ekuna. Once they had arrived, however, the crew had any number of reasons to complain, the primary one being that the Elcor chose to provide transport to and from the planet via a specially designed booster shuttle due to the extremely high surface gravity. Because of the high _g_ -forces, roughly four times that of either Earth or Thessia, everyone on the visitation team had been required to use a personal mass effect field generator to lighten the pressure. Beyond that, the special transport required also meant none of them were free to depart at will... so they had no reason to miss the special, full-length production of Hamlet put on by the Ekuna Actors' Guild. December 17th and their departure for the Salarian world of Senoquol could not _possibly_ have come fast enough.

* * *

The arrival at Senoquol, in the Salahiel System, was quite different than their welcome at the Normandy's previous Salarian stops. As the Normandy entourage descended the ramp, they were greeted with full honors; rows of Salarian soldiers stood at attention, including a number of STG teams, to welcome Shepard and her crew to their world.

During the war, the Salarian colony of Senoquol had experienced a power shortage that threatened their egg incubators; the colony would have been forced to evacuate had it not been for the timely delivery of the improved heating stabilizers by Commander Shepard. The units were immediately reverse-engineered by Salarian techs and put into rapid production - spreading throughout the colony and quite literally saving the future generation of the entire world.

Once the formal portion of the greeting concluded, Dalatrass Leorla Arnan very politely reminded the Spectre that the loss of her beloved colony would have most likely amplified Shepard's great difficulty at gaining Salarian support for the war effort. "While there are some in our Union who cannot see past the Krogan incident, Captain, I most certainly am greatly indebted to you for your actions during the war. Rest assured, you have my complete support for any proposals you may bring to the Salarian peoples. I have the utmost trust in your decisions and know you do nothing without considerable thought and consideration."

She then promptly introduced Shepard to the female whose plight prompted the action that led to the commandeering of the heating units and the stabilization of the egg clutches – worldwide. That single act enabled the Salarian colony of Senoquol to shift its undivided concentration to the war effort... and to ship all the materials and weapons it could muster to the Salarian Third Fleet. Much to Captain Shepard's unhappy surprise, the Salarian female, Maeas Firern, had followed through on her promise – she named the firstborn after the person who had helped them... Senoquol Chirdan Adolor Chiraeto Firern Shepard.

The little Salarian male ran over and peered up into Shepard's face, waving his arms eagerly and wanting to be picked up. Maeas' face reflected disapproval, but Liara laughed softly as Shepard knelt down in front of the little guy, who promptly wrapped his arms around the Spectre's neck. Standing easily, Shepard wrapped an arm under the toddler's butt and looked into his big, round eyes, wide with wonder. "Well, aren't you the precocious one? You even have my green eyes!"

Smiling, she ran a finger softly down the cartilage ridge of the child's nose before tapping him gently under his chin. "You be a good boy and do what your mother tells you. I'll not have any namesake of mine being a troublemaker. That just wouldn't do." Shepard glanced at the horrified mother. "It's fine, honestly. I love kids," before walking toward Maeas and gently handing the toddler back to the constantly apologizing Salarian.

As the mother took her child and hurriedly scurried off, the Captain turned toward a familiar sounding chuckle from the side. Major Kirrahe nodded and snapped a sharp salute. "Shepard. Good to see you again." As the salute dropped, the Salarian smiled and looked at Liara. "You as well, Dr T'Soni. Always a pleasure!"

Liara's face held a wide smile. "Agreed, Major. I must admit, we did not anticipate seeing you here. Are you no longer leading the Councilor's protection detail?"

"Not since they evacuated to the Destiny Ascension." Kirrahe flashed a smile. "No need with the limited access. Not like anyone can simply sneak in." He glanced back and forth between her and the Captain before continuing, "Though I am here for more than a social call. I wanted to inform you I have recalled the last of my STG teams – the last of the relays, Voyager, has been repaired... besides the Omega-4 relay, of course, which hopefully won't be repaired. Ever."

"That's excellent news." Shepard drew a deep breath before continuing, "Hard to believe we've got the entire relay network back already... and no worries about Omega-4. I have absolutely no intention of letting that one get fixed." Her eyes shifted to Liara for only a moment before refocusing on Kirrahe. "With Liara's research into how to repair the relays, we've also learned how to _safely_ take them off-line and disassemble them. If our timeline is correct, the SILC should have that one completely pulled apart by the end of the Victory Tour. Even Aria agreed to it; she doesn't want anything there to attract characters even more unsavory than those she already has to deal with in Omega."

Kirrahe didn't feel the same confidence Shepard was putting forth and needed to understand why she felt the way she did. "But what can be disassembled can be reassembled, can it not?"

Liara smiled and attempted to explain. "The relays' connection function is enabled by a matched set of entangled neutrinos capable of quantum teleportation... The number of gates which can be connected within any particular group is all dependent on the number of entangled neutrino particles in the original grouping. That's why some gates only have a single connection while others are capable of multiple destinations."

Shepard shook her head and sighed. "I'll make it easy on you, Major. If we pull the core and extract the neutrino particle that Liara is talking about, we need to destroy only that particle to permanently destroy any possible reconnection to the Galactic Core... without causing a major core explosion and destroying the entire star system... or the entire fucking galaxy... as a side effect." The corner of her mouth twitched in aggravation as she continued, "Had I known that at the time, I may have been able to slow the Reapers without destroying the whole of Bahak."

Liara felt the wave of self-loathing roll through the link, so she stepped alongside Shepard and gripped her arm tightly. _{Siame... Even had we known of the process then, the indoctrination of Dr Kenson took away any chance you would have had to do such a thing – her actions cost you any available time you may have had to accomplish that. You know Bahak was_ _ **not**_ _your fault.}_

At the same time, Kirrahe responded, "You did what was necessary, Shepard. Even so, we barely had time to complete the Crucible. Had it not been for Dr T'Soni's research during the time your actions gave us, we would have all been lost, relegated to history as the victims of yet another Harvest Cycle completed by the Reapers."

Shepard took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, absorbing the earnest expression on Kirrahe's face as Liara whispered one of Sha'ira's many mantras to her through the link. "Thank you." She glanced at Liara, who knew Shepard's thanks were for both Kirrahe's comments and the Asari's support, and then back at Kirrahe as she said, "So, I suppose it's time to get on with the tour with the Dalatrass. Where are we off to first?"

"I have been instructed to escort you to Arnan's office for more _private_ discussions, Captain."

* * *

"Thank you for accepting my invitation, Captain." The Dalatrass glanced at Liara and blinked as she added, "Though I was unaware Dr T'Soni would accompany you."

"I find that rather difficult to believe, Dalatrass." Shepard was immediately on guard, thinking back to Kirrahe's emphasis on the word 'private' and wondering why he had said nothing about Liara accompanying them if she had honestly been expected to come alone. "As a Spectre, Dr T'Soni is my second. None of my negotiations on this trip have been conducted without her... and I imagine you are well aware of that. I'll not be volunteering her departure as an option, either; if she leaves, so do I."

Arnan fell silent for a moment before agreeing, with a simple, "Very well," before adding, "I'd like to show you something, Captain. If you'll follow me, please." She stepped fully into her office and as the door closed behind them, a second door, hidden behind a panel to the side of her desk, whisked aside to reveal another hallway. She stepped quickly into the passage and moved quietly away without looking back, expecting the Spectre to follow. With a quick glance at Liara, Shepard led the pair into the tunnel, having no idea where they were headed.

They emerged into a room full of quietly whirring computers where a number of analysts were bent over their desks, a few barely looking up as the trio entered the rather large room; a huge galactic map suspended above the large circular table that dominated the room. Shepard immediately thought of the place as an expanded version of the War Room aboard the Normandy... a sentiment immediately echoed by Liara via the link. After only the briefest of moments, Liara spoke. "These are all the worlds with Salarian colonies... the white being worlds aligned with Dalatrass Baon... including Senoquol." As Arnan turned to her in some surprise, the Asari continued, "The red are obviously of Linron association... meaning the few yellow must be either unknown or simply undecided... perhaps attempting to remain neutral. Baon is winning her war."

"I see why you insist on bringing her into negotiations, Captain." Arnan nodded at Liara in appreciation. "Her quick analysis of our situation map is almost... Salarian in nature."

"So this is your operations center... your central intelligence node for all the worlds under your control... and beyond. " Shepard glanced at the agents hard at work, totally focused on their tasks. "And I see Sur'Kesh is yellow, so I gather the final election has not yet occurred."

"That is an accurate assessment, Shepard." Arnan keyed her omnitool and the display changed. "Of course you realize we cannot compromise our sources... but, I will tell you that after the Linron family was discredited by the way Maedri handled the Krogan situation, their family has been replaced by the rapidly rising clan of Vasle. Dalatrass Oras Talat Malai Leola Vasle. She is a great deal like Escheel if you ask me... but much too young to have Kirova's experience and the knowledge of how to properly utilize her duplicity to best advantage. Her political acumen will eventually mature but, for now, we simply cannot allow her to enter the main election, as she would upset our plans and endanger all we have set out to recover."

" _You_ cannot allow her to enter. Not we." Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not quite sure why you're telling me all this. I made it quite clear to Baon that I would not be drawn into Salarian politics. I have already made my visit to Sur'Kesh and will not return there. As it was with Linron, your politics are your own." Shepard paused as a thought flickered through the link. "But neither will I stand by while some supposed... _accident_... befalls this new rising star, simply because she doesn't play on the right team or endangers the status quo."

"Then we have come to an agreement, Captain. There are many who fear her growing popularity, but neither Baon nor I are among them. We have actually offered to tutor her." Arnan blinked and bowed. "Come. I will have my aide show you to your quarters. Your main tour of the weapons research and production facilities starts early in the morning. Please – enjoy your stay on Senoquol, Spectre. Dr T'Soni. If either of you are in need of anything during your visit, do not hesitate to call."

Once their escort dropped them off and they were alone in their temporary quarters, Shepard and Liara sat quietly on the couch attempting to relax a bit before dinner, but Shepard seemed unable to do so. When her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ inquired as to why, Shepard blew out a heavy breath and shook her head with a chuckle. "Because I don't play politics, Liara, and when it comes to the Salarians... I'm in way over my head. With Baon, I only had a feeling that she had manipulated me... but I know damned well that Arnan just did. I walked right into that one, eyes wide open, and declared that I would protect Vasle. I'm sure recordings of my statement are already spreading across Sur'Kesh."

Liara laughed and slid over to kiss her gently on the cheek. "That may be so, Samantha... but if it is, I imagine your words are for a very targeted audience, not the whole Union."

Shepard, her eyebrows arched in surprise, looked at Liara and said, "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

Smiling, Liara simply shrugged and said, "Honestly? No..." She pushed the captain over on the couch and began to slowly unbutton Shepard's shirt as she continued, "... but this is."

* * *

 **Haratar, Sea of Storms, Phoenix Massing**

December 21st found the Normandy at the new home base of the SILC... Haratar Station. Once the rewrite of the Heretic programming had been completed, the Geth had been upgraded with the remnants of the Reaper code, and the reunification of the Geth with the Quarians on Rannoch had been completed, the SILC had decided to revert the name of _Heretic_ Station to its original designation in honor of their Quarian creators.

In the months since the war's end, the SILC had not only helped many of the Citadel races rebuild their homeworlds, but had also completed both the rebuild of Haratar and construction of a new program storage megastructure, much more self-sufficient and with significantly more self-defense capabilities that the original that had been so quickly destroyed by the Quarian surprise attack during the Reaper War.

The Normandy's stopover brought back both good and bad memories for Shepard and her crew. The good mostly revolved around the reconnection with their beloved engineer Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, while the bad centered around the intransigence of Admirals Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen that had ended with the death of Bethany Westmoreland.

The SILC, being who they were, combined with Legion's presence aboard the Normandy made the stop a mere formality... a chance for the Normandy to receive some quick maintenance by a few extremely talented and exacting mechanical platforms while Shepard had the opportunity to confirm for herself that the SILC were not helping everyone else in the galaxy at their own expense. It wasn't that she didn't believe Legion when he told her such was not the case; it was simply that Shepard feared their understanding of cost versus benefit could possibly be as different as their physical make ups of flesh versus metal.

"Did I not tell you this was so, Shepard Captain?"

Shepard shook her head and laughed lightly to hide her embarrassment at being called out by the Prime. "Yes, Legion, you did... but I guess it's a Human thing that I simply needed to see it for myself. Besides... It does my heart good to actually see your progress. The SILC are doing some amazing things and it's great to be able to touch cold metal and know it's real. Can you understand that?"

The Prime paused for a moment, nothing but flashing lights indicating he was actively communicating with the Consensus. "Yes, Shepard Captain. We agree that it is very similar to my need to track you through the void. Though we had heard of a Human who treated all beings the same, even to include an AI aboard your ship, we felt it necessary to 'see' for ourselves that such a being could truly exist." Legion paused again before concluding, "You have greatly... _exceeded_... our expectations."

Liara smiled at her lover's reaction to the pronouncement as Shepard's face picked up a hint of color. "See, Shepard. Everyone can see how extraordinary you are... including the SILC."

"This should come as no surprise, Captain. I have known that to be true since our original conversation." Edi's voice came quietly over the comm. "You indicated the only person who would be displeased by my presence was Mr Moreau... And, speaking of Jeff, he says to relay to you that repairs are complete and we are ready to depart at any time."

"Thank you, Edi." Turning to the Prime, Shepard smiled. "I assume you're remaining on board the Normandy, Legion?"

"Of course." The Prime unit stepped back to the wall and began folding itself down into the rest-mode position. "While we were speaking, a new, fully serviced Prime chassis was delivered to the cargo bay; the Normandy is not the only system that requires updates and maintenance. I will be available aboard the Normandy anytime you require my services, Shepard Captain."

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **,** **Phoenix Massing, At Large**

After their departure from Haratar, the Normandy had only one more stop on the schedule before New Years, another Salarian colony on Gorot II. Then, on January 5th, they were due at Dholen in the Far Rim; at Haratar, the Normandy had not only loaded a new Prime platform for Legion onto the ship, but an entire shipment of supply crates headed to the SILC colony there. The SILC would then deliver the supplies to Haestrom, where they were working with the Quarians to retrieve whatever information remained there regarding the system's star... before it fully erupted as a premature red giant; once that happened, only the SILC would be able to remain on Haestrom... the Quarians would need to retreat from the system once more – this time from Haestrom's overpowering radiation, rather than from the Geth.

In the meantime, the Normandy rendezvoused with the _Aletheia_ so Shepard, Liara and Riana could transfer over, this time to spend the celebration of _Alban Arthan_ with their Asari family. Remaining close, the Normandy provided overwatch for the smaller ship as the people within celebrated the passing of the longest night of the year. The commandos sat in respectful silence at the start of the strange holiday as Shepard sat before them and started to speak. " _Alban Arthan_ is always a time of reflection... thinking of those no longer with us, but also celebrating all those who remain."

Liara smiled at the small group, glancing last at her _Amantia_ , who smiled in return and nodded for her to proceed. The Asari looked to her commandos and began. "We wanted to spend this night aboard the _Aletheia_ in order to introduce you to one of Shepard's holidays, should any of you be curious about her beliefs... as they will become a part of the customs and celebrations of House T'Soni. If you are not interested or if it makes you uncomfortable in any way, it is alright for you to retreat to your rooms..." Liara smiled reassuringly. "We will take no offense."

Perfectly willing to see what this celebration entailed, they all sat down and Shepard quietly began. "Alban Arthan is one of the four Druid minor festivals... one which I have not celebrated in a very long time. Quite simply, the idea is to acknowledge that the worlds of the galaxy operate on seasonal cycles and, on Earth, we are currently at the peak of winter... along with its long nights. We must not fear the dark, nor hate it, for it is darkness that soothes us to sleep and provides the sheltering dark places: the rich earth where seeds germinate, the wombs that provide our first nourishment. But, at the same time, we must also acknowledge the darkness of suffering... which has deepened our appreciation of life and strengthened our connection to one another."

Resorting to an old traditional device from Earth for purposes of ceremony, Shepard struck a match and lit the candle sitting on the dining table before them. "Alban Arthan is the solstice... a tipping point where the light begins to overtake the dark once again, bringing the promise of longer days and the warmth of the Sun. It symbolizes the presence and passionate love of life, of others, of all creation. Today, I wish you all the warmth of lengthening daylight for heart, mind, soul, and body... radiant smiles given and received and the dayspring to guide your feet onto paths of peace."

Livos glanced up to ensure Shepard was done speaking, as she did not want to interrupt. Seeing the Spectre look silently at Liara, she dared speak. "This darkness of suffering that has bound us runs deep, _Ai'a me_. The start of the war was difficult for all related to House T'Soni. The loss of Matriarch Benezia and her personal guard was a shock through which your leadership shined like a beacon. We trust you unequivocally and have welcomed your light to House T'Soni without reservation. I, for one, am honored to celebrate this solstice with you."

"And I, _Nara_." said Allia, as the rest of the commandos also murmured in agreement. "I look forward to the end of this tour when you will relocate your home base to Thessia and truly become part of House T'Soni. We will finally be whole again, for the first time since the Matriarch departed our shores to pursue Saren." She looked to Liara as she finished, "It will be a good thing, Mistress Liara. A very good thing indeed."

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

As Operations Chief, Marco Tilzer didn't hesitate to enact the next step of LEAP's recovery plan. Once all the agents were relocated and had reestablished secure comms from their new locations, he sent out a secure broadcast message to each and every station: 'Terminate all stations and come home.' He knew it would be interpreted by any listeners who intercepted it as a recall, at least temporarily, of all LEAP agents to Earth... but that was about as far from the true meaning of the message as one could get.

The true intention would be properly understood and immediately executed by all their LEAP agents in the field, giving Atlas zero time to react to the mass attacks. Exactly as on Trident, a large majority of the old Cerberus stations had suffered the same fate. Most, if not all, of the Cerberus assassins had been highly dedicated to the cause and no level of threats from the upstart Zoë Lawrence would keep them from their hearts' desire of killing aliens. That meant most of the real killers in the organization had stayed loyal and had either joined, or formed, one of the newly established LEAP groups around the galaxy, rather than stick around with an organization no longer promoting Human supremacy over the galaxy's alien races.

He smiled when he received the first response. _'Directive received. Home for Christmas.'_ As each and every one of the confirmation messages came in, Tilzer's mood lifted, knowing LEAP's revenge lay on the immediate horizon. Over the next 48 hours, each of the stations would pack everything they owned – and any Atlas monitors who were watching would assume they were loading up to bug out. In reality, LEAP members were loading shuttles and ships to engage in an all-out assault on every known Cerberus station that had converted to Zoë Lawrence's ideology. It would occur on every world where both organizations had a station... and it would begin just after relative midnight on each world's Christmas morning. There would be no hesitation and there would be no mercy – and the organization called Atlas would be decimated.

"Have a Merry Christmas, you motherfuckers," Tilzer growled, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.


	64. Tit for Tat

Notes: Shifted the last 300+ words from last chapter to this one... so the beginning of this chapter will look very familiar. Made for a better ending on Ch 63... Thanks to AlsoKnownAsMatt for the suggestion.

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

FTL - Faster than Light travel

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Tit for Tat**

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

Tilzer executed a quick sweep across the haptic interface and waited for the display to go blank before stepping back from his desk. He left his home office on a search to find Cantara; when he found him, he smiled. "I won't be gone long, Blake; it's a straight shot to Balor and just a few hours by FTL to Aysur. Then, I have only one day of meetings and I'll be homeward bound the day after that. Only three days total... You gonna be okay here alone?"

Not wanting to disappoint the man who had once more found him on the streets and provided him with a new home, Blake smiled and nodded his head quickly in agreement. "Yes, Sir! You'll see! You'll be proud of me, Mr Tilzer. I promise!"

"Just stay out of the Captain's sights, Blake. Remember that she fired you, so you can't go to the offices, either. Just prowl around the neighborhood and see if you can find any new Christmas markets, okay?"

Met by a broad smile and another enthusiastic nod, Tilzer knew he had found just the thing to keep Blake happily occupied over the next three days. _Simple trip and back home for New Year's to sit back and watch the show. What could be better than that?_

* * *

Kasumi was disgusted. She had waited for two weeks, patient at the beginning, but getting more and more frustrated as time went by without Tilzer being called for a visit to the mysterious Captain. To top it all off, the man was now headed off-world to some undetermined location. All that was left for her to do was wait... _Except, perhaps, this will give me a chance to speak with Blake... without Tilzer around to remind him about the need for secrecy!_ As a plan started to form in her mind, the frown on the Broker agent's lips slowly turned upward into the first smile to grace her face in days.

* * *

 **Arvuna, Aysur System, Caleston Rift**

Marco Tilzer stepped out of the large passenger shuttle that was the only economical method of landing on Arvuna. The shuttle had been deployed from the orbiting, luxurious medium-sized passenger ship in which he'd been transported from New York City. He was already regretting his decision to travel to this pestilence-ridden moon; besides the truly nasty wildlife, the radiation coming from Dranen's magnetosphere meant that humans living on Arvuna must do so within one of the several well-shielded settlements in the habitable tropical zone.

He was in the capital settlement of Asa, with a population of nearly a million humans. The local faction of LEAP, with nearly a hundred percent transfer in from the former Cerberus cell, had been informed of his visit less than an hour before his arrival; Tilzer was pleasantly surprised to be met by a trim, well-dressed young man. "Mr Tilzer?" The man extended a hand, which Tilzer took after a moment's hesitation. "Logan Poole at your service. I've been assigned to provide your ground transportation while you're with us. Welcome to Asa."

Marco relaxed slightly – he had been worried the former Cerberus cell was as backwater as the Aysur System seemed to be, and was glad to find appearances to be deceiving, at least so far. He listened attentively as Poole explained that the specialists asked for by Tilzer would be attending the meeting to be held shortly in LEAP's auxiliary building. "You have separate facilities for meetings such as this?" Tilzer asked.

"We do. It helps keep official inquiries into our activities to a minimum. We rotate our meetings in order to not have the same group of people gathering at the same place twice in a row. As is, there are five ancillary meeting areas located within legitimate businesses, usually on an upper floor. People arrive at one door and depart by a different one. Total population is scattered among this and four other shielded cities, and someone being seen at the same location twice or more in a week's time might draw unwelcome attention. We're careful to remain out of sight as much as possible."

Tilzer nodded as he observed, "Your leaders are wise to take such precautions. We live in perilous times, Mr Poole. If we're not vigilant, the aliens our so-called leaders have allowed to live amongst us will ultimately be the undoing of the entire human race. We have a unique opportunity arriving four weeks from today, one which we need to take full advantage of."

Poole didn't look at Tilzer as he thought about what had been said, choosing to remain silent as he brought the agent to a modest office building. Saying, "Here we are," he walked up the three steps to the entrance, input a seven-character code and opened the door, which he blocked open with his body while waving Tilzer inside. "Welcome to the local offices of LEAP, Mr Tilzer.

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

The Captain sat in her chair and had it spun around, facing the window so she could look out over the park. The Christmas displays were more numerous than she had expected. _People have hope again. They feel they have something to live for._ It was Christmas Eve and she was awaiting the arrival of the best present she had received in quite a while. She had turned on the news earlier and it had streamed continuously in the background ever since while she worked at her desk; she smiled as the reports began to roll in from across the galaxy.

Marco had promised there would be neither exceptions nor mercy... and that every former-Cerberus station who hadn't remained loyal to Cerberus ideals under the new leadership of LEAP would pay for their transgressions against the cause. When Jessica heard the plan, she had realized how many facilities that could potentially be, but hadn't really given it much thought until the reports started to roll in just before midnight and continued until midday on Christmas.

She had anticipated much more physical damage than loss of life during the widespread attack... _People shouldn't be at work... It's Christmas! They should be home with their families_... but such was not the case. Thanks to Jessica's emergency relocation order, Atlas agents all over the galaxy were putting in extra hours, including over what should have been the Christmas holiday, in an attempt to locate the newly acquired domiciles of all their LEAP counterparts. Because of that, Operation Homecoming was far more successful than anticipated; a fact that brought immense satisfaction to Jessica Mikhailovich. It was mid-afternoon when she stood and walked slowly to her wine rack, withdrawing a very expensive bottle of red. Removing the cork, she poured a small amount into the broad base of the glass and swirled it before raising the glass toward the news on the screen.

"Merry Christmas, Marco. I can't believe how well this operation worked. One Hell of a Christmas gift for me... and for LEAP... that's for sure! I'll be sure to have suitable gift as a reward for you when you return to Earth from Arvuna. Speedy return, my good man!"

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Phoenix Massing, At Large**

Christmas had barely begun when Riana pinged for entry to the loft. Shepard and Liara had requested a private breakfast and assumed Riana, perhaps wanting to wish them a Merry Christmas, had volunteered to bring it once they were both awake and called down for it to be delivered. Those delusions fled swiftly before the expression on the face of Liara's First as the door slid open to reveal a rather conflicted Riana.

Liara stood immediately from the table, nearly upsetting her tea. "What has happened?"

Shepard stood as well, stabilizing the table before turning to her fellow Vanguard to hear the response. "LEAP has initiated attacks... mass attacks... against every known Cerberus station that hasn't sworn alliance to the LEAP initiative."

"On Christmas day?" Shepard stared at the Asari in disbelief.

"Yes, on Christmas." Riana shrugged as she continued, "Apparently they do not hold the holiday in the esteem I believed was the case because, as far as we can tell, every one of the attacks occurred between each world's midnight and sunrise... and many other worlds yet remain, so Miranda feels they are far from complete."

As Liara whispered a shocked, "Goddess," Shepard glanced at her and added, "We need to get properly dressed and get to the Broker Office." Turning to Riana, she continued, "Return to your post and tell Miranda we're on our way. If you could, please stop by the Mess and tell them we'll pick up breakfast on the way down."

With a quick glance at Liara, Riana nodded in understanding. Before she turned to leave the cabin, she returned her attention to Shepard and answered, "It will be as you say, Captain."

As the door slid closed, Shepard turned to her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ , who remained speechless in her shock. "You okay, Liara?"

Liara's eyes immediately snapped over to meet Samantha's, feeling suppressed turmoil vying for escape from her _siame_. "Of course. I am simply stunned that LEAP would do such a thing, given the importance the Human race places on this particular holiday. I... I simply don't know how to respond to this."

"Neither do I, Liara... other than we don't." Shepard drew a deep breath and tried to settle her thoughts, closing down the link just a bit... hoping to do so gradually enough that Liara, in her disturbed state, wouldn't notice. "Atlas knows where LEAP operates from and apparently have some inroads to the operations LEAP has been planning, so there's nothing more we can do for them." She let out a sigh and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before reopening them to continue, "We instigated this, Liara... so I don't see how we can be upset that the war has apparently started on a holiday... and much earlier than we anticipated." Diverting Liara's attention even more, Shepard added, "We need to dress and get downstairs. Come on."

* * *

Over the course of the day, the news continued to roll in and the death count continued to rise. A number of the attacks included bombings much like the one on Earth, with little regard for collateral damage. Many of the once-Cerberus Operations Centers had been in the middle of cities, some even within residential districts, where explosive blasts caused fires that destroyed entire blocks of multi-family housing complexes. "Turn it off." Finally overwhelmed by all the death and destruction, Shepard stood and turned away... hands on her hips and eyes closed as she hung her head and released a long, heavy exhale. "Gods be damned, Liara. How many innocent people did we kill, on Christmas day of all days, by starting this war?"

Liara shut off the news feeds and stood to join her _siame_ , wrapping her arms around the unyielding body of her lover. "We killed no one, Samantha. We could not have anticipated that LEAP would act so cruelly... so indiscriminately... as to disregard the lives of thousands, just to ensure the death of known Atlas agents."

"Could not anticipate it... or was it that we honestly didn't _want_ to think about how they would most likely go about meeting their objectives?" Shepard's stiffness did not fade... nor did her stance change as she continued, "The Alliance Headquarters attack showed us that LEAP doesn't give a shit about collateral damage. Seriously... Why would we even begin to think their response to this would have been any different?"

"Because even after all that we have been forced to witness, we still want to think the best of people, rather than the worst." Liara's grip around Shepard's waist tightened ever so slightly. "And, Goddess forbid, we ever diverge from that path, Sam... for then, we will truly be lost." A tremor of long-forgotten fear ran through Liara's frame before she continued in a whisper, "Trust me on this. I have gone down that road once before... and you pulled me back before it led to my utter ruin."

She released her grip on Shepard's waist, moving her hands to the Captain's hips and turning her gently around. Initially, Samantha resisted the motion but Liara was insistent and eventually got the woman to turn about. "What is that phrase of yours about being only Human?" Liara frowned and placed her fingers across Shepard's lips to keep her from answering. "We will not let them get away with this. Our plan remains the same... It must. We will strike LEAP at its heart and destroy the Headquarters in New York City, with or without the aid of Atlas, but we must be patient. Kasumi is getting close to finding the name and location of the mysterious Captain. Once we have that, we will develop a plan of action to remove the head of the snake."

Shepard's shoulders slumped and she tipped her head forward until their foreheads touched. "And how many more people will die between now and then because of our little war, Shadow Broker? How much more blood will be on our hands?"

Liara pulled back and her hand came up to lift the Spectre's chin. "None! Not on ours... but on the hands of LEAP and Atlas, Shepard. We can only do so much... and we are not responsible for their total disregard for the accepted rules of warfare!"

Sam believed she saw a spark of rage in the Asari's eyes but, as Liara's emotions rolled through the link, Shepard realized it was exasperation... and more than a hint of fear... rather than anger. The couple had spent too many hours with Sha'ira to backslide so quickly... The vexation emanating from Liara was regarding the potential return of Shepard's nightmares, which would, in turn, invade the Asari's sleep as well. "Gods. I'm sorry, Blue. I..."

The captain suddenly stopped speaking, opting instead to quickly draw Liara tightly into her arms. Shepard dropped the barrier she had been gradually building over the course of the day and let her lover see the full range of the turmoil within her mind. Liara gasped and returned the embrace in full measure, small tears trickling down her cheeks from the intensity of Samantha's combined guilt and hatred over her personal inability to stop the growing violence between the two diametrically opposed organizations.

Finally, drawing a ragged breath, Liara gently pushed away and released her grip on Shepard, so as to wipe the wetness from her face. A sad smile appeared on her face as she spoke. "Well. Not much of a Merry Christmas, is it, Sam?" She offered up a hand as she continued, "But there is nothing we can do about it until we get the necessary information from Kas, so let's take a deep breath and do our very best to go on with our day, shall we?"

Shepard blinked a few times to clear her vision and swallowed down the bile in her throat. "I suppose that's really our only option, isn't it." She straightened her shoulders and forced a smile onto her face as she took Liara's offered hand. "Let's go to the loft, take a shower and change into something more comfortable." She huffed. "I still need to do a walk-about and visit the crew... and we only have a couple of hours before Christmas dinner in the Mess."

Liara used the hand to pull Shepard a bit closer and looped her arm around Shepard's... hooking their elbows as she gave her Human an honest smile. "There's the Captain I know and love."

* * *

The following morning, Shepard tossed both herself and Liara out of bed at some wee hour with her frantic thrashing in her unsuccessful attempts to escape that damned dark, ash-filled forest. Following the sessions with Sha'ira, which they had all believed to be a great success, the Christmas bombings had somehow incited the worst episode yet, with Shepard's biotics firing in her sleep. Liara scrambled off the floor, fearing Shepard was going to inadvertently injure her and, even with the link, still almost had to do a forced-meld to break the hold the nightmare had on the poor woman.

When she finally penetrated Shepard's thoughts and woke her, Samantha wept in her arms like a lost child at the thought of possibly hurting the person she loved most in the world...and Liara felt helpless in her apparent inability to give Shepard the comfort she required. Her mere presence used to be enough to keep the nightmare at bay, but no longer. With the number of dead being driven home so frequently and seeing much of the galaxy still being laid to waste by an ideological war, even the mightiest of barriers eventually fell.

Seeing Shepard like this was breaking Liara's heart and one way or another, she was determined to find a solution. When Samantha finally settled down enough to speak, she didn't say much; she didn't need to. Liara had seen the visions Shepard shared, but this particular morning had been exceedingly difficult, and when she finally spoke, Samantha only said one thing to Liara before her eyes closed again in fatigue. "I see their faces. I hear their voices. They whisper to me in the darkness of my dreams."

With all the stop and go, the trip thus far had been grueling and there was _still_ a lot of time remaining of the horrible ' _Victory Tour_.' Given this latest episode, Liara had sent yet another note to Tevos, asking her to speak to the Council about a short break. It was later that same morning when she received the initial response from Tevos, basically stating that she was fighting a losing battle and the tour would continue as scheduled for the foreseeable future.

"So far, my petitions to the Council on Shepard's behalf have been met with deaf ears... and the current overall feeling is the visit on Gorot II with Dalatrass Sheorla Gurolor is far too important to skip. Immediately following that, the Normandy will have a full week of down time before their visit to the SILC and then the Quarians. Some feel the break should be sufficient for one such as Shepard." Tevos sighed despondently. "I'm sorry, Liara... but Valern, of course, wants the visit to the Salarian world to go on as scheduled and Quentius and his damned Turian philosophies see nothing but duty first... tying my and Dominic's hands. I honestly anticipated a victory with the six junior council members, but we once again ended in a tie."

Hearing the news, Shepard stalked back to the loft and threw herself down on the couch in frustration. The war was over. They had won, yet the killing continued... and now, rather than the Reapers, there was the vicious clash between Atlas and LEAP, the latter of which had been driven to extremes by the former's efficiency at thwarting multiple assassination attempts against Liara and Shepard. However, the attacks on Christmas day had pushed the entire conflict to new heights – enabled by the information Shepard had asked Liara to provide LEAP via the Shadow Broker network... and it obviously weighed heavily on the Spectre's conscience.

Shepard knew that come mid March, they would be in the Athena Nebula; Liara and Riana would undoubtedly want to celebrate Janiris, this year especially. No matter how things looked at the moment, they could realistically look forward in time and ask for blessings on a future that would actually exist. Shepard didn't see how they could attend the Janiris festivities and still meet their tour obligations, but the more she thought about it, the more determined she was to somehow make it work. As a plan started to come together in her mind, for the first time since the Christmas disaster, Captain Samantha Shepard started to honestly smile.

* * *

 **Arvuna, Aysur System, Caleston Rift**

Angelique Warren had been tailing LEAP agent Marco Tilzer for several blocks when it happened – she had been hanging back to keep from being spotted, so was a good 15 to 18 meters behind him when he unexpectedly turned a corner. Angel hurried to catch up, but Tilzer had disappeared by the time she turned the corner. "Tim, there's a problem," she said quietly into her comms. Schooling her pace, she attempted to effect a casual appearance, but if she lost the bastard, there was no way to know if, or when, he made it off planet back to Earth.

"We're coming, Angel… Marisa is closest." Tim tried to speak with a confidence he didn't feel; Tilzer was a big bastard, but moved in a way that conveyed a dangerous vibe. "Don't worry… we'll catch him."

Marisa came on the comm, saying, "I'm about twenty behind, Angel. Slow up just a bit."

Angelique had slowed her pace to a casual walk; she glanced into the side path between the rear sides of the buildings, but saw nothing. She had nearly cleared the far side of the path when all Hell broke loose.

Tilzer rushed up behind Warren and grabbed her with his right arm around her upper body, crook of his elbow hard into her throat, hand clamped firmly on her left shoulder. He managed to kick her left leg as she attempted to bend over and toss him over her back – losing her footing cost her the momentum she needed. Tilzer didn't give her a second chance.

"I'd really love to shove a blade in your Goddamned liver, just to repay you for the way Hess died, but I don't want to deal with the bloody mess. I hope you spend an eternity in Hell, Atlas bitch!" With that, Tilzer shoved the silenced muzzle of the M-11 Suppressor hard against her spine and pulled the trigger. The muffled blast sent a heavy piece of shaved alloy through her back, shattering two vertebra and ripping through her spinal cord, shutting down all the voluntary control to the muscles below her waist. As she started to collapse under her own weight, the bullet, shattered from the impact with the heavy bones, continued its high velocity trajectory, with several pieces tearing through her heart and lungs before exiting her body through her chest.

Tilzer let Angel's dying body collapse to the pavement just as a screaming, knife-wielding dervish landed on his back. Marisa Frost attempted to slice Tilzer's throat with her heavy blade, but the muscular Marco blocked her arm with his right as he reached over his shoulder and grabbed the front of her jacket with his left hand; bending over towards his left, he pulled hard and managed to dislodge the screaming woman, throwing her to the ground.

In an instant, the M-11 pointed down and delivered a bullet into Marisa's middle, the shock of the impact instantly taking all the fight out of her. As she rolled to the side and grasped her wounded abdomen with both hands, Tilzer crouched beside her, grabbed a handful of hair and forced her head around. "Gut wound. Painful way to die… hope it takes you all night." Marisa's answer was to spit a mouthful of bloody mucus in his face.

Without thinking, Tilzer placed the M-11 muzzle against her forehead and pulled the trigger, ending her life. "Goddamned little bitch," he muttered as he retrieved a handkerchief and wiped his face. Standing, he kicked the dead woman in the ribs hard enough to roll her over. Before he could turn to leave, a deathly quiet voice behind him said his name. "Marco Tilzer."

Marco had the reflexes of a cobra, but was unable to turn around fast enough to confront this new threat before the familiar report of an M-11 came to his ears simultaneous to a very unfamiliar… and painful… feeling in the right side of his chest, just below his ribs. Holding his wound with one hand, he attempted to bring his own gun to bear on the man that had shot him; he screamed in agony as a bullet shattered his left knee, instantly dropping him to the pavement near his two victims. As a moaning Tilzer struggled to somehow get back on his feet, an explosion of intense pain caused his vision to gray at the edges in an impending blackout.

"You kicked a woman that was already dead," Tim said in an ominous tone. "How does it feel while you're still alive?" With that, Tim kicked the wounded man again, causing Marco to scream again, even louder than before. "Damn. That sounded like it might have hurt." As Marco continued to attempt to crawl, Tim sighed and said, "Here. Let's put a halt to that scrambling around." With that, he put a bullet into Tilzer's other knee; the scream of pain was nearly as bad as from the toe to his wounded gut. "Tilzer," Tim intoned, picking up the man's M-11 from the ground. "You're going to die right here, groveling in the dirt like some stinking alien. How does that make you feel?"

Despite three extremely painful bullet wounds, Marco somehow summoned enough vitriol to defiantly hiss, "Fuck you, Atlas!"

"Ah, good. I'll be sure to tell your boss those were your last words." Tim smiled as he scanned Tilzer with his omnitool, checking for other weapons secreted in his clothing. Satisfied the heavy pistol had been his only weapon, he moved to lean against the wall of the building behind him. Activating his comm-link, he said, "I need an Evac shuttle. Bring stasis generators – I have two dead, another about to be." As Tim settled in to wait for Tilzer to bleed to death, he walked over to crouch by Warren's body. Finding her eyes to still be open in death, he used his fingers to gently lower her eyelids. "I'm so sorry, Angel," he whispered into her ear. "I couldn't get here in time." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, already growing cool. "I can only hope you knew how much I cared about you." Moving to crouch beside Marisa's body, Tim gently closed her eyes as well, whispering, "You did a great job, kiddo. I'm sorry I couldn't get here in time to help you complete it."

With that, he stood, looked at Tilzer and had a thought. _Dirty bastard must know a Hellova lot about LEAP's entire operation. If I can manage to keep him alive long enough to get him into stasis…_ Reaching into his shoulder pack, he found a small tube of medigel. _Not enough, dammit._ Turning back to Warren's body, he reluctantly searched her backpack and found another tube. _Apologies, Angel. I hate using your supplies to help the bastard that killed you, but it's for a good cause._

Tilzer had finally lost consciousness from the combination of blood loss and shock; Tim used all the medigel from both tubes, shoving most of it into the belly wound in an attempt to slow the man's internal bleeding. He used what was left on the agent's injured knees, also to slow the blood loss; he didn't care if Marco was somehow able to walk anywhere ever again. Thinking, _Okay, that should keep him from dying before the shuttle arrives – I'll have them load him up first._

He turned towards the alley entrance at the sound of multiple footsteps, and was relieved to see the other three members of their team. Boris, Rich and Nina stopped a few meters away, about equidistant from Warren's body and Stafford. Rich placed a hand on Nina's shoulder as she placed the knuckles of a balled up fist hard against her mouth in an effort to hold back a scream of denial at the sight of two people who'd so recently been vibrantly alive. She looked from Angel to Marisa to Tim before dropping to her knees and folding down on herself.

Tim spoke to Boris and Rich. "Shuttle is inbound. I need Tilzer loaded first; put the bastard in stasis, and don't bother being gentle. Gonna take him back, heal him up a bit, then pump him full of drugs and make him tell us about LEAP. We have got to put a stop to these bastards before they murder every last one of us."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Phoenix Massing, At Large**

It was a travel day so Shepard had a break from the torments of making landfall and, having been thinking about the party much of the day, was actually in a fairly good mood when dinner time came around. Coordinating supply and technology deliveries required for galactic recovery, Liara had been extremely busy and hadn't seen the Spectre since they parted after breakfast. She was concerned about how Shepard was doing... especially since Tevos was getting nowhere with her additional requests and Liara had yet to come up with a solution to the dilemma. Because of that, Liara was more than pleasantly surprised to see a _smiling_ Shepard walk into the office to see if she was ready to take a dinner break. Shepard would tell her nothing... she simply wanted to grab their dinner and retire to the loft to eat, where they could discuss something in private.

Liara was perfectly happy to agree, very curious as to what could possibly have caused Shepard's radical change in demeanor. As it turned out, Liara's curiosity was only partially assuaged with Shepard's eager explanation of her party plan. It raised questions which Liara's inquisitive nature could not let go unanswered, the most obvious of which she asked first. "What exactly is this holiday in celebration of?"

Liara's heart almost burst with joy at the _laughter_ that accompanied Shepard's response. "Life!"

Liara smiled and reached over to take Shepard's hand. "That is not a very complete answer, Samantha. What started it? What is the holiday for?"

"You are insatiable, Dr T'Soni. Does your quest for knowledge have no bounds?" Shepard grinned and squeezed her lover's hand. "Funny... but St Patrick wasn't even Irish. Before he was declared a saint, he was a wealthy Roman Brit... at age sixteen, he was kidnapped and taken by slavers and ended up tending sheep in the hills of Ireland. He supposedly wrote a _Declaration_ later, in which he claimed that God told him to flee to the coast, where a ship was waiting to take him home. Apparently he did so and once he got back home he entered the priesthood."

Shepard let out a little chuckle. "He later returned to Ireland and spent many years converting the pagans of Northern Ireland to Christianity. Obviously he didn't have much influence in the rest of Ireland, but he did enough to earn sainthood. He died on March 17th and was buried at _Dún Pádraig_ in Northern Ireland."

Liara was confused. "So the date of his _death_ is celebrated with music, dancing and alcohol?"

"He died almost 2000 years ago, the date became a Christian feast day around 500 years ago and it gradually evolved into an official public holiday in Ireland about 300 years ago. Once that happened, the church pretty much lost control of it and the non-Christians... and a lot of non-devout Christians as well, celebrate it however they please... and drinking and dancing is a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in Church!"

Shepard let out a laugh at the scowl that crossed Liara's face as the Asari queried, "That seems very... disrespectful... to me. How can you laugh?"

Shepard tried to contain her joviality as she explained. "It's all about perspective, Li. As Druids, we _celebrate_ our Gods with feasts and offerings. They are called _'festive'_ -als for a reason. We believe in nature and the _cycles_ of life and death... and prefer to celebrate the _living_ and renewal portions of that. It's not really that different from _Janiris_... which coincidentally happens to fall on the exact same day... so I think we celebrate them both!"

The wrinkle in Liara's brow smoothed out and her lips turned to a light smile. "I can accept that explanation... especially now. I certainly believe we need to be celebrating life and our future. What can I do to do to help with the planning of this festival?"

Shepard didn't have to think long on the prospect. "Next time Traynor pops in to see Riana, ask her if she'd be willing to tend bar. I'm sure she'll say yes. We'll need to get a list from her on what she remembers people drinking during the party at the apartment." Shepard planted a mischievous smirk on her face. "You can add the Asari drinks to the list... and then we may have to utilize the Broker ships to make a few discrete requisition runs and figure out how to rendezvous with them to get the supplies aboard."

Liara grinned. " _That_ will be easy; simply have them arrive with it... because you do realize we'll have to invite them all to the party?"

Shepard's eyebrows shot up at the thought of gathering the _whole_ crew for the party. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Love!" As Shepard beamed at her, Liara couldn't believe the change that came over Samantha, caused by something as simple as a Saint Patrick's Day celebration. Liara hoped fervently that it sustained her through the next few colonial stopovers; they could _both_ use a break from the nightmares.

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

"Zoë, I need to speak with you." Jana's voice sounded strained… emotional, almost as if she had been weeping.

Zoë Lawrence was in her office, reading a summary of the previous day's report; she was also engaged in searching for another building to use as a fallback position when LEAP finally discovered where Atlas had relocated in Vancouver, after their original location had been abandoned due to the betrayal by Carson Wheeler, Joanna McKinney and a recently deceased Wendell Coffey. Jana's tone had instantly put Zoë on guard. "Come on in, Jana.

In less than a minute, a soft knock on the door was followed by its opening to admit an obviously downcast Jana Cantrell; the Atlas officer paused at the side table, there to fix herself a mug of coffee. Looking around at Zoë, she asked, "You good?" to which Zoë raised her own mug in affirmation. Jana walked to Zoë's desk, set the full mug close to the edge and sat down in one of the two chairs reserved for brief meetings.

"Okay, Cantrell… tell me what's happened."

Jana took a sip from her mug, set it down and sighed as she activated her omnitool. With a few finger taps and strokes on the interface, she transferred a report to Zoë's omnitool as she said, "It's bad news, Zoë… not as bad as Christmas Day was for Atlas, but for me and you, it's probably the worst news possible." Looking down, she raised a visibly trembling hand, using it to shield her eyes as she held her temples between thumb and fingers. "Warren is dead, Zoë… as is Frost – Marisa Frost. They were following Marco Tilzer in Asa, on Arvuna. He somehow discovered the tail, jumped Angel from behind, put a bullet through her spine and heart…" Jana stifled a sob as she continued, "… I think she was dead before she hit the pavement. Frost managed to jump Tilzer from behind just as he let go of Warren… big son of a bitch managed to dodge her knife attack, threw her over his shoulder like she weighed next to nothing, put a shot in her gut to slow her down, then dropped one between her eyes."

Zoë sat in stunned silence as Jana finished and began quietly weeping. After a few moments, she stood from her chair and walked around the desk; placing her hands on Cantrell's shoulders, she leaned down and quietly said, "It's a tough way to start a new year, Jana, especially after Christmas. It's never easy to lose someone you've worked with, but it was bound to happen sooner or later." She gave the shoulders beneath her hands a gentle squeeze as she continued. "I'm so very sorry it had to be Angelique … she was a wonderful person, and had my utmost respect; I will miss her terribly."

Lawrence released Jana's shoulders and returned to her chair as Jana regained some control over her emotions; she looked up quickly at Zoë's question. "What about Tim and our other three team members?"

"I received the report from Tim… he's fine… made Tilzer pay for what he did, but… the thing is, Tilzer's still alive, Zoë. He'll need artificial knee joints, and probably a liver transplant in order to continue living; personally, I think Stafford should have capped him. Read through Tim's report… maybe you'll disagree." She sniffled, grabbed a tissue from a pocket, wiped her eyes and blew her nose before continuing. "Tim's got the bodies in stasis… bringing them home for burial. He's bringing Tilzer in stasis as well… he feels certain the right combination of drugs can persuade Marco to tell us anything and everything we want to know about LEAP, including the identity and location of their leader. They should arrive here in about six or seven hours."


	65. Revelations and Retribution

Notes: Some of this will look somewhat familiar if you have recently read ' _Hooley_ _on the Normandy_.'

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Revelations and Retribution**

 **Gorot II** **,** **Typhon, Phoenix Massing**

After the welcome and memorial ceremonies had been concluded, Shepard and Liara sat in momentary dumfounded silence before the desk of Dalatrass Sheorla Gurolor. The Salarian ruler sat quietly, giving the duo a chance to absorb what she had said, being, "It seems, Captain, that your adamant refusal since the end of the Reaper War to involve yourself in the politics of the other races has given rise to numerous civil conflicts. It is not only the Salarians who are at odds; our intelligence sources indicate the Quarian people are dividing along two factions, being either pro- or anti-SILC, and your own race is leaving a trail of death and destruction resulting from the armed conflict between the opposing factions of LEAP and Atlas, with little consideration for innocents being killed in the crossfire... galaxy wide... to _include_ those of other races at colonies with cohabitation." She had paused for only a moment before asking, "When, exactly, are you going to realize, whether you want to accept it or not, you are a respected galactic leader whose inaction, by ignoring the situations, is resulting in the death of hundreds more people... every single day?"

As Shepard reined in her mixed reaction of anger and guilt, Liara took it upon herself to answer, rather angrily. "Is it not enough that she saved the galaxy from the Reapers? Exactly how much is a single person supposed to give for everyone else? Captain Shepard is not responsible for others' grabs for power. Where is _their_ personal accountability?"

"Oh, please, Dr T'Soni," Sheorla scoffed. "You are the daughter of an extremely influential Matriarch; you of all people should understand just how hopefully naïve such questions are." She frowned at the Asari sitting across from her. "Those in leadership positions are always responsible for the actions of those beneath them; good, bad, or otherwise. You seem to be deluding yourself and thinking of her position in these matters as a choice... but it is not; it is a civic duty. Captain Shepard proved throughout the war that she has both the influence and the acumen to quell such conflicts and needs to do something... before they grow any larger and cost thousands more lives." Her round-eyed gaze drilled into the Human half of the pairing. "Like it or not, you are in a position to do just that; your failure to act is a decision in and of itself... and implies you condone the acts of violence."

Shepard grit her teeth and growled out, "Just what, exactly, do you expect of me, Dalatrass?"

"You don't honestly need me to answer that question, Captain." Sheorla laughed scathingly. "You already know what you must do… You're a Council Spectre! You must choose sides and do whatever is necessary to bring an end to the death and destruction caused by the wanton disregard for the rule of law."

The Dalatrass leaned back into her chair and seemed to relax, her voice dripping with suggestion as she added, "If the Salarian concerns were addressed, we would be free to provide you with full access to our Intelligence Service. It seems a very simple thing… begin with a public declaration to the Council... suggesting they could perhaps withdraw the suspension should the Union choose a pro-Council leader such as Mannovai Selok Ilhänl Duran Kirova Esheel."

Silently prompting Liara to do the same, Shepard stood as she answered, "Perhaps it _would_ be a simple thing, but I'll not make that statement before I meet Dalatrass Esheel in person during my visit to Mannovai... and, given the results of that meeting, perhaps not even then." Linking arms with the Asari, the Spectre finished quietly, "Now, if you'll excuse us Dalatrass, we have a schedule to keep."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Phoenix Massing, At Large**

It had been nearly seven months since the destruction of the biggest threat to mankind's continued existence in the galaxy. Engineer Ken Donnelly was lounging in his berth as he thought about this while idly glancing through a technical journal he'd acquired from Gabby. She had downloaded it to his datapad as a gift during their holiday break. She had surprised him with it, but the _real_ surprise had been the sudden hug and passionately delivered kiss when she caught him standing under a bulkhead in engineering that had been previously decorated with an actual sprig of mistletoe. She had thrown her arms around him and kissed him before he knew what was happening.

He chuckled at the thought as he decided it was time to take a shower so he could get in a bit of rack time before his next shift. Just before setting the datapad down, he spotted an advertisement at the bottom of the page - it was for one of his favorite beverages – a fine Islay single malt Scotch whiskey from a distillery on Lagavulin Bay. Their 'Distillers Edition' whisky was rich and smoky in flavor, a real taste of heaven, unlike anything consumed in the 'colonies'. Few people outside of Scotland and Ireland had any appreciation for Scotch. _Their taste buds have been permanently ruined from drinking bourbon!_

Donnelly sighed as he closed the datapad and set it aside. The likelihood of him getting back to Earth anytime soon – especially to the Isles – was not looking good. They had a number of months left on their tour, and the monotony of traveling from place to place without a military purpose was starting to wear on him. The taste of a fine Scotch was as far away as it had ever been during the war, and there'd been no time to acquire any during the Normandy's refit time on Earth before the invasion.

* * *

Engineer Gabriella Daniels glanced longingly at the small chronometer displayed in the upper corner of her haptic display and wished, not for the first time since the start of her shift, that she could somehow speed up the passage of time on a selective basis. Ever since the Normandy had been on this 'victory' tour of the surviving colonies in inner and outer council space, she and Ken Donnelly had been on different shifts. Lieutenant Adams had made it clear he was splitting their shifts in order to better utilize their skills, feeling both positions being unmanned for ten hours at a time was a poor use of staff resources.

As Adams had explained, the Normandy's systems were not being stressed nearly as much as when they had taken on either the Collectors or the Reapers. He no longer needed them both on-duty at the same time to operate the ship at its combat pace; there was a practical side to the schedule as well, as each engineer's skills were being broadened, with Donnelly covering for Gabby while she was off-duty and, conversely, Gabby covering for Ken. With another five hours to go, she turned and looked at Greg Adams and asked, "Lieutenant, I'm at a good stopping point… permission to go get some lunch?"

Adams smiled at her. "Gabby, you know you don't have to ask for permission to eat lunch. Just tell me you're going up for lunch, lock your terminal and go.

"Never felt right doing that, Sir."

Greg shook his head as he replied, "How many times have we had this conversation, Ms Daniels? Edi still monitors your panels, whether you're there or not, so get going. I can certainly take care of this over-automated engineering marvel until you return." He looked at her a bit more firmly as she hesitated. "Ms Daniels… go eat lunch."

A shy smile lit her face as she replied, "Yes, Sir."

* * *

Gabby was midway through her meal when Samantha Traynor sat on the bench across from her and asked, "Where's Donnelly?"

"Probably asleep." She took a sip of iced tea as she elaborated, "We're on different shifts now. I only see 'im briefly twice a day when we overlap. Truth be known, I get a lot more work done without 'im distracting me with comments and observations about all the women on the ship." Taking note of the datapad Traynor kept referring to, Gabby asked, "What're you studying there? You seem rather focused."

Sam looked up at her friend as she replied with a grin, "Shopping list. The captain and Dr T'Soni are planning some kind of party for the crew, and since I served as a bartender at Shepard's party on the Citadel, Liara asked me to put together a list of everything people were drinking back then. We'll buy the stuff next time we provision the ship, or procure it through a few clandestine rendezvous with the other Broker ships. Mostly standard stuff… some bottled beers, gin, vodka, tequila, bourbon…"

At the last item, Gabby held up her hand. "Wait; did you just say bourbon? Samantha, how much time do you have… that is, how long before you're going to buy all this stuff?"

"Not sure… Soon. Why do you ask?"

"I have to talk to Ken. Give me a shift before you close out your list. If I know Ken, bourbon will be the last thing he'll want to see on the bar. I'll get back to you."

"Keep it quiet, Gabby. The only people involved are Shepard, Liara and myself. We don't want the entire ship's compliment knowing about this until we're certain we can pull it off, okay?"

"My lips are sealed, Traynor. Talk to you soon."

* * *

Gabby was going over shift change protocol with Ken when she took him into the main engine compartment so she could speak to him privately. "Kenneth, I need some information, but I need you to swear you'll keep this to yourself."

Ken responded, "Whatever ya need, Gabby. I kinna say no ta you. Wha's on yer mind?"

"I have some good intel that there's a move afoot to have a party, involve the entire crew. Likeliest date is…" she lowered her voice and placed her cheek against his as she whispered in his ear, "… St Patty's day."

Donnelly nearly blew all hopes of secrecy right there. "St Pa…" he started to say as he pulled abruptly back from Gabby, only to have her firmly clamp a hand over his mouth. She looked at him sternly as she placed the back of her index finger vertically across her lips with the other fingers on her hand splayed out wide in a signal to stop talking. He nodded in agreement, to which she responded by removing her hand from his mouth. In a whisper, he asked, "St Patty's day? Will there be pretty girls?" At his last question, she narrowed her eyes further still, prompting him to hurriedly continue, "Booze? Tell me there 'ill at leas' be booze."

"After the remark about 'pretty girls', of which I should be the _only_ pretty girl you're interested in, I may have them bring in American Bourbon." At the look of pure panic on his face, she relented and asked, "What kind of Scotch would you prefer? Two brands, in case one or the other isn't readily available."

Ken didn't even have to think. He hugged her tightly as he whispered back into her ear, " _Distillers Edition_ from the Lagavulin Bay distillery. Very rich. Then there's the _Caol Ila_ distillery that produces a Scotch under their name. It's a li'l lighter, but ever' bit as smoky. Several bottles o' each, if ya kinn. Any leftovers will go a long ways to makin' the rest o' the trip a lot more pleasant, at least fer me."

"Great. I'll see if I can get them on the list." Gabby gave Ken another unsympathetic look. "Just don't you forget about this. You were this close…" she held a thumb and forefinger close together in front of his nose, as if pinching a piece of cloth and hissed, " _this_ close!… to having to drink whiskey or bourbon." She smiled wickedly as she turned and left for the crew deck.

* * *

 **Vancouver B.C., Earth, Sol System**

Marco Tilzer did not have the opportunity to enjoy the victorious New Year's celebration he had counted on – far from it. His injuries had been both grievous and painful... and the Atlas agent chosen to accomplish the interrogation, Tim Stafford, had willingly and very purposefully engaged in satisfying a personal vendetta, to the point where the term malicious was an extreme understatement. While his methods may have been considered horrific, using a combination of drugs and pain, Tim had successfully extracted the information Atlas needed to truly achieve the justice everyone in the organization felt Angel's death deserved, long before Tilzer was fortunate enough to enjoy his own sweet release from life.

Upon receiving the critical data, Tim immediately proceeded to Zoë's office and barged on in after barely waiting for the answer to his rapid knock. The leader of Atlas cocked an eyebrow in query as she stated, "I assume this means you've broken Tilzer and gotten something useful."

If such a thing could exist, Tim's expression was only what one could call a satisfied scowl. "Yes. The bastard was stubborn, but I don't care who you are... the Human psyche can only withstand so much. Besides which, when he finally did talk, it sounded almost as if he had his own score to settle with the head of LEAP... as if revealing her identity was a huge relief."

Taking a deep breath to settle himself, he continued, "The 'Captain' lives in a penthouse apartment on the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan. I do believe you'll recognize the name – _former_ Captain in the Alliance Navy, Jessica Mikhailovich – which certainly explains her hatred for T'Soni and Shepard. T'Soni's investigation into Shepard's supposed death at Alchera in 2183 stripped away the bitch's entire career; the incident with the recovery of the Normandy's crew, while leaving the commander behind, made Mikhailovich into a pariah... Once Anderson and Hackett had the evidence they needed, her career was over; she was reduced in rank and forced to retire."

While Tim was speaking, Zoë had slowly risen to her feet, a righteous anger building throughout her entire body. "A retired Alliance officer is doing this… really? A damned vendetta against Liara T'Soni, disguised as a Humans-First organization? I'll be a fucking Pyjak's aunt. Looking at it now, it seems so damned obvious, that I have to ask myself why in Hell we didn't see it for ourselves!" Lawrence scrubbed her forehead and mumbled "son-of-a-bitch" under her breath before looking up again and meeting Tim's eyes. "Did you come straight here with that information or did you stop along the way to put things in motion?"

"The latter." Stafford was still seething in anger. "I stopped by Collections and gave them the address, telling them I want to know everything there is to know about the place. A full grid study... power conduits, sky traffic, lighting, cameras, underground sewers, subways, maintenance tunnels... you name it." He suddenly grinned as he continued, "And I gave them three days. I want to see that bitch dead before the first week of 2188 passes."

"Good." Zoë nodded in approval. "Did you fill Jana in on the progress?"

"She was at the Collection desk." Tim sniffed in satisfaction. "She told me they'd have it all in two days, not three, and that we could begin working the general plan for ingress and egress now... We'll work out the infiltration details as information on the building becomes available."

"Excellent. And Tim?" Zoë paused, a moment of silence passing between them as she narrowed her eyes and continued in a low voice dripping with venom. "Make sure I'm part of that plan. I know I said I was done with wet work, but Mikhailovich has made this one personal… very personal… so I plan on answering in kind."

* * *

 **New York City, Earth, Sol System**

As soon as the call terminated, Jess slammed her fist down on the comm unit in total disgust. Marco was a week overdue on his return and the contact agent on Arvuna, Logan Poole, had been unable to locate him, stating that he feared foul play. _Foul play, my ass! What the fuck does that mean? This is Marco we're talking about!_

She had promptly sent an agent out to check Tilzer's residence, but Lucas had just called in with confirmation that Blake Cantara was still there... and Jessica knew it was very unlikely that Marco would have bugged out without taking the waste of his brother's DNA along with him. "God damn it!"

Watching stealthily from the shadows of Marco's home, Kasumi listened to the whole conversation, hoping the woman on the other end of the call would request the agent's presence. Unfortunately for Kasumi, her wish was not to be as yet another lead fell to the wayside; this caused her to sigh in disappointment. Marco's training of Blake had been thorough and no matter what questioning tactic she had tried, the boy would not waiver. Over the period of surveillance, Kasumi had come to the realization that Cantara lacked the mental capacity to be complicit in LEAP's schemes, so she had positively refused to treat the young man as a hostile informant; he loved Marco Tilzer as a savior and was innocent in all this.

She realized Blake's simplemindedness was his best defense, as she could not successfully convey the direness of his circumstances if Tilzer did not return. No matter what happened around him, the boy's faith in Marco was completely unshakable. It was just after midnight when her need for information was finally fulfilled... in the most unexpected and unpleasant way.

A short young man with fine jet black hair suddenly appeared from within to stand on Tilzer's doorstep. Kas could see he was fairly muscular as he bent his arm and spoke quietly into his comm unit. "Clemons here. I collected all the data I could find... but there's nothing on Arvuna. No one appears to be watching the place, so the brother's spawn is sleeping like a dead man upstairs... literally. With Tilzer dead, Blake won't be anyone's concern anymore."

Kas had to concentrate on remaining calm at the news, suppressing the sudden urge to sneak over and slice the man's throat – for the exact same reason the man had slit Blake's – simply because he could. He hadn't known Blake, but Kas had loved Blake's innocent, untroubled grin and it bothered her to know he would never smile again. A quiet anger overcame her when she realized the man was an Atlas agent as he continued speaking. "So what's next, Ms Lawrence?"

"Meet us at the penthouse. The payment for all of Captain Jessica Mikhailovich's crimes has just come due… and I intend to collect in full, with interest."

Tucking all the names she had heard into the back of her mind, Kasumi focused on the task at hand and carefully followed the agent through the darkened streets. While she trailed him, she contemplated all she had learned. Based on Lucas' conversation with the Captain, Tilzer's undisclosed destination had obviously been Arvuna. He had apparently disappeared without a trace, but Kasumi now knew the man had vanished compliments of Atlas, a bit of information most likely unknown to LEAP. His disappearance had spooked 'The Captain' and, given the current presence of Atlas; Kasumi realized the LEAP leader probably had good reason to be concerned.

Clemons had obviously been well trained... possibly by Maya Brooks herself... but no one in the galaxy was better than Master Thief Kasumi Goto when it came to sneaking about unseen. Rich's intuition told him he was being followed, but every time he stopped or attempted to lay a trap, he found no confirmation whatsoever and pressed onward. Kasumi simply grinned in appreciation of the man's skill, and circled around to come at him from another angle. When he finally arrived at his destination, Kasumi discovered three more people awaiting him... two men and a woman whom, by her very demeanor, Kas immediately assumed to be Zoë Lawrence.

Zoë stared him down and urgently asked, "What in Hell took you so long?"

"I was being followed... and whoever was doing it was very good." Rich was still occasionally glancing back over his shoulder.

"So we could be walking into a trap... _if_ they know we're here." Tim looked at their leader and confirmed the woman's identity. "What do you think, Zoë?"

"I think we've come too damned far and done too much work to get us to this point to simply walk away now. We may not get a second chance at this." She looked around the area as if trying to peer into every surrounding shadow. "And I also think whoever was following you, if it wasn't just your nerves getting the better of you, is very, _very_ good... and if they were truly an enemy, you'd be dead, Clemons." She glared at him, quelling any protest he was thinking of making as she continued, "We go."

As they vanished into the high-rise, Kasumi hung back; they had obviously planned the operation carefully and if she followed, she would be going in blind – never a good idea and she really had no desire to end up dead simply for curiosity's sake. She squeezed herself into a tiny corner with decent visibility of the entry, all while doubting they would come out the same way they went in. Out of options, Kasumi Goto quietly sent a priority message across the Broker alert system before carefully tapping into the building's surveillance system, hoping to watch events from a position of relative safety.

* * *

Before they could descend into the sub-basement, Rich and Boris removed both of the security guards and the night operator; as soon as they had the basement secure, Nina tapped into the security feeds. She recorded a loop segment of every camera feed that ended in the penthouse and altered the inputs. Next, she cut all the feeds to the massive external communications hub installed on the building's roof; LEAP agents galaxy wide would not be able to call in, nor would they receive any calls, until it was much too late for Jessica Mikhailovich. Nina smiled at her cohorts as she whispered, "All that bitch will see is the same empty, midnight hallways she always sees... but everyone else in LEAP who monitors these feeds will see us coming and not be able to do a damned thing about it."

Zoë grinned maliciously at the thought of the upcoming event. "Then it's time to head up." Pulling up a building schematic on her omnitool, she refreshed her memory of the layout: a freight elevator from the third floor cargo landing pad went up to the forty-eighth floor, two levels below the penthouse. Zoë had decided against attempting to reach Jessica by using the passenger elevator to the penthouse entrance, as it would be easy for Jess to trap them within once they were on her floor.

Tim was closely shadowed by Zoë as the pair carefully made their way up the rear stairs towards the third floor of the luxury building; Rich Clemons, despite the criticism implied by Zoë's admonishment concerning the benign intent of whomever had been tailing him from Tilzer's apartment, was two meters behind them as he, along with Boris Sutton, followed the pair as their rear guard.

Unlike the main entrance to the building, this service staircase was narrow, steep and dimly lit; despite this, Zoë felt as exposed here as if she was in the middle of a street at high noon. She, Tim and Jana had invested a lot of time and energy into this hunt for the person atop LEAP's leadership pyramid; in spite of activated cloaking generators, they were all exercising a great deal of care as they reached the third floor of the building.

Once on the third floor, the quartet trotted noiselessly to the nearby service elevator, where Rich quickly disabled the intrusion alarm as he hacked the electronic lock. With a quick glance at Tim and Zoë, he activated the haptic device, calling the elevator car to their floor. They paired off to stand at either side of the doors as they opened; fortunately, the car was empty. Once inside, Rich closed the doors as Zoë studied the operating panel; the forty-eighth floor was the highest they could access by using this elevator – once there, they would have to climb through several service tunnels to reach the penthouse on level fifty.

Tim nodded to Zoë as Rich started the car's ascent; with his hands held at thigh level, he interlaced his fingers to form an impromptu step for Zoë, who quickly placed gloved hands on his shoulders and a booted foot on his waiting hands. With a quiet grunt, Tim boosted the woman up high enough to enable her to reach the access hatch for the roof of the car. She quickly pushed the cover up and to the side, and then grasped the edges of the opening to pull herself up, carefully keeping her legs straight to avoid kicking Tim in the head.

Once on the car's roof, she extended the telescoping, single-pole ladder she'd carried with her; bracing the top end at the corner of the square escape opening, she held the shaft firmly in place as first Tim, then Rich, followed by Boris and Nina, climbed the steps extending from the sectional tube. Once all five were together on top of the car, Boris retrieved and collapsed the ladder, then asked Rich to strap it to his back as Tim replaced the access panel to cover the opening.

When the elevator eased to a stop at the forty-eighth floor, they quickly engaged the emergency braking system and disabled the lift; no one would be using that elevator until the team returned and disengaged the lockdown. Once that task was complete, each stepped in turn onto the emergency access ladder attached to the side of the wall that formed one side of the yawning cavern below them. The ladder rungs were covered in grime from years of disuse; the three men and Zoë all used an abundance of caution, as a misstep by any of them could have serious consequences for all of them.

Having committed the building plans to memory, Zoë and Tim knew this ladder ended at a catwalk on the forty-ninth floor; the catwalk led upwards to an access door that was rarely, if ever, opened, and not regularly monitored by anyone, as it was on an emergency staircase landing coming down from the fiftieth floor. Zoë was confident in her own ability to hack the lock and open the door, but once she got there, she stood aside and motioned for Clemons to hack the interface.

After several seconds, Rich managed to release the lock and spring the door open a centimeter; as it opened inwards, he waved everyone back to stand behind the hinged side while he slowly pulled the unlatched edge towards him. After a careful inspection, he opened it further and stepped out onto the landing; Zoë led Boris, Nina and Tim out to join Rich. The spring loaded door closed gently behind them as they walked up the final flight of stairs.

* * *

Jessica glanced nervously at her security monitors as she continued to pace in front of the picture-window view of Central Park. She was beginning to have serious doubts about the wisdom of following Tilzer's plan for a Christmas Day strike against every former Cerberus facility on every planet in the galaxy. There had been a lot of collateral damage – innocent people injured and killed – though, fortunately, a goodly number of them had been the miserable aliens the Humans were foolish enough to allow to live right next to them; for these, she felt no sorrow or remorse – they had all received exactly what they deserved.

What was really worrying her was the complete and total disappearance of Marco Tilzer – the agent hadn't been seen since sometime after his arrival on Arvuna, as if the planet had opened and swallowed him whole. _Bastard probably went partying, got shit-faced and wound up in some stinking whore's bed._ She regretted the thought almost as soon as it crossed her mind. Tilzer wasn't the type to shirk his duty; he thought of LEAP first, Blake second. _Shit! I wonder if that miserable little dirt bag has heard from Marco._ As she thought about this, she opened her door and spoke to the security officer immediately outside. "I need a patrol over at Tilzer's residence. I want a status report and then I want to know _immediately_ if either Marco shows up or Blake leaves. Understood?"

She had stepped back and slammed the door in the man's face before he ever had a chance to reply, but he was used to her temper – and the paycheck he regularly received. As he was very efficient at his job, he didn't worry about his position as her primary bodyguard.

Knowing she would hear back from security in twenty or thirty minutes, Jessica poured some brandy for herself and took a sip, hoping the bracing alcohol would steady her nerves – it simply wouldn't do for anyone to see just how unsettled she was. _Damn you, Marco. Where in Hell are you hiding?_ She continued to ponder the problem of his disappearance as she stood in front of her window and gazed out onto the serene park below her.

* * *

The trill of her omnitool startled Jessica out of her contemplation of Central Park; she quickly lifted her arm to key the unit on and said, "What?"

The security guard appeared to have seen a ghost as he said, "Agent went inside Tilzer's apartment, Ma'am. No one inside except Cantara – er, Tilzer's nephew – lying in his bed. Thing is, Ma'am… his throat's been slit, ear to ear. His body's not completely cold – must have happened in the past ninety minutes or so." The captain stared at the image on the screen as her mind attempted to wrap itself around this latest development. _Shit! If that little waste of DNA is dead, then the bastards are here…_

Her throat clenched at the muted sound of someone outside her door. She hurriedly went to her desk, there to pull an M-11 Suppressor from a side drawer; after checking for a fully charged heatsink, she slowly walked towards her door as it began to open. Her regular security guard stood stiffly in the door opening for only a few moments before slowly collapsing down on himself; as she attempted to bring her gun up to fire at… whatever was out there, she belatedly detected the shimmer of a full body cloak. She was hit in the front by at least two cloaked figures; the first spinning her partway around, the second ripping the pistol from her grasp as a solid shoulder hit her in the side above her hip, partially knocking the wind out of her.

Unexpectedly finding herself lying on her back on the polished floor, she looked at the door in amazement as a tall, lithesome woman with piercing ebony eyes, white tribal pattern tattoos seemingly glowing on the left side of her medium brown face, stalked through the door with all the grace of a panther. A feral grin touched her eyes as she looked down at the hapless woman on the floor. "Gentlemen, _gentlemen_. Where are your manners? Please, help Ms Mikhailovich to her feet so we can have…" Zoë Lawrence glared at Jessica as she continued, "… a civilized discussion regarding, specifically, attempts to kill Dr Liara T'Soni and Captain Samantha Shepard, among her other transgressions."

Tim and Boris, the two men that had bounced their bulk off Jessica's body, reached down from either side to grasp the woman's upper arms and bring her to her feet. For her part, Jessica cursed them as she twisted about angrily to break their hold on her and began to walk towards the door, only to find it blocked by a third man. Spinning on her heel, the captain's angry eyes bored into Zoë's as she sputtered, "Just who in the Hell are you? What gives you the right to invade my home…"

Zoë reached out as casually as if she was swatting a fly, backhanding the side of Jessica's face with her gloved hand. "I suggest you keep a civil tongue in your head, Ms Mikhailovich. It will make things so much easier." Answering Zoë's glance in their direction, Tim and Boris each grabbed an upper arm and held the struggling woman between them as Zoë slowly closed the distance, drawing her favorite knife from her calf sheath as she walked.

Jessica thrashed about to no avail in an attempt to break free before screaming, "You fucking bastards! I'm a captain in the Alliance Navy, and the head of the League of Earth Alliance Patriots! Let go of me or so help me I'll…"

Zoë struck with no warning – a full, open-hand face slap that would have had her palm stinging if she hadn't been wearing gloves. The shock of being struck a second time by this… arrogant bitch… had Jessica seeing red. "Ex-Captain. And the next time I hit you, it will be with a closed fist. You really don't want me to do that."

Jessica's ears were actually ringing from the slap, so she closed her mouth; these people had the upper hand, it seemed, and she actually began to worry that her life was in jeopardy. In as calm a voice as she could manage, she asked, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Zoë replied softly, "Ms Mikhailovich, my name is Zoë Lawrence. In a former life, I felt as you do, that the only good alien was a dead alien; that is no longer the case." Zoë chuckled as she casually walked around behind Jess to hiss in her ear with an acidic tone, "You, however, will never change, I'm sure… besides which, you have been naughty. Very, very naughty... and you must atone for your crimes against the galaxy."

"What the Hell do you know, you miserable bitch? Shepard died over Alchera! She was dead, do you understand? But a squid-head whore named T'Soni decided I hadn't done enough to retrieve the body… went to the admiralty and convinced them of that. I was demoted in rank and kicked out of the Navy like yesterday's trash."

"Yes-s-s-s, I know all about that," Zoë purred as she came back around to stand in front of Jessica. "Still doesn't change the fact that Shepard is, in reality, very much alive... or that LEAP decimated my people and facilities throughout the galaxy… on Christmas Day, no less. And two people that were very close friends died at the hands of your surrogate… Marco was his name? He died in agony screaming your name." Zoë leaned in, placing her nose a hands-width from Jessica's. "Condemning you, if you must know."

Mikhailovich started as a sharp pain made itself known, just to the left of her sternum, partially in the lower swell of her breast. Her attempt to back away from the pain proved futile, as the two men on either side of her were joined by another, who placed the front of his body in firm contact with her back. Braced as these three were, Jess could not shrink away from the increasing pain. "You can't do this!" she sputtered. "You can't just murder me in my own home! It's not right!"

"Right?" Zoë was actually enjoying herself. "Ms Mikhailovich, you're going to die a slow, agonizingly painful death." So saying, she pushed the blade into Jessica's chest another centimeter; this caused the captain to gasp involuntarily. Her breathing grew rapidly as she attempted to look at the men on either side of her. "Focus, Jessica!" The ebony eyes bore into her. "While you stand here dying by centimeters, take comfort in the knowledge…" the blade moved again, the stiletto tip sliding past a rib. "… that Nina is going through your computer systems, downloading every last bit of data concerning your operations."

The blade eased in a bit further, puncturing the pericardial sac surrounding Jessica's heart. A low moan escaped her, like one might hear from an injured animal. Jess was panting now, short, rapid breaths, as Zoë continued to purr. "Ms Mikhailovich, I would really love to torment you a while longer, but Nina just sent me a signal, assuring me she has all of your data. You can die, comforted with the knowledge that the rest of your membership will be dead before the month runs out. It's been a pleasure to finally meet you… too bad I need to say good bye so soon."

With that, Zoë slowly pressed the blade into Jessica's body, piercing the rapidly fluttering right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. Jessica gasped for air once… twice… then appeared to stop breathing, the look of terror in her eyes slowly relaxing as she bled out internally. The last thing she saw before the blackness took her was the face of her nemesis… her murderer. She tried to curse, only to bring up a frothy mixture of blood and mucus. Tim and Boris eased the dying woman to the floor; Zoë left the knife buried in her chest, the Cerberus emblem prominent on the handle.

Zoë stepped over the body to walk up to a camera in the corner and began speaking. "I just ended the life of a truly evil person. I intend to use the data I've gained from this place to rid the galaxy of every one of the scumbags that still proclaim allegiance to LEAP. Every. Last. One. Once that mission is complete, Atlas will pursue a kinder, gentler course… a course I intend to be, for the most part, peaceful. But, make no mistake… we will not hesitate to act to defend any and all, Human or Alien, from extreme views such as those espoused by the recently departed Jessica Mikhailovich. Goodbye."

Looking back at her team, she nodded at Tim and said, "Let's get the Hell out of here, but stay vigilant! I don't want any problems." Tim nodded in understanding, leading the team out of the apartment. With a final look around and a heavy sigh, Zoë Lawrence was the last to leave, closing the door softly behind her... along with another chapter in her life she was happy to leave behind.


	66. Final Course Adjustments

Notes: The background material for Rannoch is largely taken from the Cerberus Daily News Wiki... minus the planet being deemed largely off-limits to aliens and, of course, the SILC replacing the Geth.

ASF - Armali Strike Force

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

Overlord - Urdnot Wrex; supreme Krogan Warlord who controls the majority of Krogan clans and rules Tuchanka

 _Ru'shan_ \- "Child of my Blood" (Krogan)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Final Course Adjustments**

 **Normandy SR-2, Charoum Orbit, Dholen**

Shepard, Liara and Riana sat with rapt attention, glancing across the multiple active monitors within the Broker's office. An early morning alert from Riana had dragged the couple out of their bed in the loft; by the time they were dressed and inside the Broker's deck two office, Kasumi and Riana had uplinked each of the individual camera feeds from the New York City building's surveillance system. The Broker team was now watching the multiple feeds and following the Atlas team's climb to the penthouse.

"Goddess." Liara gripped Shepard's hand tightly as they watched the events unfold. "I have to wonder why _'The Captain'_ doesn't have these same feeds... and why she isn't making good on an escape... She must have security and a plan for such an event." The Asari had been shocked at the identity of the person in the Penthouse and her voice contained malice she had thought long gone... but which surged, uncontrollably, back to the fore at the excruciatingly painful reminder of the role Jessica Mikhailovich had played in Shepard's death over Alchera... and the payout she had received for allowing the Blue Suns to recover Samantha's... remains.

Shepard winced, more from the painful memories traversing the link than from the iron grip threatening to crush her fingers in her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ 's fearful anger. Squeezing back to get Liara's attention, she whispered quietly, "Hey. You got me back, Blue. I'm here because of you and we're both okay. Because of that weird combination of many peoples' interference and efforts, we have the future we always dreamed of; concentrate on that."

"I know, _Siame_." Liara turned toward her, blue eyes glassy from the agonizing recollection of their not-so-distant history. "But that does not lessen the ache in my heart when I am forced to recall those events. I don't believe I will ever truly forget those dark days."

Shepard pulled her in for a comforting hug, releasing her quickly so they could focus once more on the screens before them. They watched the events unfold in near-real-time, wondering why Mikhailovich was making no attempt to escape until Kas finally assuaged their curiosity. "The first thing Atlas did was break into the security center in the basement. If it was me, I would have looped the feeds to the Penthouse, so I'm sure all that woman is seeing is the same few minutes of recording... over and over again."

Following that statement, which removed all the speculation from their observance, monitoring the climb through the building was quite boring – until the Atlas team got to Jessica's doorway. A quick dispatch of the guard and they were inside. Liara actually growled deep in her throat and, once more, the grip on Shepard's hand tightened as they watched the new Maya Brooks slowly and torturously take Jessica Mikhailovich's life.

However satisfying, Liara still couldn't keep her free hand from creeping up to clutch at the clothing over her heart as they watched the stiletto sink slowly into the traitor's chest. She murmured quietly, "By the Goddess!"

Shepard turned away from the monitor that was broadcasting from the Penthouse apartment and placed her hand under Liara's chin, gently encouraging the Asari to look away as well. When their eyes met, both pairs glistened with moisture, not only in sadness from witnessing such a horrific act, even when it did result in an arch enemy's demise, but also with some semblance of relief that it seemed as though the Atlas–LEAP war would soon be drawn to a close.

Liara closed her eyes and set her chin upon Shepard's shoulder as she wrapped the woman in her arms, the Asari's warm tears trickling down the side of Samantha's neck. Shepard released a soft sigh and returned the embrace, holding her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ tightly for a long moment, to break apart when Zoë Lawrence turned towards the camera to deliver her surprising final message.

"Well. That was quite the show." Miranda's voice cut like an icy wind across bare skin, her sarcasm evident as she continued, "I'm so glad this Zoë Lawrence has replaced Maya Brooks. She's so much more... gentle and peaceful... than Maya ever was."

"The voice print still matches, just as with the previous transmissions we received," Judea added, standing at Miranda's side. "But this also gave us video to compare facial recognition features. That analysis came back with a 99.83 percent likelihood of a match."

Shepard was standing ramrod straight, her arms crossed in contemplation, when she responded quietly. "Oh, there's no doubt in my mind that she's Maya. I'd know that voice anywhere." She drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly, the muscles in the side of her jaw bulging as she clamped her teeth tightly together and fell silent, staring at Mikhailovich's dead body and locking every detail into her memory.

Liara felt the link sliding away and softly laid a supporting hand on Shepard's crossed arms. Her eyes remained on the Spectre, even though she was addressing her Broker team. "It's much too early here for us all to be awake. I trust you recorded all those feeds; run each of them through a full-spectrum analysis. I'll expect initial assessments by the end of the day." She left her hand where it was but turned her head to face the communications terminal. "Kasumi. Follow discretely if you can do so _safely_. I want no more casualties from this war tonight, particularly yours. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Liara." For once, there were no sly or witty remarks from the thief; the early morning events had affected them all. "Zoë Lawrence is much too dangerous, particularly with a full crew supporting her. I'll call Jon for a rendezvous and we'll make our way to the ship together. I'll also call in when we get there. If it's longer than an hour, something's gone wrong. I'll upload all the data I collected to the network while I'm waiting for him... just in case."

"I fully expect to be reading yours and Jon's full reports after we get up, Kasumi Goto. Don't make me have to come save your ass." Finally speaking again, Shepard offered a quick smile as she uncrossed her arms, reaching for Liara's hand in the process. "We'll all get back together and discuss everyone's findings this afternoon; let's say 1600 hrs Earth standard."

* * *

It was four days later when the big Krogan Overlord flickered into view and growled only one word. "Shepard."

The Spectre offered the slightest of forced smiles and replied, "Wrex. Thanks for making time to take my call."

"You look like someone stole all your guns and killed all your Pyjaks, Shepard. Nothing to shoot and nothing to shoot at." Wrex could tell something was amiss and could only think of one thing that could make his Human friend look the way she did. "That would be a bad day, but I don't think even that would be enough to make you look like you do right now. Has something happened to Liara?"

"No. We're all fine Wrex." Shepard shook her head. "We are, but the galaxy isn't. Have you been following the news at all?"

"Oh, you mean the disbarment of the Salarians from the Council and their mounting political pissing contest, Han'Gerrel's 'we still want to enslave all the Geth' mewling, and the Human gang warfare that's killing all kinds of people on planets across the galaxy... including on worlds that they don't even control?" He chuckled at the expression on Shepard's face. "What? You think I'm not still getting the Broker dispatches? Liara and company make sure Bakara and I stay up to speed... just in case you need the Krogan to help you kill any more big monsters. You're Urdnot Shepard and I told you I'd always be there for you; I watch out for my clan, near and far."

Shepard's eyes and her smile brightened. "Thanks, Wrex. With most everyone constantly asking me for something, it's refreshing to have someone offer something instead. You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

"But I do, Shepard." Wrex's reptilian red eyes met hers with a penetrating stare. "You think that sensation is foreign to me? How do you think I felt when the entire galaxy used us to kill the Rachni... only to basically sterilize us in payment? And then _you_ came along... this squishy Human with the soul of a Krogan... offering honest friendship and fair trade of services to meet mutual goals?" Wrex crossed his arms and growled, "After hundreds of years of mistreatment by the Council, you had no right to my trust... yet, within only a few weeks, you had ripped it from my hearts like it had been yours all along. You're too damned _good_ for this galaxy, Shepard. You cured the Genophage and made the Krogan _believe_ in themselves again. I can never repay you for saving the whole Krogan race, no matter how many times I help you."

Shepard stared back in silence for a few moments as she decided how to proceed, finally opting for blunt truth. "I'm leaving the Alliance, Wrex. Finishing this tour and moving to Thessia with Liara."

Wrex broke out in harsh laughter and struggled to control himself enough to respond, "Is that what has you so damned glum? About time you gave up on those worthless Pyjaks who've done nothing but demand your help... only to give you nothing but trouble in return. I told you long ago they were treating you just like they treated the Krogan – that they'd use you up and then throw you away once you served their purpose. You don't owe them a damned thing, Shepard!"

"So it seems everyone is more than happy to tell me." Shepard shook her head. "Alliance service is all I've ever know, Wrex, so as much as it seems like all they've done is abuse me, I gave myself willingly." She sighed, "But, I've come to realize they're forcing me to choose – because I can't have a life with Liara... not one of any quality, anyway... while the Alliance has me playing messenger girl and filling the role of Good Will Ambassador to the Council. I need to back away and truly perform my role as a Spectre again."

"Excellent." Wrex had started to grin as she spoke and couldn't keep from commenting on the change. "There's the Shepard we lost with the death of the Reapers. It's good to see her again."

"Good. Then I'll get to the real point of my call." Shepard squared her shoulders and crossed her arms before she continued, "I'll be moving to a new Spectre Ship called _Knight Shade_ – a worthy Asari heavy corvette designed specifically for me by Judea Voni. I'll have two ground teams... one will consist of Liara's personal commandos; the other six will be a mixed squad. I'd love Grunt to command that team, but I know he's running Aralakh Company, so I won't even ask... But, I'll want a Krogan for my team, Wrex, and I'll need one no later than June so the team can train together while I'm on Thessia getting bonded. Which, by the way, is an event you and Bakara are most definitely invited to."

"Of course, Shepard – to both of those items." Wrex's face held a toothy smile. "I'll have Grunt pick a member of Aralakh. I understand why you don't want to pull Grunt from his command, so we'll make sure we send you the next best Krogan for the job. You care if it's male or female?"

"No..." It was Shepard's turn to laugh. "But don't you go sending me Bakara simply to get her off your back!"

Wrex guffawed loudly and answered, "No chance of that, Shepard. She's heavy with child and won't be going anywhere for the next couple of years... except to your bonding ceremony, that is. We wouldn't miss that for the galaxy! Plus, we'll probably bring the new little one, along with a Shaman. We want Aunts Shepard and Liara to meet the new member of Clan Urdnot... and be blessed as her Krantt Guardians."

"Krantt Guardian?" Shepard dropped her arms and tipped her head ever so slightly in question. "What's that?"

"That," Wrex said, rather solemnly, "... is someone who, in the event of Bakara's and my unfortunate deaths before the babe reaches majority, is responsible for raising the _Ru'shan_ and ensuring they successfully complete their Rite of Passage."

Stunned, Shepard stared at Wrex for a brief moment before earnestly bowing to the Krogan Overlord. Returning to an upright position as she received a quick affirmation from Liara through the link, Shepard responded firmly, "It would be our honor, Clan Leader."

"I knew you wouldn't say no... and we appreciate it. You raised Grunt to be both an honorable and kick-ass Krogan... and I'd trust no one else to raise our little _Ru'shan_ as well _._ Now, with that out of the way, anything else I can do for you, Shepard? I need to get back to it."

"One last detail," Shepard smirked. "I know I said I need my Krogan warrior no later than June, but I'd like to meet your selection and have them with us when we hit Garvug... along with Grunt and Aralakh Company, who might just have to stay there for awhile." She watched Wrex's eyes pique with interest, so she continued quickly. "I know, as a reward for the Rachni Wars, Dhazil was given to the Krogan, who promptly laid it to waste just like Tuchanka... but things are different now. I'd like to help the Krogan regain that world... get control of the rogue Krogan and Vorcha packs that plague the corporations there and build a new Shroud facility or two. I can play politics and get help from the Salarians; they brought back the Kakliosaurs and, given the right incentive, I feel they can do the same with the native equatorial reefs and rebuild the ocean-based ecosystem. Just promise me you won't trash it again if we go through all the time and trouble to fix it."

"That's not exactly a small detail, Shepard, but it sounds like a fantastic project from the Krogan perspective." Wrex nodded in agreement. "My only concern is what politics do you have to play to get this?"

"They've asked that I endorse Dalatrass Esheel as the new leader of the Salarian Union. In return, they promised me full access to their intelligence services which, for obvious reasons..." Shepard grinned, "...I don't need. I mean, at the very least they have to know Liara was an information broker on Illium, so I'm sure they expect a counter offer."

Wrex chuckled. "Sounds like Liara must have had a hand in coming up with that possible scenario."

"We cooked it up together after our meeting with Dalatrass Gurolor on Gorot II. Liara personally completed the research to see just who Esheel is... and she's definitely someone I can work with. Her motives are clear and she'll do anything necessary to get what she believes is the best for the Union. Her methods may sometimes be rather nefarious, but generally predictable if you understand her motivations and know her goals."

"And, if they think you're in their pocket, they won't bite the hand that feeds them." Wrex nodded again. "Agreed. I'll talk to Grunt. When are we talking about?"

"Roughly six weeks out – February 22d."

"Sounds like fun and wish I could come along for the ride," Wrex replied. "I have to stick around on Tuchanka, but Urdnot Grunt will be there with the full company, loaded for Yahg!"

* * *

 **Sclifosi, Rannoch, Tikkun**

"Tali, your house is beautiful!" Liara exclaimed, as she looked about in wonder while Shepard drew her Quarian 'little sister' into a huge hug.

"As are you, Tali'Zorah!" The suit-free Tali simply beamed as Shepard returned her feet to the floor and stepped back, taking a long look at her friend. "Not having to wear a full suit has to be liberating."

"It is! It still amazes me every single morning when I open my eyes and realize I am truly home. I never would have dreamed such a thing was possible before I met you, Shepard." Tali spun in a circle, her long black hair flying free without the constraints of her suit and facemask. "It's positively wonderful!" She paused as a thought struck her. "Medica. Can you activate your mobile unit please?"

Both Liara and Shepard turned toward the quiet sound of servos as a platform in the adjacent room came to life. "My pleasure, Tali." An obviously custom platform walked in and faced the visitors. "It is an honor to meet both of you, Captain Shepard and Doctor T'Soni. Tali speaks highly of you."

Liara leaned forward to inspect the machine before catching herself and pulling back upright. "I'm sorry. May I give your chassis a closer inspection? It's... you are a work of art!"

"By all means, Dr T'Soni. Tali and I worked together to design it. Standard platforms have their uses, but a medical unit such as this needs higher dexterity and smaller hands for more detailed work. I do believe this unit is also more visually pleasing to the patient, setting them more at ease before we accomplish any necessary procedures."

Standing at more of a distance, Shepard saw some distinct similarities with another AI she happened to know. "I see a definite influence of Edi in your design, Tali. Don't let Joker see Medica... you might be presented with a request for an additional platform."

"Oh, don't I know it!" Tali laughed freely, a wonderfully musical sound that warmed Shepard's heart. "But he wouldn't be the first. I've already sold three additional medical units. There is no limit on the options available, since each is hand-built... including a full kit covering any medical specialty tools required."

"She's fascinating, Tali!" Liara's face held a wide smile as she pulled back from Medica's mobile unit. "You know, if you have any desire to increase your sales, I would be more than happy to fund the construction of a production facility."

"I'd take you up on it, Liara, but it's not worth it – Medica and I have already done a market analysis. We'll easily recoup the cost of constructing a few units by hand, but never cover the cost of building a production center." Seeing the doubting look on Liara's face, Tali continued, "You must remember that Quarians are _expert_ tinkers... and the SILC are already redesigning themselves with more specialized platforms, depending on what they find themselves doing. It won't be long before a plethora of various models and options will be available to any who want them, assuming most don't simply build what they need for themselves."

"You are correct, of course." Liara smiled and continued, "I simply offered before thinking it through... but it certainly doesn't take away from your accomplishment!"

" _Our_ accomplishments. Medica conversed with a number of runtimes on the final design and many had excellent suggestions that were implemented before construction." Tali's eyes narrowed. "And, speaking of construction... I recently received a small ship that supposedly required a bit of work." Tali focused totally on the Asari. "Having to install only a single, fully assembled, customized pilot's chair does NOT count as work, Liara T'Soni. Why in the galaxy would you gift me such a valuable thing as the _Kaliope_... or, should I say, the _Rakhana_?" She laughed at their surprise. "You must remember I travelled on her for the Heretic Station mission. I never forget a ship I've traveled on... no matter what you may have done to disguise her."

Liara glanced at Shepard, who stepped forward and took the young Quarian's hand. "Because that ship is not near as valuable as your safety is to me... and we have not yet spoken of everything going on in the galaxy." Shepard paused and drew a deep breath before telling Tali of her plan to leave the Alliance, finishing with, "As such, Judea took it upon herself to design a Spectre ship for me... above and beyond the one we already had planned as a replacement for the _Aletheia_. She's a beautiful, top-of-the-line war frigate." She stopped and pulled up her omnitool, passing the specs to Tali. As the Quarian looked over the plans, Shepard continued, "So, when this tour is over, we'll permanently retire the _Aletheia_ to the Estate as the house luxury transport and move the commandos over as our primary Spectre ground team."

"And that left the Brokerage with an extra ship which was honestly too small to be effective outside of wartime." Liara shrugged. "Given your position here as an Admiral, along with everything else going on out here in the Rim and Veil, we thought it a prudent investment to provide you with a personal transport so you would not be dependent on anyone else should you need to leave Rannoch... quickly... if you get my meaning."

"I do... and I now understand better why you would do such a thing." She stepped up to Liara and hugged her tightly. "Thank you." Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she turned to Shepard and grinned. "And you... For being such a big and tough Spectre, you sure are a softie, Shepard."

"Only for those I hold close to my heart, Tali'Zorah." Shepard pulled up the ship specs again. "Now, speaking of ships, what do you think...?"

She got no further before Tali interrupted her. "Yes."

"Yes to what?" Shepard looked up at the Quarian, confused. "I haven't asked my question yet?"

"I see you have the crew roster attached and your Engineering-Maintenance position is open." Tali shrugged. "I would be honored to fill that slot, Shepard, and no, I don't need to think about it. Though, I do need to speak to Judea about the placement of the defensive cannons on the aft portion of the wing. I'm afraid there will be too much vibration and they will need constant recalibration. We can fix it easily with either a..."

Her voice tapered off and she stopped speaking as Shepard raised a hand, indicating a halt. "Easy there, Tali." The Spectre let out a sigh. "I'll be honest; we haven't even started to think about crew positions yet, other than the obvious."

"If that's true, then who is this Lusmeni Thoni?" Tali's voice held more than a hint of challenge.

Shepard laughed softly and replied, "An excellent pilot who worked at the Estate with Aethyta during the war. She was a member of the Armali Strike Force until they were nearly wiped out by the Reapers... and she comes highly recommended by both Liara's father and Captain T'Geya, also former ASF and currently the Supply and Acquisitions Chief for Matriarch Mozia at T'Soni House Armali."

The Spectre smiled and glanced at Liara, the answer coming through the link before she even asked the question. "And if you truly mean it, I'd love to have you. You've certainly proven your credentials with us... many times over!"

Liara stepped in and hugged her tightly. "Welcome to the crew, Tali'Zorah vas _Knight Shade_!"

"Isn't that a poisonous plant on Earth?" Tali wrinkled her nose and they all broke out in laughter as their little Quarian growled, "That's almost as bad as vas Qwib Qwib!"

* * *

As the planetary tours began, it was quickly explained to Shepard and Liara that many of the Quarian people had returned to the historic capital of Sclifosi on the southern continent. There, they reinhabited long abandoned homes and, once the soil was tilled and their crops planted, they worked at reviving ancient factories. Both had happened quickly with the assistance of the SILC and Shepard was happy to see a thriving city instead of the usual rubble and despair.

Even though she honestly didn't _want_ to see them, Shepard was disturbed by the quite obvious absence of both Admirals Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen at the formal welcome ceremony... and any of the follow-on events. She eventually managed to find a quiet corner for a private conversation with Zaal'Koris, who relayed surprising news. "They're gone, Shepard. Xen first left near the end of September. She came and went a few times, but never stayed around long. Gerrel's latest departure was just a few days ago... it's nothing unusual, and I assumed it was due to your impending arrival." Koris actually smirked as he continued, "As we are both aware, you are not exactly one of Gerrel's favorite persons."

"We had heard about Xen, but Gerrel? Though it's not surprising, I suppose." Shepard sighed. "But I'd still be a lot more comfortable if I had some idea where they've gotten off to... especially Xen. She's dangerously brilliant."

"Ha! I do believe that's the most accurate description I've heard for her yet, Captain." Koris smiled lightly. "I promise you... If I hear anything, I'll be sure to relay the information to Raan and Tali. I'm sure you'll hear it shortly thereafter."

"Thank you, Admiral. I appreciate the assistance... and know that you'll have my full support if Gerrel and Xen decide to do anything rash."

"I appreciate that offer more than you know. May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars, Captain. Fly well." With that, Zaal'Koris stepped away, mixing back into the social and vanishing quickly into the crowd.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Caleston Rift, At Large**

The rest of January passed quickly with four additional stops across two clusters and four systems. Even Arvuna, the moon of domed cities, had been a decent visit with no assassination attempts materializing – Atlas had seen to that with remarkably quiet efficiency. The entire Broker team was amazed by the well planned and executed operations; they were further impressed by the complete lack of collateral damage and total failure to make any sort of galactic news while thoroughly removing any threat to the Normandy squad.

While in the capital city of Asa, Shepard had called Sharon Culver from atop the wall where her dear friend had nearly died, informing the commander of Alliance Special Operations of her plans for the future. "What is it about Asa and life-changing events, Sam?" Sharon smiled softly as she continued, "As much as I hate to see you leave the Alliance, I think it's a good move. There are too many conflicts of interest; it's hard to serve two masters, Shep, and I think you're right to choose being a Spectre. As corny as this is going to sound, you're too big for Earth... there's no Alliance job suitable for one of your fame. Hell, as a Spectre, you outrank the Admiral of the Fleet! How in the galaxy is that supposed to work?"

Shepard laughed as Liara wrapped her arms around her from behind and inserted herself into Sharon's view by placing her chin on Samantha's shoulder. "Thank you, Sharon, for confirming what I've been trying to tell her for _months_!"

Culver chuckled as she replied, "Good to know I'm not the only one trying to stuff sense into her head... but that reinforced skull makes it hard to get things in sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Hey, now!" Shepard grinned. "I didn't call you so you could team up to insult me!"

"Damn, Shepard." Sharon smiled and let out a quiet sigh. "It's great to see you, but I've got to get back to work." Her eyes travelled between the Captain and Liara. "I'm looking forward to the bonding. I won't miss it for anything... I swear. I'll see you on Thessia."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Utukku, Mulla Xul**

The start of February brought the Normandy to Utukku, the new home of the Rachni. Between setting foot once more on the planet and her recent conversation with Wrex, Shepard couldn't help but think of Grunt and his near death during their search for the missing Krogan scouts. Surprisingly... because he had survived and the sound of his funny little laugh had wormed its way into her mind... she couldn't keep herself from smiling. Liara heard the thoughts and smiled as well, reaching out for the Spectre's hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

They turned toward a scuttling sound off to their right to see the large bulk of the Queen appear over a rock outcropping, accompanied by a number of attendant workers, a few soldiers and a Drell. Shepard had expected an Asari so was surprised... but quickly realized she had made a rash assumption simply because of having met Dalyna Trapso on Illium. The Drell approached quickly and introduced himself. "Captain Shepard. My name is Dazzo Thalan and I currently serve as the Queen's translator."

He held his hand out to the side and the Queen reached forward to gently attach a tentacle to the offered limb; almost immediately, the Drell began to speak in the oddly familiar cadence. "Your song is happy... and your colors much brighter than when last we met. It is... pleasurable... to sing with you once more."

"Agreed. I know our message has been relayed through Matron Trapso and Sharp, but I wanted to personally thank you for all your assistance with the construction of the Crucible... and for your warm welcome today. I, too, am happy to see you again... running free of the Reapers."

As Shepard took a step closer to the Queen, her soldiers seemed to stand taller and close in, retreating just as quickly following a few indecipherable clicks emanating from the Queen's chitinous mouth. The Spectre held out her hand. "I had hoped that perhaps we could communicate directly, without the need for an intermediate... so that you could truly sense the earnestness of my thanks."

The Queen stepped back, worrying Shepard that she had somehow offended her, eased only when the Drell spoke again. "We are pleased by your offer but are concerned for your wellbeing. Translation requires much practice and can be very... intrusive... to the uninitiated."

"I have something of an advantage over most." She held her other hand out and Liara quickly took it. "I am permanently linked with Dr T'Soni in an unusual relationship known to the Asari as _Inanna_. Even when we are not touching, we share minds... so if we link with you, you would likely experience contact with both our minds at once."

The Queen's mandibles clattered with what could only be interpreted as excitement as the Drell said, "Such an experience would be... unique... to us. We would appreciate the opportunity to sing as a ... trio... of three races."

Her tentacle retreated from the Drell and he blinked a couple of times before advising. "Perhaps you should sit, as the initial contact can be quite unsettling. Each experience is different, but given the Rachni mode of communication, especially in her excited state, you may be initially overwhelmed by colors and... _music_... is the only word I can think of to describe it. Instead of simply sitting on the side, it will be as if you are sitting in the center of the symphony while a kaleidoscope of colored lights flash on and off in your mind. It can be quite disorienting."

They nodded and, without speaking a word aloud, took two steps forward before sitting cross-legged on the ground; raising their joined hands, they offered themselves to the Rachni Queen. The initial surge of swirling colors had them both very glad they had been told to sit down for the experience. What followed was not truly what could be called a conversation, but more of a merging of minds, the Rachni's form of communication so much more than an Asari meld, which now seemed to be a rudimentary method of exchange by comparison.

The Queen absorbed the level of devotion between Shepard and Liara... and their joint dedication to the cause of bringing peace to the galaxy. On the other hand, Liara and Shepard learned many things about the Rachni of which they were not previously aware. The Queen did not require a brood mate – she carried the genetic material of multiple fathers within her, which explained Saren's ability to grow a new Rachni horde from a single queen egg.

They also learned of the Queen's true potential... that she could lay a massive number of eggs every few hours; enough to generate an entire Rachni colony in less than a week if absolutely required; a skill which was understood and exploited by the Reapers. Her thoughts and emotions instantly soothed their concerns that she would ever perform such an act on her own. Words found their way through the cacophony of light and song. _We vow to never let the Rachni race become a threat by overpopulation – as the Krogan... and we... once did. We do not wish to suffer a repeat of that same fate or to be consigned to the great silence ever again._

Both Shepard and Liara were astounded at the complexity of thoughts and ideas that moved between them as they were shown the wonderfully long and peaceful history of the Rachni before and between the 'sour notes of the Reapers.' They had no idea what happened after that, as they awoke together, much later, stretched out flat on a hastily constructed platform that served as a bed. An unconcerned Karin Chakwas leaned over them, checking their vitals for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Thank God!" Karin exclaimed. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to spend the whole night here, simply waiting for you to wake up!"

Shepard blinked and sat up while Liara simply groaned and covered her eyes, mumbling, "Goddess... What a headache!"

"I can believe it." Karin pulled up her scans and glanced through them quickly. "The amygdala and hippocampal regions in your brains were excessively active... as if you were experiencing extremely vivid dreams... yet you were wide awake. The Queen sensed you had reached your limits, prompting her to withdraw rather suddenly... just before you both passed out."

Shepard swung her legs off the side of the platform and rubbed the back of her neck to ease the tension there as she asked, "Any idea what in Hell happened?"

"Yes." Karin handed her an eezo bar and water as she answered, "Eat and drink and your symptoms should pass relatively quickly. The Queen apologized profusely through Mr Thalan. She claimed she was taken up by the thrill of the discussion; that she could not recall having ever experienced such a thing with any non-Rachni species through the entirety of the generational knowledge passed from queen to queen."

She paused in her story to help Liara sit up before she handed the same items to the Asari. "You as well, Liara. You both expended a lot of energy in a very short time and are rather dehydrated, which explains your headaches."

Talking around the chunk of bar in her mouth, Shepard queried, "So how did we end up here?"

"Being so caught up as she was, the Queen was unaware of your distress until your joined minds actually... paused is what she called it. Your brains simple ceased to transmit; only for the briefest of moments, but enough for your thoughts to catch up to the conversation and make an attempt to continue the conversation." Karin shook her head. "You're both lucky she recognized the event for what it was... and she immediately broke the connection. The Rachni immediately picked you up and brought you here, while Mr Thalan explained to the crew exactly what happened and had them summon me from the Normandy as a precaution."

"We need to tell her we're fine, so she can stop worrying." Liara took a deep calming breath, the headache already beginning to recede.

"No need." Karin hitched her thumb toward a drone squatting quietly in the corner. "She left an observer and, as it was explained to me, she sees everything he does. I imagine she may already be on her way here... having seen you regain consciousness and sit up."

Shepard looked at the drone and smiled as she asked Karin, "How long were we out?"

"You've been sleeping for six hours... which is amazing, considering you only... _spoke_... with the Queen for three and a half minutes."

"Holy shit!" Shepard's head snapped back to Karin before turning to Liara, who was looking back at her in awed silence as Samantha continued, "Seriously? If Liara and I had sat down to have that discussion, it would have taken... I don't know... easily a couple of hours!"

"Then let us be glad you are such a consummate blend of warrior and politician, that you were able to work such a miracle." Karin smiled at the couple as she continued, "And bring the Rachni along to help us defeat the Reapers. They are apparently too magnificent a race to have been consigned to extinction."

Shepard stood slowly and stretched. "That, my dear Aunt Karin, is exactly the point the Queen wanted to make... to ensure their future, as well as their past, was known and secured." She turned back to the bed and offered a hand to Liara. "Come on, Blue. We have some farewells to make and a seriously long report to write. I'm definitely going to need your help explaining what we just experienced."


	67. Positive Outlooks

Notes:

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

Reaper IFF - Special navigational unit to increase the accuracy of a relay jump to the Galactic Core and the Collector's home base via the Omega-4 Relay.

 _Rouladen_ – A Turian roll of tenderized meat containing pickled vegetable, tangy sauce and covered in gravy. The human equivalent is made with pickles, mustard, onions, and beef with beef gravy (Source: Spirit of Redemption Wiki)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **Positive Outlooks**

 **Omega Station, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

"About fucking time you got those LEAP idiots under control, Shepard." The Queen of Omega stood sensuously from her couch and sauntered toward her and the remainder of the Normandy entourage. "Since the last time we chatted, it seems both of us have been presented with a number of, shall we say, _interesting_ challenges." Aria closed the distance but, surprisingly, refrained from touching the Spectre, detecting an unexpected calm surrounding the Asari standing at Shepard's side. _It's no fun to tease if T'Soni isn't going to make a big fuss about it._ "I'm glad, because I wouldn't want to be blamed if the assholes lucked into actually making one of you dead while you were visiting me. I don't believe even Omega could recover if we gained a reputation for that."

"The group's only reason for existing in the first place was for the insanely single-minded purpose of murdering Liara and, if possible, me... but I had less to do with it than you might think, Aria." Shepard paused for a moment at the thought from her _Ionúin Álainn_ , before continuing in a subdued voice. "The woman at the top was once captain of the _SSV Madrid_... the cruiser tasked with the recovery of those who survived the Collector's destruction of the Normandy SR-1 over Alchera."

After feeling a wave of anguish pass through the link, Shepard gave Liara a glance before quickly getting to the point. "Jessica Mikhailovich was drummed out of the Alliance for dereliction of duty, primarily because of her decision to leave the Amada System before completing an extensive search for possible survivors… me being only one of many who ended up lost in the frozen wastes of Alchera. Mikhailovich blamed Liara's scathing report to Hackett for her discharge; her grudge against Liara grew and festered until she was finally in a position to do something about it."

The blue hand on her upper arm tightened its grip slightly in anger as Aria replied, "All the murders, explosions with collateral damage to innocents, just because of an unsatisfied hatred against T'Soni? What the hell, Shepard?" Studying the abrupt change in Liara's eyes and face suddenly convinced Aria that she had been correct in her prediction that Liara and Shepard would be the galaxy's up and coming power couple. The seemingly innocent archeologist possessed a titanium core... and with Liara's unparalleled success as an Information Broker, she had become something much more – a unique combination of adept and vanguard and, apparently, the perfect partner to compliment Shepard's fighting prowess. Aria had heard the stories about the battle against the Shadow Broker forces across Illium that had laid waste to a good portion of the city... _Certainly no love lost there_... and it actually scared her a bit to realize Liara T'Soni was someone who would fight any and all, to the death if necessary, to protect her relationship with the one person in the galaxy she loved with all her heart.

As Aria contemplated the pair in front of her, a Turian female walked out to join Aria. "Hello Shepard. Good to see you again... and this must be Liara T'Soni."

"Kandros." Shepard smiled at Nyreen as she replied, "It's good to see you as well." Turning towards Liara, Shepard introduced her to the Turian. "Nyreen fought beside us when we kicked Cerberus off this station… She has some wickedly honed biotics."

Liara knew very well who Nyreen Kandros was, but immediately realized Samantha was doing this for the show simply because Nyreen was not aware of that fact. So, she played along and smiled softly as she traded brief pleasantries with the pair. Assuming the schedule hadn't changed, Aria had other business to attend to so they would be spending most of their time over the next couple of days with the Turian ex-Cabal agent – giving them an excellent opportunity to get caught up on the true status of Omega Station.

* * *

Evening fell and Nyreen looked the Asari over with a critical eye. Aria was lying in their bed, waiting for Nyreen to douse the lights and join her. "What's the trouble, T'Loak? Shepard and Liara being on Omega cannot possibly have soured your mood _that_ much since our playtime this morning."

Aria pinched her temples between thumb and fingers as she growled out a response. "Seeing that pair together… I don't think I've ever seen a couple so damned connected, Nyreen." Aria sighed as Nyreen slid in beside her and began using her talons to gently tease a delectable pair of bare breasts. "Truth be told, I'm actually a bit jealous of those two… what they have together." She moved her hand to caress a mandible as she looked into the Turian's eyes. "I've heard rumors about those two, Nyreen – that they're permanently linked, as if in a meld, but not. It's said they've been connected so since before the start of the Reaper War… in a state referred to by the Asari as _Inanna_ – Athame's tits, Nyreen! Their souls are permanently joined... and they don't even have to be in physical contact with each other."

Nyreen chuckled lightly, the flanging in her voice adding a quality to it that endeared the Turian to Aria that much more. "You're jealous of them being permanently linked? Spirits! That sounds like the worst idea ever! I can't imagine how miserable you would be if I could see everything you did... every evil thought that crossed your mind... every new dancer you _tested_ for more than just her dancing ability." She caressed Aria's side, armpit to hipbone and back as she touched her forehead to her lover's. "We have each other for now. We make love, you meld with me – which, by the way, is the best part of sex with you – then you withdraw and we go to sleep. I wouldn't trade places with them for anything, T'Loak."

* * *

It seemed as if all the plans they had been making were finally coming together. Shepard's initial dealings with Nyreen had borne fruit; somehow, the Turian had convinced Aria to settle in for the long haul and, together, they had begun making amazing strides in the wards, encouraging a number of legitimate businesses to move in by providing guarantees they wouldn't be hustled out of business by any of the resident gangs. Said guarantees were skillfully ensured by Nyreen and the Talons; after having taken over the station's defense during a time of crisis and working to save the occupants from Cerberus tyranny, the Talons had a reputation for fairness that was backed up by both the will and the capability to enforce the rules against those who chose to ignore them.

To make things even better, Aria had come to Shepard asking about the timeline for the disassembly of the Omega-4 relay, a question the Spectre was more than prepared to answer. "We're ready whenever you are, Aria." Shepard shrugged casually. "Say the word and I'll have a SILC team here and working within twelve hours. You're only a single hop from Tassrah."

"Then I'm saying the word, Shepard," Aria growled. "Last fucking thing I need is your displaced LEAP assholes looking for a new home right outside my backdoor... and I won't trust that, as ex-Cerberus, they don't have their hands on your special Reaper IFF. It would be a great way for them to drop out of sight for awhile to rebuild." An evil smile crawled onto her face as she continued, "And if they've already snuck through? All the better to trap them there."

Shepard offered no direct reply; instead, she placed a call back to the ship. "Edi. Please relay to Legion that Operation Omega-4 is a go. Immediate deployment."

"Understood, Captain." Edi paused for only a moment. "Message received. Legion estimates arrival of the task force at Omega in 8 hours, 23 minutes."

"Shit, Shepard. You weren't joking around." Aria looked honestly surprised.

The Spectre grinned slyly as she responded, "I aim to _not_ jerk around my allies, Aria. Does bad things to the level of trust I'm trying to build."

Aria chuckled as she asked, "Is that what we are now, Shepard? Allies?"

"Shit." Shepard grimaced at the revelation. "I guess we are, T'Loak. I guess we are."

Aria simply laughed, thoroughly enjoying herself as Shepard turned and left Afterlife behind.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Terminus Systems, At Large**

With a series of four stops over the next two weeks, the Normandy crew was constantly on the move, with the last stop of the four being Garvug. Evenings, however, had been relatively peaceful for a change – particularly on travel days – and Shepard and Liara took advantage of the private time, both for strategizing for their future and for making sure they took time to enjoy the present. Fingers intertwined behind her head, Shepard was stretched out on the bed and she was staring out the skylight at the stars passing by as they traveled between the Decoris and Skepsis Systems of Sigurd's Cradle.

They had just made love and Liara was nestled into the crook of her shoulder, running her fingers absentmindedly across the hard lines of Shepard's abdominal muscles. A quick, soft peck on the cheek was preceded by a question. " _Siame_? What do you think we'll do first, upon reaching Thessia?"

Sam smiled, the corner of her mouth being teased by the still present lips of her lover. "I don't know, Li. You talking full time... or when we get there for St Patty's day?"

"Full time." Liara sighed contentedly and continued, "After the tour, after the speeches... after the _Alliance_." The last was said with a bit of a bite.

"Well... I'll still be a Spectre, but I plan on requesting a full sixty days... See if the Council is any more accommodating than the Alliance Defense Committee." Shepard rolled up onto her side, facing Liara with her head lying on her bent elbow, flat against the pillow. She wrapped a leg around Liara's and pulled the Asari close, pausing in her words long enough to steal a protracted kiss, finally finishing, "... to make sure we have enough time for a formal bonding. When do we need to start planning that?"

"For a formal bonding within a major house?" Liara chuckled softly. "Ohhhh, about six months ago." She smiled and stole another quick kiss from the heavily sighing Captain. "Don't worry, Sam. I cheated and contacted Lyessa back in August."

Shepard's eyes widened in surprise and she pushed Liara onto her back, looming over her and staring down into twinkling ocean blue eyes. "Liara T'Soni... You minx! When were you going to tell me that?"

Laughing, Liara responded, "Whenever you got around to asking me about it... and I thought you would be in a panic, but you were so calm with my initial response, it took all the fun out of it, so I simply told you the rest."

Green eyes sparked with amusement. "So, do you and Lyessa have it all well in hand, or is there something I'm supposed to be doing?"

"You're fine, _Siame_. We'll be busy when we first arrive... or at least I will be. I'll have gown fittings on top of everything else... while you will simply be in your Spectre dress uniform." Liara rolled her eyes as she said, "But we'll both have sessions with our bonding mentors. Welcome to being in a serious relationship with an Asari."

"Bonding mentors? For what? Is the process that complicated?"

Liara drew a deep breath; Samantha was so close... just the smell of her was enticing and making it difficult for Liara to concentrate on anything other than the lips asking suddenly very inane seeming questions. "No, Shepard, but you do need to be prepared... the mentoring isn't for the ritual itself, but for what comes after." Liara pushed up and kissed her lover, running a tongue across tantalizing lips that she was sincerely hoping would fall silent, but Shepard persisted.

"After? As in consecrating the bonding after? That's kind of private... Isn't it?" Shepard was suddenly very nervous. "You know, there are some cultures on Earth that used to require someone being present to... verify... the deed. Seal the deal... take the virginity..."

"Oh Goddess, Shepard! Do shut up and kiss me!" Liara surged upward and rolled the Captain over onto her back, dipping in quickly for a passionate kiss as her hands wandered downward, wrapping around Samantha's hips and pulling the woman tightly to her as she moaned in desire. "Please, Sam. Make love to me again?" Her lips fell silently on a breast and a blue hand slid between white legs, softly stroking a quickly hardening nub.

Shepard groaned softly as her abs tightened and her hips rolled up... searching. Her head fell back to the pillow as she squeaked, "I believe you're beating me to it, Blue," as the first hints of wetness informed Liara that she should continue whatever it was she was doing.

A tongue flicked a hard nipple as Liara mumbled between teeth gently gripping the same. "I'm perfectly willing to go first, my _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _."_

Shepard knew she was lost and growled quietly, "Gods, you know it drives me crazy when you speak to me in Gaelic."

* * *

 **Garvug, Paz System, Valhallan Threshold**

"Shepard!" She heard her name only an instant before she heard the rumble of a large mass moving quickly toward her. She barely turned in time to be facing the large Krogan who struck her soundly atop her right shoulder, making the stability servos in her armor struggle to keep her upright. Even then, she was forced to take a step sideways to compensate for the blow to the side of her left arm that immediately followed the first.

"Hello, Grunt." Shepard activated the strength enhancers in her armor and added an additional little bump of biotics as she punched the young Krogan in his chest, forcing him to take a step backward. "You're looking good!"

"Heh, heh, heh." His face was swallowed by a huge, toothy grin. "It's good to see you, Battlemaster! I understand you may have finally come up with a truly challenging task for me." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Though I can't believe it's going to be anywhere near as tough as the Collectors or the Reapers. Now, _those_ were good fights!"

"I don't know, Grunt. Did Wrex tell you about the beginnings of Garvug and the mess it is now?"

The Krogan huffed, "Yeah. But the old man likes to exaggerate, so I never know what to believe until I see it myself."

Laughing, Shepard found it hard to respond. "This one's no exaggeration. Hope you brought your best."

"My best?" Grunt jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "This here is my private squad. The Overlord told me to bring everyone, so the rest will be here within the hour, including your potential recruit, Hailot Jatok. What's the plan?"

"We'll start with the capital... Dhazil. Take that and establish an Urdnot stronghold. After that, you'll slowly eradicate every Blood Pack Battlemaster and take over the gang's territory and the loser's soldiers." Shepard watched the grin fade as Grunt started to think about the implications.

"So this is my Tuchanka," Grunt growled. "I need to do what Wrex did. Show up and kick some quad before I ask them to declare their loyalty... then kill the Pyjaks who won't... until I control the majority of the planet." He snorted. "I don't know, Shepard. It might take awhile, but it's straightforward. I like it. Should be pretty simple."

"Simple?" Shepard smiled and shook her head in disbelief. "You need to gain control of the commercial areas as well as the entire equatorial farming zone and be able to ensure the safety of the people who will live here!"

Grunt shrugged. "And?"

At that, Shepard laughed outright. "That's my boy!" She controlled her laugher and continued quietly. "There are a number of corporate eco-engineering efforts trying to implement sustainable agri- and aqua-culture practices. The rogue Krogan and Vorcha packs are a constant threat; they continuously raid the seed stock so the farms never have a real chance to get established. The corporations pay mercenaries well to keep their operations safe... but the mercenaries aren't succeeding. So, you're the more permanent solution; you need to wipe out the raiders and offer those corporations a more successful... and cheaper... alternative."

"How much cheaper?" Shepard refused to answer and Grunt harrumphed when he realized why. "A lot cheaper... because we'll do it for free... as long as they become taxpaying corporations under the Tuchanka banner, seeing as the Krogan are the rightful Citadel-granted owners of Garvug."

"Good job, Grunt. You've got the basic idea." Shepard grinned and slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Now. You've got the Normandy ground crew and an Asari commando team for three days. We need to have Dhazil by the time I leave because my next stop is Erinle, where I'm going to bargain with Dalatrass Gurji for a Salarian genetic specialist to head the reef revitalization project for you. Then, I'll line up a SILC team or two to construct a couple of Shrouds here... and whatever else is necessary to ensure your success. When we're all done, the Krogan will once again have a golden fishing world here."

"Three days, huh." Grunt pulled up a map of the city on his omnitool. "Then we've got less than an hour to come up with the plan. When Aralakh gets here, they'll be itching for a fight... and I want to have one to give them."

With the full weight of Aralakh bearing down upon it, along with the Normandy and the _Aletheia_... as well as all the ground personnel that came with the two ships... the battle for the capital only took two days. Shepard was quite pleased with Hailot Jatok and welcomed him to her Spectre crew. "You'll be the envy of the Krogan, Jat!" Shepard grinned at the 500-year-old warrior. "For the interim period while we finish this damned Victory Tour, you'll be traveling aboard the T'Soni Flagship, the _Aletheia_ – known for her participation in the final battle against the Reapers on Earth... and currently staffed by six commandos of Dr T'Soni's personal guard."

"Will there be any fights?" The warrior frowned and prepared to be disappointed; it was starting to sound more like a political job than a military one.

"Eventually." Shepard smiled. "If you work out, you'll be commanding my second Spectre ground squad... and helping me hand pick who will be on it. You up for it?"

"It will be an honor, Shepard," he growled. "I won't let Urdnot Grunt... or you... down. Besides... Commander Jatok has a good ring to it. You help me pick a good crew and we'll be ready for anything you can throw us into, Spectre."

* * *

 **Erinle, Osun System, Hourglass Nebula**

The Normandy's last stop of February was Erinle... a failing garden world where even Salarian scientists had been unable to restore the planet's fauna biodiversity. When the ship sat down at the spaceport of the capital, Orisha, they were met by a full honor guard and Dalatrass Jaralla Gurji. "Welcome to my home, Spectre... Dr T'Soni. Your reputations, and those of your crew, most certainly precede you, and it is my honor to host all of you during your visit here."

"Thank you, Dalatrass." Shepard stood tall, shoulders squared, as she looked past Gurji to the honor guard beyond and projected her voice so all could hear. "And thanks to all of you... It is my understanding that when the Reapers arrived here, they got a lot more than they bargained for. Your outstanding efforts are commendable and you have my personal thanks for coming to Earth when called for the final battle. The soldiers of Erinle made a difference and you should all be proud!"

"Thank you, Captain, for affirming that our efforts did not go unnoticed." The Dalatrass flashed a quick Salarian smile. "Now, if you could come with me, please, we have a welcome luncheon to be followed by a quick tour of our primary agriculture farms and mineral and fuel mining facilities." The Dalatrass waited until the Spectre and Liara had joined her before she turned and began walking. "We then have a sunset memorial service to end your _official_ day. Dinner will be served at the soldiers' mess, so you may mingle with the troops and then, if it is acceptable to you, tomorrow morning we will meet in my offices to discuss... other things. I realize your time here is short and we have much to talk about, do we not?"

Shepard smiled. "Our time _is_ short – only two days instead of the normal three or four – and yes, we do have a lot of ground to cover. That schedule sounds perfect, Dalatrass."

"Please, Captain. When we are speaking privately, feel free to refer to me as Jaralla. As much as so many strive to achieve it, the title of Dalatrass is a burden I sometimes wish to shed." She paused and looked Shepard in the face as she stated, "A sentiment with which I am sure you can relate."

Against her better judgment, Shepard found herself liking this Dalatrass, even while wondering if Jaralla truly felt that way about being the leader of Erinle or if it was simply a political ruse. Even so, she smiled and nodded. "I most certainly can... Jaralla. And please, feel free to call me Shepard; I know using my last name still seems somewhat formal, but only close family calls me by my given name. I guess it's just a thing. Even Liara normally calls me Shepard everywhere but our private quarters." She grinned and let out a little laugh. "Sometimes, even there."

"So be it... Shepard." Jaralla smiled, honestly liking the Spectre and suddenly feeling very much at ease with the Human. _Unusual candor for her race. How refreshing!_

* * *

They spent the morning in earnest discussion, no one getting pushy and no one getting angry or spiteful. Shepard and Liara had been relieved to find a Salarian very much like Mordin... earnest with a surprisingly good sense of humor... and very easy to talk to. Jaralla did not equivocate; she said what she meant in a very calm and respectful manner and they soon found an agreement.

"So let us state this all together for the record. You are willing to assist the Krogan on Garvug in two endeavors. First, you will provide genetic specialists to help them restore the natural biodiversity of both flora and fauna of the planet's native species. Second, you will provide the resources to construct two Shroud facilities to restore the atmosphere. In exchange, I will first make an open declaration to the Council in support of the immediate restoration of the full membership representation of the Salarian peoples to Councilor Valern. Second, I will also recommend the other punishment, involving the monetary payments for one year to the Galactic Council's Orphaned Children's Fund, be reduced to six months."

"Agreed." Jaralla nodded and continued, "We concur that this entire accord is contingent upon your endorsement and the subsequent appointment of Mannovai Selok Ilhänl Duran Kirova Esheel as the new chair of the Salarian Union Leadership Circle which, dependent upon your approval of said candidate, will be granted at the conclusion of your visit to Mannovai on the 9th of March. It is also understood that said Council reinstatement would be only one month prior to the existing date of termination for the subject expulsion, resulting in the waiving of the financial levies being the greater of the two... _incentives_.

Shepard stood and held out her hand to the Dalatrass. "Agreed."

Jaralla stood and took the offered hand willingly, smiling as she responded, "It is good to be once more working for the Council, rather than in opposition to it. Such... disagreements... do no one any good. Thank you, Spectre Shepard, for an enlightened and productive discussion."

Shepard smiled in return as their hands dropped. "If I may make a recommendation... Tolern Solus is currently working on Dekuuna. When he is done there, you should focus his energies on these two projects. He may very well be your very best scientist in the field of restorative genetics, but his disapproval of the Dalatrass' general lack of support toward the war efforts led him to chase personal endeavors. I can drop him a line regarding the upcoming change of leadership and direction... and he may be willing to help you."

"Mordin's nephew?" Jaralla's eyes opened wide in surprise. "I had tried to find him and turned up absolutely nothing! I assumed he had been forced to work in some secret lab on Sur'Kesh! How do you know of this?"

Shepard chuckled as she replied, "Because you're looking at the ones who arranged for his surreptitious transport off Sur'Kesh."

Jaralla actually grinned for more than a mere second as she replied, "I do believe I am going to enjoy working with you, Spectre Shepard. Very much so."

* * *

 **Palaven, Trebia, Apien Crest**

Desis Vyessan was nearly too tired to think, her movements all but mechanical as she slowly trudged towards the quarters she shared with the love of her life, Garrus Vakarian. Since just after the end of the Reaper War, her days had been overflowing with the nearly impossible task of finding ways to relieve the deprivation of the thousands upon thousands of children orphaned as a result of their parents' disappearances or deaths during the Reaper's assault on Palaven and its colonies. That she had been able to find some means to rescue so many in such a short time didn't impress her – as long as there was one child on the streets... hungry, scared, alone – she still had work to do. At the end of each day it seemed as if she hadn't made any progress at all.

Coming to a halt outside the door to her home, her attempt to input the alpha-numeric code in the correct sequence to release the lock met with failure twice before she finally mustered enough concentration to persuade the haptic interface to unlatch the door so she could enter. Inside with the hatch closed, she leaned against it, closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Garrus would arrive in forty minutes or so, giving her time to take a leisurely shower. The big guy always returned looking forward to a home-cooked meal; but, truth be told, she was simply too tired to prepare their meal tonight. She really didn't feel like doing anything, so moved into their lounge, activated the comms terminal and ordered a modest meal for the two of them... all to be delivered in forty-five to fifty minutes. With dinner taken care of, she walked to their bedroom to get undressed and step into the shower.

She had just finished getting dressed after her bath when Garrus came in, saying, "Dee! You home?" As he closed the door, she walking out of their bedroom; he quickly closed the distance and wrapped her in a huge hug. "I have some news, darling, but I'd like to tell you over dinner."

"Garrus, I'm so tired tonight, all I want to do is eat and crawl into bed. I ordered dinner to be delivered… should be here any minute." Stepping back from his embrace, she flared her mandibles as she yawned, invoking a deep chuckle from Garrus.

The entry request chime sounded, prompting Desis to release Garrus and go to the door, there to open it in order to take the delivery. After settling the bill, she took their dinner to their small dining area and set the dishes for both of them. "Come on, darling… I've been slaving over this meal for at least three minutes," she giggled. "Least you can do is eat it while it's still warm. Sit. I'll bring us some wine." Returning with a glass for each of them, she sat as she stated, "Okay,.. so, tell me your news. I hope it concerns a trip to a sunny beach somewhere."

Garrus shook his head from side-to-side as he replied, "No such luck, although it does involve travel for both of us." Taking a bite of his rouladen followed by a sip from his wine glass, he continued, "I received a message from the Normandy – the ship is currently at Illium – concerning a party that's in the early planning stages."

"What kind of party?"

"It's celebrating a religious figure from Shepard's home country on Earth… a Saint Patrick's Day celebration; it'll be held on the 17th of March aboard the Normandy while it's orbiting Thessia. According to T'Soni, the party is being openly planned with Shepard's knowledge; the so-called Victory Tour hasn't been any victory for Shepard – she has to relive the war's death and destruction at every stop she makes, plus those bastards from LEAP kept trying to kill her and Liara. We can thank the Spirits _that's_ over at least!" Garrus paused for another sip of wine; clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth, he said, "Damn! That is a very good wine."

Desis prompted, "You were saying?"

The big Turian looked at her, puzzlement in his eyes for a moment, before saying, "Oh, right… the party!" With an embarrassed tone echoing in his sub-harmonics, he continued, "It won't be a surprise for Shepard, but for her and most of the crew, the people coming aboard to help her celebrate _will_ be. The plan is for her mother, T'Soni's father and the commandos, plus Miranda and Oriana, Judea, Aresia, Kasumi and Colonel Falk, along with you and me, to all show up together as the festivities get started. Specialist Traynor will be procuring booze like what we had at the party on the Citadel; I'm assuming she won't forget to include dextro-based alcohol for us and Tali'Zorah."

Desis sipped wine from her own glass as she thought about the upcoming party. "I need a break, Garrus. Spirits, but I _do_ need a break, and this sounds like the perfect reason to get off-planet for a few days. Everything I'm doing can be handled by my staff during that time – Hell, they probably won't even realize I'm gone until I return. It'll be wonderful to finally meet the crew of the Normandy, plus all the other people important to Shepard's life... and yours."

Garrus hummed as he thought about what she'd said, responding with, "Then, let's take a full week, Dee. We deserve some time to ourselves – get a mental break from the recovery efforts."

Desis lifted her glass towards him, saying quietly, "That is something I can certainly drink to."

* * *

 **T'Soni House Armali, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

"Matriarch Aethyta! They said I had a call from Thessia and for the life of me I couldn't figure out who would be calling! It's so good to hear from you."

Hannah's face was bright with honest enthusiasm and Aethyta couldn't resist the temptation to tease her, starting out with small talk to relax the Human on the other end of the call. "Congratulations on making Rear Admiral; quite the accomplishment. What's in store for you next?"

"Oh, who knows? With all the ships that were destroyed, the chances of getting a dreadnaught anytime soon are pretty slim. I've always preferred space, but I don't know. Given all that's happened, perhaps it's time I settle in someplace where I can prop my feet up in front of a fire at night and read a good book."

Aethyta grinned, "If Shepard... Samantha... is anything like you, somehow that image doesn't seem right to me."

Hannah smiled in return. "No, I suppose not, but old age _and_ a galactic war changes a person... don't they?"

"Yeah. They do." Aethyta took a deep breath. "Listen. I figured you'd like to know the Normandy is holding a St Patty's day festival..." She watched Hannah's eyes light up as she continued, "...soooo, I bribed myself an invitation... and I think I need to bring a date."

Hannah concentrated for a moment on what Aethyta was saying before it finally dawned on her. "Oh. Oh! I... uh."

"Relax, Hannah. It's not a proposition." Aethyta laughed as she watched the older Shepard's face turn red. "I'm dating a fellow matriarch here. Merely making sure you get an invite, rather than trust it to Liara. She has a lot going on and it's easy enough for the T'Soni VIP transport to swing over to Arcturus to pick you up. I'm thinking it'd do Sh... Samantha... a world of good to have her momma show up."

Hannah nodded. "I agree. Thank you. You've got yourself a date, Aethyta. I don't need to worry about getting hunted down by some 'ex-commando captain' Asari Matriarch, do I?"

Aethyta chuckled; the woman's smile told her Hannah was joking. "No, Mozia's not the jealous type... and by no means commando material. Besides... We're too damn old to care about that shit anymore."

"Mozia?" Hannah's eyes opened wide. "That's the Regent of the estate, yes? Samantha's told me about her. Apparently a nice catch, Aethyta... a very nice catch. You'll have to tell me all about her at the party. In the mean time, I'll call Steven Hackett as soon as we get off this call to arrange the leave time. I assume it's on the 17th?"

"Yup." Aethyta grinned widely at the admiral's enthusiastic response. "We can arrive at Arcturus by noon and we'll easily catch up to the Normandy by 2 PM. We can return at your leisure; we have nothing but time, so we're on your schedule."

Hannah studied her calendar briefly before looking back up. "I'm pretty sure I can get three days, so I won't have to come back until the evening of the nineteenth."

"Excellent! We'll see you then. You know how to reach me if something changes." Aethyta smiled and waved at Hannah as her image faded away.

* * *

 **Mannovai, Relic, Eagle Nebula**

"So, how exactly does this work?" Shepard very much liked dealing with Esheel. She was abrupt and almost painfully honest... but she _was_ honest. Of course, there was no way to know if she would remain so once she received the much desired endorsement, but the galaxy never offered guarantees, so Shepard took their long, and rather involved, discussions at face value.

"Assuming your endorsement has the intended effect, I become the new leader of the Salarian Union." She blinked as if the words suddenly imparted the reality of it all to her. "My first acts will be those expected... I declare the Linron Clan persona-non-grata and then shift the capital to my offices in Ilhänl."

"What?" Shepard pulled her head up in surprise. "You'll relocate the capital of the Union?"

"But of course. Why would we meet in a place where we could potentially be surrounded by Linron assassins?" Esheel chuckled. "We'll eliminate any influence the Linron clan may have managed to hold on to, simply by moving the meeting place of the Leadership Circle to the Esheel stronghold. That's simply how we work, Shepard."

Liara smiled and helped Esheel explain. "Being one of the three original colonies, Mannovai has always been considered the most important Salarian world after Sur'Kesh, so there will be little resistance to such a move. It's been around long enough to have spawned its own colonies and is also home to two of the galaxy's more prestigious centers of advanced learning, Eeldich and Itarus Universities. This truly is nothing out of the ordinary, Captain."

"Then please excuse my ignorance. I honestly do need to learn more about each race's history and societal norms." She smiled softly as she continued, "Unlike Liara, I was raised as a simple soldier... not for this."

There was no humor whatsoever in Esheel's voice as she responded, "Few of us were, Spectre, yet the Reapers and the fate of the galaxy were thrust upon us still... and we must all rise to the occasion or we may yet perish in a sea of war and rebellion."

"Which is _exactly_ why I've agreed to this, Dalatrass." Shepard's humor disappeared like a puff of smoke in a heavy wind. "To prevent that very thing. We didn't come this far... we didn't sacrifice so many in order to defeat the Reapers... simply to let the galaxy tear itself apart in open revolution. Not while I'm still breathing, anyway."

"Which is exactly the attitude that put you in the unique position you now occupy, Captain." Esheel stood and canted her head in respect. "And the main reason I shall endeavor to ensure your life is a long one, Spectre Shepard... for, as odd as it may seem to some, our primary goal is the same."


	68. The Final Lap

Notes: While still more than half of this chapter, what follows is a relatively quick touch on the 'Hooley on the Normandy' story, as I don't intend to reiterate the 17k+ word, 3 chapter mini-story here. Apologies... both to those this disappoints and to those who feel I should have skipped it entirely to avoid the repetition. Also, any references to the Alliance for Change are born from the Cerberus Daily News Wiki.

 _Grá mo chroí -_ love of my heart (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **The Final Lap**

 **Normandy SR-2, Thessia Orbit, At Large**

"Captain, we're here." Joker's voice came over Shepard's private channel and she smiled.

"Thanks, Joker. Any sign of anyone else yet?" Shepard glanced at her chrono; she expected no one for at least thirty minutes.

"No, Ma'am. You want us in stealth mode?"

Shepard laughed, "No, Jeff. We actually want people to find us this time. I know... it's weird."

Joker let out a light chuckle. "You got that right! We've been doing this for months and I still feel like we should be running silent, operating in full stealth mode and scanning every system we enter... just because!"

Edi came on the line, "Normandy is locked in position, static defenses set and long-range scanners are activated, Captain."

"Thanks, Edi! Why don't you two lock down the bridge and come join the party? If something pops up, Edi can fly the Normandy from anywhere on the ship anyway, so you might as well relax and have some fun."

"You heard the captain, Edi, and damn, it still sounds strange to call her the captain. I've been referring to her as 'Commander' for so long, it's almost automatic."

* * *

Shepard smiled and turned to the bathroom and shouted to Liara. "You almost ready?"

Shepard was in her jeans and boots with her emerald-green button down shirt; she was very comfortable, it matched the occasion and the outfit was Liara's favorite, so there really wasn't any decision to be made. Liara stepped out of the bathroom in the full-length gown Shepard had first seen on Illium; it was emerald green to match Shepard's shirt, with a wide white stripe that ran top-to-bottom down the center of her front. She was pulling on the arm-length gloves as she spoke, "Yes, _Siame_."

She stopped and looked at Samantha appraisingly, raised her brow markings and held a hand out, swirling a finger in a circle. Shepard smiled and chuckled lightly as she slowly spun around. Liara stepped closer and ran her hand down Shepard's side and then across her butt as the Captain continued her turn. Liara's hand 'stuck' to Shepard's hip and she rolled Shepard into an embrace as she finished her circle. "Goddess forgive me, but I do _love_ the way you look in your jeans."

Shepard leaned her head forward and lightly touched her forehead to that of her lover. " _Grá mo chroí,_ you're just lucky we have guests coming or you'd never make it out of the room."

Liara laughed as she slapped Shepard on the behind. "You call _that_ lucky?"

"Liara T'Soni!" Shepard's eyes went wide in surprise. "You've been speaking with your father again, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have, but _that_ is beside the point." She smiled and gave Shepard a quick kiss before taking a step back and reaching for Samantha's hand. "I appreciated your outfit _long_ before I ever knew who my father was!"

With a smirk on her face, Shepard accepted Liara's hand and they walked together to the elevator to make their way to the crew deck.

* * *

As the T'Soni clan began to arrive, Shepard smiled as Liara greeted them with a smile and a welcoming hug. Shepard looked over at their lead analyst who had arrived on the new _Night Shadow_. "Yo! Miri? I gather you briefed them on the holiday accordingly, seeing as they all have at least something green attached to their persons?"

Miranda sauntered over and looked at Shepard critically. "You doing alright, Shepard? You still look like a little ragged around the edges... You should be relaxing and breathing a bit easier, now that this whole LEAP bullshit is done with."

"It's not over for us. Not yet. And won't be until this ridiculous Victory Tour is done and over with." Shepard frowned. "Besides, I'm all stressed over some of my crew flying around in a vessel I haven't seen and checked out for myself."

Her eyes drifted over to Liara before coming back to Miranda as the woman responded. "Uh uh. None of that now. This here's a festival and we plan on enjoying ourselves for the evening. Sorry I said anything." Miranda stepped up and gave Samantha a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. She stepped back and smiled as she reached over and took Judea's hand. "We can wrangle a tour for you and Liara tomorrow... _after_ we recover from the party."

Shepard gave Judea a quick hug. "Good to see you too, Jude. How's Miranda treating you?"

Judea smiled, "Better than any pilot deserves, Shepard. It pays to sleep with the boss."

Miranda slapped her on the shoulder and rolled her eyes. "Enough of that! Come on; let's say hi to the rest of the gang."

Shepard laughed as they walked away. "Be sure to talk to Liara, Jude... I can only hope she agrees with you!"

When those from the _Chiroquol_ arrived, Miranda rode the shuttle out with Cortez to pick up the crew. She immediately wrapped Oriana up in a tight embrace. "God, Ori! It's _so_ good to see you... You're looking fantastic!"

Ori gave Miranda a big hug back. "You too, Miri! I love the job, and the crew is great, and our new ship is positively amazing! So much more room than the _Rakhana_!"

Miranda smiled, "That's good to hear, Ori... and I'm sure Tali will get a lot more enjoyment from her new private transport than you ever did!"

* * *

The T'Soni _VIP-1_ was next to arrive and, possessing all the Normandy access codes, they slipped quietly into the shuttle bay. Liara's omnitool pinged and Shepard glanced over. "What's up, Li?"

"Oh, nothing. A query I was running just finished. I simply forgot to turn the notification off, with everything that's happening." The Asari smiled, knowing Shepard still had no idea who was about to arrive. "Don't worry, Samantha. I'm not going _anywhere_."

Judea and Miranda slipped out to greet them under the guise of realizing they had left one of the cases of Elasa behind and had to go fetch it. They quickly herded Aethyta, Hannah Shepard, Kasumi Goto, Jondum Bau, Andreas Falk, Garrus Vakarian and Desis Vyessan into the lift. Aethyta had gotten to know at least everyone's names during the short hop over so was prepared to give introductions, when Miranda interrupted. "It's okay, Aethyta. Everyone here knows everyone else, except perhaps for our newest Turian friend."

Miranda's gaze went to Garrus for the introduction, but working at the Turian Embassy on the Citadel had accustomed Desis to meeting new people and, after quickly introducing herself, she offered a hurried explanation of how she met Garrus and then-Commander Shepard one night at the Silversun Casino. When the elevator doors opened; the entire group fell silent, knowing this was Liara's surprise to Shepard. The Captain had no idea _any_ of them were coming.

Hannah walked out and located her daughter with a quick glance. Walking over quietly, which wasn't difficult in the middle of a raucous party, she stopped behind Samantha, noisily cleared her throat and asked, "What's it take to get a hug from the Captain of this boat?"

Shepard almost dropped her drink. She spun around, wide-eyed, and looked at the smiling woman standing in front of her. "Mom!"

She spun back and shoved her bottle of beer into a grinning Liara's hand before turning and taking two running steps to scoop her mother up in a hug and spin with her in a circle. She set the laughing woman back down on the deck and quickly kissed her on the cheek. "How in the Hell?" Her glance traveled back over her shoulder to a very smug looking Asari.

She flashed Liara a happy smile and turned back to her mother. "How did you get here?"

A familiar, gravelly voice chimed in from her side. "Damn, Shepard. For having survived the Collectors _and_ the Reaper War, you certainly are unobservant!"

Shepard turned again to put the face to the voice. "Matriarch Aethyta. Should have known I couldn't have a party involving alcohol without you finding a way to crash it!"

Shepard gave her a flippant matriarch salute and Aethyta growled, "Knock that shit off, Shepard. Now… Where's the damned bar?" As Shepard was pointing in one direction, Aethyta was pointing over her shoulder. "Thanks... and by the way, you have more company yet."

Before she even realized what Aethyta was talking about, another familiar voice, with its distinctive sub-harmonics and flanging tone, rang out behind her. "Shepard!" Samantha whipped her head around at the sound of the familiar voice, knowing exactly who she would see. No one else in the entire galaxy had a voice like that – it was so smooth it could cut through glass without shattering it.

She literally tackled the big Turian from the front, throwing her arms around him in a hug that might have put a Krogan to shame. "By the Gods, Garrus. It is so damned good to see you! It's been too long!" She shifted her hands so she could grasp his upper arms. "You look good!" She shook his arms slightly as if testing his armor before turning to his date. "And it's a real pleasure to see you again, Desis. I hope this old soldier hasn't filled your head with too many lies about me." She smiled as she glanced at Garrus then returned her gaze to Desis.

"She's teasing _me_ when she says that, Dee." He looked at Desis, the passion he felt for her readily evident in his sparkling blue eyes.

Desis dropped Shepard's hand, and then hooked her arm under Garrus' upper arm. "Thank you so much for the invite, Captain. I was ready to get off of Palaven for a bit. It's still rather... depressing... with all the smoke and haze in the air."

"We're happy to accommodate, Dee." Shepard couldn't stop grinning at her Turian friends. "I have it on good authority that there is some extra-fine Turian brandy coming on board. Check with our bartender… Samantha Traynor placed the order.

Garrus interrupted her, delight plain in his tone. "Traynor's tending? Spirits. It'll be great to see her. Come on, Dee. We need to find her at the bar. We'll talk later, Shepard. And… thanks… for inviting us."

"Thanks for _coming_ , Garrus!" Before she could retreat back to her mother's side, she grinned and offered her hand to Andreas Falk. "Colonel! It's great to see you, although I expect I'm not nearly as glad to see you as Ashley will be."

"You're correct there, Captain," came a voice from behind. Ashley Williams had been standing at the back of the compartment while the Normandy's guests were leaving the elevator; she had nearly dropped her glass when she caught sight of the Lieutenant Colonel. Walking up to stand beside Shepard, she extended her hand, expecting Falk to take it in greeting; instead, he brought his arms around his raven-haired beauty in an intimate embrace.

Shepard smiled as Ashley's face took on a tinge of pink, before telling her, "Williams, you're relieved of duty until Colonel Falk's departure from the ship." Her lopsided grin firmly in place, she looked at Falk and said, "I expect you'd like another tour of the Normandy, Colonel." With a knowing wink aimed at Ashley, she nodded to them both before the pair quickly disappeared around the elevator tower supports.

Shepard returned to her mother's side and wrapped an arm around her waist; glancing around warily, she wondered who else the matriarch had managed to bring along to crash the party. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a shimmer in the air, turned to look directly at the apparent spot and immediately growled out, "Kasumi Goto, show yourself!"

Much to her surprise, a grinning Jondum Bau materialized in front of her. As she stared at him in shock, Kasumi shimmered into view a few steps to his left. "I win! I told you my cloak was better!"

"Greetings, Captain! A pleasure to see you again." Jondum nodded politely as Kasumi slid up to his side.

Before Shepard could say anything, Kasumi smiled and spoke, "We're here for a few days, Shep, so spend some time with your mom! We'll catch up later!"

A startled Shepard stuttered, "A... a few _days_?" Liara came to her rescue and looped her arm through the Captain's.

"Thank you, Kas." Liara's glance shifted. "And it's great to see you Spectre Bau. We'll definitely talk later. Did you manage to acquire the Turian brandy I inquired about?"

"I did, and I hope you know just how expensive that stuff truly is!" Kasumi looked honestly put out and Shepard was very confused by her expression. The master thief chuckled. "Relax, Shepard. It's entirely your fault, you know. Since I've been hanging out with Jon, I'm staying on the straight and narrow. I actually _paid_ for that case!"

Shepard's confusion turned to surprise and Liara gasped. "You bought a whole case?" With a nod from Kasumi, Liara shook her head. "Goddess. Send me a bill and I'll take a stipend from the Brokerage funds to cover it. That had to cost a small fortune!"

As Kasumi walked away, she was laughing. "It did! And already done. You paid me last week!"

Shepard looked at Liara in amazement, "Who else do you have coming that I didn't know about?"

"No one, _Siame._ " Liara smiled softly. She dropped Shepard's arm and Sam released her mom's waist so the three of them could turn to the elevator. Everyone had a smile on their face, but Hannah was particularly happy to see Arlyna Sheya and Niria Phessi, her daughter's old biotics instructors from Arcturus station. As Shepard and Hannah spoke with their old friends, Liara gave each a big hug. "Welcome! Make yourself at home... I'm pretty sure I saw the rest of house T'Soni already heading for the bar."

As the large group moved away, Liara turned to the only Volus in the group with a pleased smile on her face. "Barla Von. I am glad you decided to join us. Arlyna told me you considered staying on the _Chiroquol_."

"Yes, well. That was before your very pleasant shuttle pilot explained to me how one of your engineers, a Kenneth Donnelly, reconfigured the environmental controls on your spare shuttle to provide me with a suitable high-pressure ammonia atmosphere for the duration of my stay." The Volus' speech was broken, as always, by the intermittent 'sshhk' sound of his rebreather. "It was a most unexpected consideration on your part. Thank you."

Liara's smile widened, "You are most certainly welcome! You are, after all, an essential member of our team, and it would be thoughtless to force you to sequester yourself over something easily fixed with a few adjustments to some environmental controls."

The Volus chuckled. "You honor me, Dr T'Soni. I imagine your engineer will describe it a bit differently than 'a few adjustments' to the shuttle controls should I have the opportunity to ask him."

"Perhaps so. Please," Liara waved her hand to indicate the entire deck, "...make yourself at home. If I remember correctly, a friend of yours has joined us. I do believe you'll find Matriarch Aethyta running the bar in the port-side crew lounge."

"Aahhhh. You know me better than I realized, Doctor." Barla Von gave her a little bow.

"Nonsense. It's just that my father likes to brag and tell stories." Liara nodded her head politely in return. "If you should need anything, please do not be afraid to ask. Enjoy your visit to the Normandy, and enjoy the party Barla Von." With one last 'sshhk' and a wave, the rotund Volus moved off to find the bar.

Liara happily turned back to Shepard and her special guests. "So, now that the hostess has greeted all her employees... What have I missed?"

Shepard smiled and pulled her in with an arm around her waist. "Not much, really. Since we talk to Arlyna and Niria fairly regularly, we caught Mom up on what's been happening out here while she's stuck on Arcturus and helping to organize the rebuild of Earth."

"Sounds good." Liara leaned into Shepard's side, "...but what I'd really like is for the music to start and maybe get a dance out of you."

"Oh! Well then, by all means!" Samantha turned to her mother, "Mom, if you would excuse me please... duty calls."

Hannah beamed at her daughter. "Absolutely, Sam. I haven't spoken to Arlyna and Niria in ages, and we can't exactly talk about _you_ if you're here, so off you go. Enjoy yourself. It's your party, after all!"

Within a few moments, Irish folk songs started trickling out of speakers all over the Normandy.

* * *

As the party went on, Shepard and Liara made the rounds; they visited the T'Soni commandos, the majority of which had gathered in the starboard lounge. Shepard was pleased to note that while only six of the eight were there, the room was not going to waste. A number of the more intrepid Normandy enlisted crew were hanging out with them and everyone seemed to be having a great time. As Liara mingled and spoke with each of the commandos, Shepard walked over to Captain Tanni and smiled, "It really is good to be able to relax, isn't it Livos? It's been too damn long. Seems folks are having fun."

Livos smiled in return. "That we are, Shepard." She glanced around the room. "I was concerned at first, when the first couple of young soldiers walked in, fearing the typical stereotype of Asari was going to cause difficulties, but they have proven to be rather polite and well mannered... especially given they are very much on their way to being drunk."

"They've been on the Normandy long enough with Liara and Riana to understand that those stereotypes are not valid." Shepard laughed lightly, "Be sure to ask Riana about the first couple weeks after our stop with the fleet to pick up some support personnel at the start of the war." Shepard shook her head. "She ended up pinning more than one to a bulkhead when they were somewhat... _reluctant_... to take 'no' for an answer."

"Yes. Riana has matured very nicely as a First." A shadow fell over Livos' face. "If nothing else, the Matriarch Benezia who we all knew positively loved her extended family and had an eye for talent. She could not have picked a better pair for Liara than Riana and Judea."

Her eyes came up and met those of the Spectre squarely. "And she most certainly would have approved of you. Her greatest dream was that Liara would find herself matched with an equal; someone of firm spirit, with an intellect to challenge her and possessing a zest for life that would draw Liara out of her books and into the world for a life beyond the walls of a library."

"She was easy to fall in love with." Shepard's eyes drifted to Liara and watched her laugh and chat, perfectly at ease with the group. "And somehow, I knew; the first moment our eyes met, I knew. She is truly the _Grá mo Chroí_... the love of my heart." She looked back to Livos. "And suddenly, I have an almost overwhelming desire to be back at her side."

"Of that I have no doubt. Your entire demeanor changes when you speak of her; your love for her is evident even to the dullest of wit." Livos let out a short laugh and smiled at the Spectre. "I am very happy that you found each other."

* * *

By the end of the party, everyone present knew Shepard was leaving the Alliance and moving to Thessia, Ken had proposed to Gabby, who was now wearing an engagement ring, Dee was promised to Garrus and a good majority of those in attendance at the party were well on their way to getting drunk... assuming they weren't already there. Liara sighed happily and leaned into Shepard, tucking her head down onto her _siame_ 's shoulder and looking for strength. "I'm really tired, Sam. Do you think we could sneak off to bed soon?"

"Come on." Shepard gave Liara a gentle nudge and took her hand as her glance shifted to her mother. "Mom. It's been a long day, so we're going to bed, but you know there's one last thing we have to do."

Hannah smiled and her eyes flashed with happy remembrance. "I've heard you speaking Gaelic tonight, you remember the words?"

Shepard's face held a hint of a smirk as she replied, "Of course I do, but the only other one in the room to understand us would probably be Ken Donnelly, so I think we need to do the Anglicized version."

Hannah took Samantha's free hand and walked with them out to the Mess. Shepard patched into the ship-wide comms for a moment and shut down the music to many groans of protest. "Would everyone still awake please report to the Mess?"

Everyone on the Normandy amounted to roughly fifty souls, so there was plenty of room as they all filtered in. After Shepard left sufficient time for those who were still awake to gather, she gave Liara a quick kiss and dropped her hand. She then stepped forward with her mother. "A lot of you know this song from the Human New Year's celebrations, but not many realize it's also sung in the Isles at the close of the final _céilí_... or dance... of the St Patrick's Day festival. While _you all_ may not be done with your celebrations yet, Liara and I are preparing to head up for bed. So, before we take our leave, I am compelled by tradition," Shepard paused and looked pointedly at her mother, "to sing _Auld Lang Syne_. It's an older version, but feel free to sing it with whatever words you know it by... the melody isn't any different."

Shepard cued her omnitool and as the tune started to play, Liara instantly realized where Shepard's singing voice came from; Hannah was a low soprano, which was a perfect harmony to Shepard's rich alto. It immediately became obvious to the entire group it was not the first time these two had sung this song together. Liara stepped up and slipped her arms around her lover's waist and looked up into her face with adoration. As broken as his Scottish brogue was, Ken Donnelly quickly joined in and he did so in his native tongue. Eventually, everyone who knew the words participated to some extent and as the last notes faded away, Shepard gave her mom a kiss on the cheek as a tear trickled down her own. Her voice was husky as she whispered, "Thanks, Mom. There were times I wasn't sure we'd ever get to sing together again."

Hannah returned her kiss with a tight hug. "You never should have doubted it Sam. We're tough. We're Shepards."

When they separated, Samantha cleared her voice and made one last announcement. "Alright! The music's about to come back on and I want everybody to have a good time. Don't worry about us... the loft is soundproofed!" As the music came up again, Shepard made a quick call to Edi. "If you would, please, Edi... when the last of the revelers pass out or crawl off to sleep, can you turn off the music and go to night lighting?"

"Certainly, Shepard. Enjoy your rest. And if I may say so, Captain, I believe your party was a brilliant success."

"Thank you, Edi; I do believe, as usual, you are correct." Shepard wrapped her arm around Liara and they began their stroll to the lift, saying their final goodbyes as they walked. They stepped in, arm-in-arm, and as the elevator doors shut, Saint Patrick's Day, 2188, came to a quiet close.

* * *

The next morning, Shepard awakened slowly to a blue hand softly traveling the battle map on her body. She blinked a couple of times and caught the blue hand gently within her own. "Hey," she whispered quietly. "Whatcha doing?"

"Simply thinking about how lucky I am to still have you with me, Samantha," her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ answered softly before releasing a soft sigh and resuming her gentle caresses. "So many close calls and one... beyond even that."

"But we're here. Now." Shepard smiled softly and recaptured the hand, bringing it to her lips and placing a loving kiss on blue fingers. "So let's not dwell in the past. Instead, look to our future, Liara. It's not all that far away anymore."

"That's true enough." Liara's mood brightened. "Less than 3 months now... and much of that is Asari territory where, I believe, our receptions will be vastly different than those gone before."

"Come on." Shepard sat up and gave the blue hand an encouraging tug. "Let's see who else is up and grab some breakfast."

* * *

 **Thessia, Athena Nebula, At Large**

As much as Shepard and Liara wanted to spend time with their friends, their schedule was unrelenting – immediately following lunch, they had to be at their first stop of a rather demanding Thessia tour. Over the next two-and-a-half days, they would visit each of the eight republics represented within the Asari Defense Council. Their first stop was in Serrice, with Defense Minister Rahula N'Atchelle and Matriarch Epentha, Chancellor of the University of Serrice and one of the most influential speakers in the postwar rebuilding period. They had both been galvanized by Aethyta's words as the war began and taken definitive action... possibly the two staunchest supporters of whatever military preparedness Thessia had upon the arrival of the Reapers on the Asari homeworld.

"Matriarch Epentha." Liara bowed her head to the Chancellor. "I am so sorry for the condition of the university... that we were unable to protect the Temple of Athame and its historic architecture."

The matriarch both scoffed and smiled. "Do not worry, Child." She paused and shook her head. "No. You may be young, but you are not, by any star under the Goddess, a child. I do not intend to cause you pain, but I must tell you, your mother would have been proud of you, Lady..." She paused. Being the chancellor of a prestigious university, Epentha had learned long ago to read the expressions of the young and could see the pain both the memory and the title caused. "I understand your aversion, as it must remind you too much yet of your mother, but you are the leader of House T'Soni; perhaps you could avoid the family name for now... and simply be Lady Liara? Would that be more... palatable?"

Her eyes moist with unshed tears, the maiden nodded and her face held a slight smile at her own choice of words in her response. "Yes, Matriarch, it would... Though I still wish... however childish a dream it may be... that people would simply call me Liara."

"You know what?" Epentha cocked her head slightly to the side, her eyes twinkling impishly as she grinned and responded, "I think, at least for the duration of your tour of the Serrice recovery efforts, you are... _simply_... the Normandy's Information Officer and nothing more... Liara."

* * *

As the university tour finished and the group was preparing to move on, a Serrice Ceremonial Guard ran up and whispered hurriedly in Minister Rahula's ear. Her expression immediately turned sour as she turned to the Normandy party. "I'm sorry, Spectre, but I'm afraid we'll have to skip our walking city tour in lieu of aircar transportation to the spaceport."

Her eyebrows knit in consternation, Shepard queried, "Because of...?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't accept the change without explanation." Rahula shook her head. "I'm afraid Lady Liara has become something of a cult icon... leading to the formation of a relatively small group of maidens and matrons called the Alliance for Change. They are demanding the immediate resignations of all of Thessia's senior war-time leadership... as in the entire Defense Council! We've told them that such an abrupt total change of leadership would only result in chaos... and that we simply must wait the standard two years until the next election, but they refuse to acquiesce to common law. As we speak, there is an illegal demonstration in the city's main plaza, making it impossible to transit."

Liara sighed heavily. "And, I assume, this protest is not coincidental to our arrival here."

"Unfortunately, I believe you are correct, Lady Liara," Rahula huffed. "I am afraid your appearance in the plaza could incite them to do something a bit more rash... and escalate the demonstration to a physical altercation. I am sure you have no desire to risk such a thing."

 _{We'll need to look into that when we get back aboard the Normandy, Li. I agree with Rahula that we shouldn't walk in there blind, no matter how curious we are to find out what in Hell is really going on to cause this.}_

"I agree." All Rahula knew was that Liara had remained pensive for a few moments before she appeared to have answered her, having absolutely no idea Liara and Shepard had a quick exchange. Blinking, Liara refocused on the minister as she concluded, "I will defer to your judgment, Matriarch... I want to avoid being the spark that sets the group afire."

Once they flew to the spaceport and moved on from Serrice, it became obvious Chancellor Epentha had passed along the tidbit of information regarding the maiden's sensitivity to the title of 'Lady T'Soni.' Between the combination of Liara's hero status as a crewmember aboard the Normandy and her youth, the other matriarchs were more than happy to dispense with the traditional honorific title. Each had their own reasons, but they all seemed to agree that 'Lady T'Soni' still referred to Benezia, even though the matriarch of house T'Soni was gone and had been consigned to the judgment of the Goddess.

Given all that had happened, they purposely scheduled Majesa as their final stop on Thessia. It surprised them when they were met, not by Matriarch Trellani, but by her daughter, Gaya. Thinking she knew the reason, Liara felt the need to speak. "Gaya. I must tell you that I hold the Justicars in high esteem... and if they felt no cause to judge your mother and released her to return to you here, then she is safe with us and she need not fear any form of reprisal."

"Understood, Dr T'Soni." Gaya nodded slightly. "Only, it is not fear that keeps her from you... but shame. It is unacceptable that a weapon, produced and sold within her republic on her authority, was used in an attempted assassination against you... one of the greatest Asari war heroes of all time."

Liara blushed. "Goddess... I don't feel like a hero." She glanced at Shepard and smiled softly. "It's simply that we were in the right place at the right time and refused to lie down and die at the hands of ancient machines." She looked back at Gaya as she continued, "Your mother... the one responsible for the lives of everyone in the Majesan Republic... made the same sort of decisions. She refused to see her people die when there were actions within her reach to prevent it. How could we possibly fault her choices?"

"She's the hero." Shepard's voice was solemn. "It's easy to do the right thing when you know you'll be patted on the back... or given a medal, even, when it's all over. But your mother... she did what was necessary knowing very well it could end in her death. That kind of self-sacrifice in the face of necessity... most don't have the courage to do such a thing... and I would like to meet the matriarch willing to follow such a path. She's my kind of person."

Gaya drew a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief moment before responding, "Thank you, Dr T'Soni. Spectre Shepard. You have no idea how much that means to the S'Phessi family." She turned to her aide. "Please inform the matriarch of this discussion and tell her we'll meet her at the main house after the tour... say in approximately two hours?"

As the aide ran off, Gaya smiled at Liara. "My mother felt you had seen enough of the destruction caused by the war, no matter the state of rebuilding. She thought, perhaps, it would be refreshing, particularly for you, Doctor, to see a few of the Malari ruins which somehow managed to survive and still dot our landscape?"

"Goddess, yes!" Liara's blue eyes lit with anticipation. "That would be positively wonderful! Most historians dismiss their existence as pure folklore, attempting to remove the Malarial Queendom from existence through neglect." Liara laughed quietly, mentioning a particular professor before making a face and speaking in a deep voice. "Historians do not deal in folklore, T'Soni! If you want to hear fantastic tales of mythical societies, take a class on creative fiction, not my Pre-space History of Thessia course!"

"Liara!" Shepard was laughing. "That's not very nice, Love."

"Neither was my instructor, Shepard!" Her face held a wide smile as she turned back to their hostess. "I've never seen the ruins... even in holos... and would absolutely love to take you up on such an offer!"

Chuckling, Gaya dipped her head before clapping her hands to get the attention of her daughter. "Fetch the sand cruiser, Tolara!" Turning back to her guests, she explained, "Most of the ruins are in the Wastes, but there are a couple on the fringes that can be readily accessed, with minimal risk. Unlike our shuttles, the cruiser comes equipped with a sensor that will tell us if there is any dangerous spot radiation as we get closer to the site." She refocused strictly on Liara. "The radiation levels shift with the wind, so I cannot make any promises until we actually get there... but this time of year, it is generally not a problem."

"What is the passenger capacity of your cruiser?" Riana's tone was harsher than she meant and she grimaced. "My apologies for sounding rude. It is simply that I will not be willingly separated from my mistress any time we are groundside."

"Relax. I took no offense." Gaya smiled. "My mother's First is ten times worse than you... given the ruffians that frequent the deserts here, she may very well have drawn a weapon or pulled her biotics as she asked a question such as that." Laughing at Riana's expression, she continued, "But, in answer, our cruisers are field cruisers... so they take a full team of six, with gear, or ten without, by deploying the cargo area side-seats. Tolara and I can take your entire squad of six, in addition to Spectre Shepard and Lady Liara, as long as you carry nothing but sidearms."

"We don't need anything more than what we have with us, so lead the way, Gaya." Shepard smiled. "It'll be a nice change of pace; I am truly looking forward to this little expedition!"

* * *

Upon their return to the city, Tolara drove them directly to the main house. Considering the wealth of the T'Soni's, the S'Phessi house was modest by comparison. The matriarch met them at the door with a deep bow. "Lady T'Soni. Spectre Shepard. Please, do come in. You honor my house with your visit."

"Matriarch Trellani, please, do not bow to me... You are my senior and, following the ruling of the Justicars, once again a member of standing on the Defense Council."

The matriarch stood upright and sighed. "Much of that standing is due to your kindness in not making any personal damage claims against Majesa or my family. I owe you for that."

"You owe me nothing, Matriarch." Liara practically growled. "I absolutely refuse to hold you responsible for any actions regarding the assassination attempt on me or Shepard. If not that weapon, they would have had something else as their backup... Your sale did not cause nor result in the attempt... but it _did_ save thousands within the Majesan Republic from starving during the war! That is far more important."

"Thank you, Liara." The matriarch had tears in her eyes as she whispered, "You have no idea what that means to me."

The younger Asari stepped forward and opened her arms in invitation – one which Trellani accepted quickly. The matriarch took the additional couple of steps to close the distance and wrapped Liara in a motherly hug. "May the Goddess forgive me as you have done. I could not have lived with myself had the assassin succeeded in her attempt."

"I blame this on Shepard." The statement surprised all those who heard it, including Shepard, who looked at her in astonishment. Liara smiled at their reactions and explained, "Shepard's sense of duty has rubbed off... and it would not have allowed me to let so many innocents die on my behalf." Her grin vanished and she looked directly at Matriarch Trellani. "Even if you had knowingly provided the assassin with the weapon that would be used to kill me, I would have given my life to save your thousands... Grudgingly, of course, but my one life for Majesa's many would have been the only decision I could have made, had it been presented as an ultimatum."

"You truly are the hero in our midst, Liara..." Trellani hugged her again, whispering quietly in the young maiden's ear, "I do not know that I could be so brave as to make such a choice."

Shepard stood back, watching and listening to the exchange, a knot forming in her heart as she spoke to Liara through the link. _{And I very much doubt I could have been so selfless as to let you try, Grá mo chroí. Hate me for it if you will, but I would have done everything in my power to stop you.}_


	69. The Home Stretch

Notes: Future structure in this chapter with regards to places (such as Tuchanka) and organizations (such as the Alliance for Change, its founders and its antagonists) are born from the Cerberus Daily News Wiki 'non-canon' additions.

 _A_ _Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

LEAP - League of Earth Alliance Patriots

 _Ru'shan_ \- "Child of my Blood" (Krogan)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

* * *

 **The Home Stretch**

 **T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

On each of the three evenings on Thessia, Shepard and Liara joined the crew of the _Aletheia_ and retreated to the Estate to spend what time they could with the staff and the friends who remained for the few days following the party. The couple also spent some of the time working on the arrangements for the upcoming bonding ceremony, Liara taking the opportunity to pick her gown from one of several sent to her by Sha'ira. She had a huge smile on her face when she joined Samantha on the balcony off their master suite at the end of their final evening. "The gown fittings I assumed would be so time consuming are done, _Siame_." Liara quickly sat down on the loveseat and snuggled into her lover's side, Shepard looping her arm over her shoulders as the Asari continued, "Sha'ira sent some beautiful gowns, Sam... already sized for me. I know you absolutely love her designs and I'm positive you'll enjoy the one I picked."

"Oh, now that's just mean." Shepard's smile and light tone took away any sting her words may have otherwise had. "You're teasing me, because you know I can't see it before the wedding, yet you enjoy the advantage of knowing exactly what I'm wearing."

"That's your Human rule, not an Asari one, so don't be blaming me for it." Liara gave her a little shoulder bump as she continued, "Besides. One of us has to know what the other is wearing so we can coordinate the attire... make sure we look good as a couple."

"Good?" Shepard shook her head. "Liara, anyone standing next to you is going to look absolutely fantastic, simply because they have you at their side."

"Flatterer," she responded, giving the captain a quick smile and a swat on the leg. "Besides, you cut a rather dashing figure yourself, Spectre."

"I try." Shepard drew a deep breath and gave Liara a squeeze. "You ready for this, Liara?"

"Of course, Sam... Why would you ask that?" Liara frowned and looked at her _siame_ , trying to figure out what Shepard was thinking. "You can't possibly think I have reservations about bonding with you, do you?"

"Oh. Sorry." Shepard smiled and opened her mind wider so Liara could follow her train of thought. "I'm not talking about the bonding, Blue; I changed topics in my head and I guess I was closed down a bit out of concern for you. If Thessia has been any indication, it seems to me that you are _extremely_ popular. I'm speaking of all the attention you're going to be getting over the next month-and-a-half as we visit the Asari colonies... and possible all the attention our bonding will draw."

"Yes." Liara's frown did not disappear. "I suppose... What's that Human saying? The shoe is on the other foot?"

"Yup. That's the one." Shepard laughed and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't be laughing because I most certainly know what it's like. But, you know I'll be at your side, just as you have been at mine the entire time. You won't be facing this alone, _A Grá_. I swear it."

Liara hummed in satisfaction and snuggled into Shepard's shoulder. "I never doubted that for a minute but, somehow, it still helps to hear you say it aloud. I'm sure we'll be fine."

They sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other's warm presence in the cool of the night, until Shepard realized Liara had fallen asleep... her slow and relaxed breathing a balm to Samantha's soul. The captain shifted slightly and gently stroked her fingers down Liara's cheek. A quiet purr was the only response, so Shepard whispered, "Come on, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ , time for bed. It's getting chilly and we've got an early morning."

Liara opened her eyes and smiled lovingly at her _amantia_ , rising slowly along with Shepard and stretching. "Thank you, Sam."

"For what?" Shepard smiled quizzically back at the Asari, once more thinking about how lucky she was to have found the love of her life.

"For being here... for loving me... and for simply being you." Liara looped her arm around the captain's waist as they started strolling toward the door. "I love you, Samantha."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2,** **Athena Nebula, At Large**

Following the whirlwind tour of Thessia's major Republics, March twenty-first found the crew celebrating Samantha Traynor's birthday, _Janiris_ and _Alban Eiler_ on Sanves. The Asari took their holidays seriously and, with a population nearly one million, there would be no work accomplished on the Normandy's first day in the Ialessa System. The tour of the Asari colonies, which would last through the remainder of March and the entirety of April, greatly shifted the focus of the visits from the Human Spectre to the hero of the Asari – a quiet, reserved maiden named Liara T'Soni.

Even when she was young, Liara had never liked being the center of attention. She had always preferred a quiet day in the library or walking in the garden with her mother over the crowded parties that seemed to be the norm at the townhouse in Armali. Shepard found it both fast paced and refreshing... for her, but not for Liara. The whirlwind of attention directed at the young maiden was interrupted only by a quiet birthday party aboard the Normandy for both Shepard and Ashley during their travel between Lymetis and Cyone.

By the time the Normandy had made the three additional stops in the Athena Nebula and two in the Nimbus Cluster, Liara practically begged to stay aboard the Normandy at Cyone, hoping Shepard would be willing to go it alone. Shepard stood before her, holding blue hands in her own and their foreheads touching. "I know how much you dislike this, Li, but you know they expect to see you. If the Alliance still controlled the fueling stations – more particularly, Lee Riley and her N7 team – I'd be more than happy to do this one alone and spare you the frustration."

"But they don't, so the Consortium fully expects my presence," Liara groused. "The matriarchs are just so damned patronizing!" Rolling her eyes and shaking her head only slightly, seeing as their foreheads were bumped against one another, Liara continued, "I want to scream at them... tell them that had they supported us _during_ the war as much as they appear to be doing after the fact, perhaps we wouldn't have been as bad off as we were. Just maybe, we would have beaten Cerberus to the information on the Catalyst and been able to build the Crucible faster... Perhaps James wouldn't have had to sacrifice his life to save me and Riana... and you wouldn't have had to go alone to the beam..."

"Hey." Shepard cut her off with a single word as her hands came up to cup the Asari's face, tipping her chin up and planting a kiss on blue lips to silence the tirade. "Where is all this coming from?"

"I did not intend to bring this up until I had more data, but I cannot help myself. They just make me so angry." Liara huffed quietly and Shepard remained quiet, waiting patiently until Liara reluctantly continued. "It appears that Minister Rahula was not entirely truthful with us. The protest in the central plaza? It would seem that Alliance for Change has less to do with a cult following of me than with their frustration with the matriarchs and their intransigence regarding Asari contributions to the war effort. Sound familiar?"

"It certainly does." Shepard arched her eyebrows. "And you don't see how this relates to you... and Aethyta?"

"Of course I do!" Liara snapped. She growled at herself and dropped her shoulders in defeat. "I'm sorry. I don't mean for you to become the target of my frustration. Yes, I realize we have made the same observation, but others can form the same opinion without necessarily idolizing me. In this case, it is most definitely not a case of hero worship. The group is being championed by a Huntress named Sikara Mendaras. She fought in the war on Serrice and saw the results of Thessia's Defense Council's inaction first hand. Even so, she did not formally organize the group until after the appointment of Matriarch Galalina Niaso as the Serrice Minister of Justice. The Minister's first act was to ban all public gatherings and demonstrations that, quote..." Liara paused and brought up a document on her omnitool. "...promote sedition or any other anti-government stance during the Reaper War post-recovery period."

"What?" Shepard felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "Your government is run by a Citizen Legislature... How can she do that? It basically shuts down your entire political process!" Shepard's brow pinched in irritation. "Just how long is that going to be? Hell's bells! Didn't Garrus say Palaven's recovery would be between 200 and 400 years? That's an awfully long time to basically be under the martial law of the Asari Defense Council!"

"Hence my frustration." Liara looked at Shepard, challenge in her eyes. "I almost feel as though Rahula purposely misled us... perhaps because she wanted to ensure we didn't hear them out and give them our endorsement!"

"That is possible." Shepard spoke softly. "But it's also possible that the organizers are a group of hot-head commandos, pissed off at the death of so many of their friends and squad mates." Shepard raised a hand, pausing Liara's rebuke. "We don't really know... and that's why, I believe, you weren't ready to bring this up yet. It's definitely something we need to investigate – we need to know for sure. The last thing we need is an Asari version of LEAP or Cerberus."

"Oh, Goddess! Don't even suggest such a thing, Samantha!" Liara suddenly looked horrified at the very idea.

"Either way – this group isn't from Cyone, nor can we do anything about Matriarch Galalina or the Ministers of Defense if you... _we_... alienate all the other matriarchs." Shepard paused in thought, the frown on her face and darting eyes indicating to Liara that the Captain was chasing an idea around her mind, trying to come up with a plan. Thus, the Asari did not interrupt, waiting until Shepard was ready to divulge her idea. Finally, Shepard shook her head and her eyes locked onto Liara's as she continued, "We need to mention this to Tevos; though I assume she's aware, we need to make sure. At the same time, you should talk to Mozia and your father."

Liara exclaimed, "That's an excellent idea! Based on what my father has said in the past, a group like this, if they are earnest about improvement and not simply trying to take control of the government, could be right up her alley... if they approach it correctly."

"Yes." Shepard pulled the Asari in for a quick hug. "And, if they get themselves legally organized, I'm pretty sure they'd have the endorsement of a particularly influential maiden I happen to know."

"I have no idea who you could possibly be speaking of, Shepard." Liara finally relaxed completely and smiled. "I was thinking more along the lines of a particular Spectre I know."

"I imagine it will most likely be both of us" the Spectre laughed. "Now come on... We need to get dressed for our engagement down on Cyone."

* * *

 **Dekuuna, Phontes, Silean Nebula**

Once past the Asari portion of the galactic tour, Liara was more focused, concentrating her energies on finding data on the Alliance for Change... particularly, backgrounds on its membership... and the last two weeks of April passed in a flash. Overall, the tour of the Asari colonies had turned out to be quite... enlightening. She and Shepard discovered that most of the matriarchs outside of Thessia were proponents of developing a more regular army. Many had felt abandoned by the homeworld during the Reaper War and felt an established regular force would have helped to defend not only Thessia, but the various colonial worlds as well.

"So, there are an additional ten planets and twelve Republics." Shepard paused to let those numbers sink in. "Thessia alone has only eight... so the colonies could actually outvote those of Thessia if they were all united?"

"No. That's not how we work," came Liara's thoughtful reply. "First off, Thessia actually has eleven Republics... three of which are obviously not represented within the Defense Council... for any number of reasons. But, even more importantly, the Asari system of government is supposed to be a communal democracy, ruling by a majority vote of the entire citizenry... not through policy being dictated by the eight members of the Defense Council." Liara shook her head in dislike as she continued, "The problem with that is the eight primary republics hold more concentrated populations so, if the Republic's citizens follow the vote of their matriarch as is customary, the eight Republics of the Defense Council hold more votes than all the others combined... and so maintain control."

"Hmmm." Shepard pursed her lips. "I would have thought it closer... especially with eight against _fifteen_ Republics instead of twelve, assuming those additional three on Thessia also feel disenfranchised. I still think it would be worth investigating – I can't imagine the Matriarchy would have steered you away unless they sensed an honest threat."

"You know..." Liara cocked her head in thought. "The numbers I'm using are old... pre-war... and the main planets got hit a lot harder than the scattered colonies. Perhaps they don't want people talking because they _don't_ have a current census. Before the Reapers, the Defense Council Republics had a margin of nearly one billion... but the war killed a lot of people."

"Sounds like Aethyta and Mozia have some homework to do." Shepard sighed. "Especially since _our_ time is so limited. And now, after spending our last three wonderful days on the Asari resort planet of Nevos, we only have twenty minutes before our meeting with Tolern Solus and the Elcor Council of Elders."

* * *

"Captain! Doctor T'Soni! It is so good to see you!" The face of Tolern Solus held a huge smile. "Did you enjoy the tour of the reproductive facility your assistance helped build?"

Smiling in return, Shepard nodded. "We did. It's amazing, Tolern... though I'm not quite sure what to think of the birthing vats."

"Oh! I imagine you think it quite a unique design... but it's not." Tolern tapped at the interface on his omnitool and a holo-image appeared before them. "It's actually shaped like the Elcor uterus!" He made a couple more strokes and a timeline appeared in the air before them. "I've managed to accelerate their gestation from two years down to fourteen months. Still a long time but, assuming all goes well, the Elcor will be experiencing a birth boom this time next year."

"Just how many of these growth pods did you have built?" Liara looked at the Salarian, her voice incredulous.

"The groups are assembled as sets of two hundred... and we've gone through 7 pairing cycles..." Tolern shrugged. "So only one thousand four hundred. Not nearly enough yet."

"What's your goal?" Shepard sounded shocked as she asked her question.

"During my collections, I found over four thousand unique genetic markers that will vanish with the elder generation within the next ten years. The newborns will not reach sexual maturity until age fifteen or twenty... so this is a onetime opportunity. If the marker is not passed on, as a recessive trait at the very minimum, it will be lost forever."

"I'm sorry... but I don't really understand why that is so horrible." Shepard shook her head. "I am most definitely not a geneticist."

"Of course. No apology necessary, Shepard." Tolern flashed a smile. "A certain level of genetic diversity is required for species survival... all species. For the Elcor, this means that at least 2,843 of these particular genetic markers of the roughly 4,000 have to be passed on to ensure their species' very survival... and the more the better."

Shepard nodded. "Because each additional trait increases the genetic diversity potential by another level of magnitude, increasing the length of time before genome collapse. With sufficient diversity you reach the magic ratio of a self-sustaining genome, without additional intervention required."

"Exactly!" Tolern almost clapped. "And you said you aren't a geneticist!"

"I'm not, but I am a strategist and I understand how probability formulas work." Shepard took a deep breath. "The more the merrier, in this case."

Liara cocked her head. "So how many total birthing pods are you looking for, Tolern?"

"As Spectre Shepard stated – the more the merrier. The more traits we get out there and the greater the number of groupings we can create, the better our chances of hitting upon an inheritable combination." Tolern's eyes widened as he continued. "I've calculated the minimum number to be roughly 8,500 offspring, with varying permutations. So, at current production, this is an eight year project."

"You didn't answer the question." Shepard raised her eyebrows at the Salarian. "One to eight years, plus the fifteen to sexual maturity... that's a range of sixteen to twenty-two years... all of which are beyond the average survival expectancy of the remaining elders. You _have_ to get this right – there won't be any second chances."

"Not entirely true, as I can continue to take additional samples at appropriate intervals until they die but, to increase the chances of success to an acceptable level, I still need to build at least 1,400 additional pods..." Tolern nodded abruptly as he continued, "...every year for three years. Then, the minimums will be met in half the time – only four years – and the chances of overall success if the breeding program continues from that point forward at the rate of 4,200 new combinations per year? Ninety-nine percent!"

"Continued from that point forward?" Shepard saw her plans for Garvug and Erinle fading the more Tolern spoke. "Exactly how long do you foresee this program taking?"

"To restore the Elcor population to pre-war levels, if all goes according to plan, will be a total of twenty-five years, which will generate an additional breeding population of over 100,000... definitely self-sustaining at that point." Tolern blinked before adding, "Assuming, of course, their natural reproduction rate remains stable and at least eighty percent of the program's breeding stock survives to sexual maturity."

"Twenty-five years?" Shepard asked, incredulous. "That's nearly the rest of your life!"

Tolern actually smiled. "Yes. It will be my legacy. As my uncle saved the Krogan, I will save the Elcor. Significant achievements by any standard." Seeing the crestfallen expression on the Captain's face, he inquired, "This troubles you for some reason. Care to explain?"

Shepard sighed and told him about the changes in Salarian leadership and the project on Erinle, as well as the Krogan endeavor on Garvug... and her hopes that he would have been willing and available to assist. "But, it seems as if you're going to be busy for quite awhile... Any suggestions or recommendations of someone else we could ask?"

"Don't be ridiculous. The Elcor program is now up and running; a Pyjak could run the operation, assuming they follow the established protocols... all of which are recorded in infinitesimal detail." Tolern's eyes lit with anticipation over the newly offered challenges. "To have three such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities? I accept!"

"That's wonderful! Shepard's mood lightened dramatically at Tolern's enthusiasm. "Let us know when you can start and we'll arrange transport for you and whatever team you need." Shepard smiled and stuck out her hand, surprised when Tolern stepped closer and grasped her entire forearm like a fellow warrior.

"We'll win this war yet, Captain." Tolern flashed a smile that reminded Shepard of Mordin and she suddenly saw the familial resemblance. "You'll see a restored galaxy before you die. I promise you that."

* * *

 **Palaven, Trebia, Apien Crest**

Once they left Dekuuna, the tour took them through a mix of Volus and Turian worlds of no great significance or import other than providing Shepard, on behalf of the Council, the chance to thank the Volus for the contribution of their bombing fleet to the allied forces. Finally, their tour led them to pass through the Serpent Nebula, bypassing the Destiny Ascension and the new Center for Galactic Cooperation, to transit the Apien Crest and arrive on Palaven. Even though they had just recently seen Garrus at the party, Shepard and Liara were still looking forward to the visit with their favorite Turian. Upon their first glimpse, they were both disheartened to see a once great world still struggling with recovery efforts; the Reapers had pounded Palaven as unmercifully as they had hit Earth... only for a much longer duration... and it showed.

"Shepard! T'Soni! Wonderful to see both of you again! Welcome to Palaven!" Garrus came forward from the small group of dignitaries that had clustered near the shuttle landing pad to greet the Human and Asari most responsible for uniting the galaxy's disparate races in the war to defeat the Reapers.

Shepard smiled as her longtime friend wrapped her in a heartfelt hug. As he presented Liara with a similar greeting, Shepard replied, "Good to see you as well, Garrus." Turning towards the other Turians gathered to greet them, she added, "Introduce us to your companions, Vakarian."

With a touch of embarrassment coloring his sub-harmonics, he turned to the delegation behind him and waved them forward as he said in a more formal tone, "You'll remember Primarch Victus, Captain; and this is Ambassador Lutana Varidos – she delayed her return trip to the Serpent Nebula for the opportunity to meet you in person." Garrus flared his mandibles in joy as he continued, "As soon as she returns, she'll be relocating her offices from the Destiny Ascension to the nearly completed Center for Galactic Cooperation!"

Shepard and Liara congratulated both the Ambassador and Garrus, with Shepard continuing, "That's an amazing accomplishment... building a habitable station in less than a year!" They then promptly turned their focus to the senior members of the welcoming dignitaries. Victus nodded as Shepard and Liara bent slightly at the waist in greeting, before each stepped up to take the ambassador's hand in turn, Shepard speaking for both. "A privilege to meet you, Ambassador."

Garrus continued his introductions with, "… and I don't believe you've ever met _former_ Ambassador Orinia, Shepard… Ambassador, this is Captain Samantha Shepard and Lady Liara T'Soni."

The surprise on Shepard's face was fleeting as she grasped the aging female's forearms. _Could this be a former general from the First Contact War?_ Making no attempt to mask her curiosity, she said, "Very nice to meet you, Ambassador. I feel as if I should know you from before the Reaper war."

Orinia flared her mandibles slightly as she replied, "I helped David Anderson and Kahlee Sanders during their hunt for Cerberus agent Paul Grayson." With a small chuckle, she added, "And I can see the question in your eyes, Captain. The answer is yes… I was a general during the Relay 314 Incident."

Shepard smiled. "I was barely a toddler when that happened, Ambassador. I'm happy to have missed participating in that little disagreement." Looking to Garrus, she added, "And I'm pleased our relations with the Turians have improved so much since then."

The introduction of the final Turian in the group came as a surprise to Sam and Liara. "Captain Shepard… Liara… This is Castis Vakarian… my father."

Shepard and Liara both stepped up to the elder Vakarian; with each grasping a forearm in friendship, Liara spoke for them both by saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Castis. Garrus has told us much about you."

The elder Vakarian laughed lightly at Liara's statement before responding, "It is an honor to finally meet both of you. A Human and an Asari, working together as a team, united an entire galaxy to combat a common enemy." Castis went silent and looked down for several moments before returning his sharp-eyed gaze to Shepard. "It is unfortunate your warnings were ignored by the Citadel Council… and even by your own defense committee… until virtually all our preparation time had been squandered. We only prevailed in our fight because preparations for the coming cataclysm continued behind the scenes. And you never gave up, Captain, nor did you, Liara T'Soni. That is a debt I doubt anyone… of any race… can ever repay."

Shepard's heart clenched in her chest at this old Turian's words. _{How do I respond to that, Ionúin Álainn?}_ The response that instantly came through the link was exactly the same as her own thought, so she answered, "There is no debt, Castis… never has been. We only did what was necessary… I like to think the gods of war smiled on us… all of us, and our cause."

She turned as Garrus laid a hand on her shoulder. "We have a short meeting we'd like both of you to attend. It will outline our recovery progress since the Reapers were defeated."

The corners of Shepard's mouth turned up ever so slightly. "I'd like that, Garrus. It will be interesting to see how well the shrouds are working." Looking at the assembled delegation, Sam suddenly noticed someone was missing. "Garrus," she said, voice pitched soft enough so only he would hear her. "What about Desis? Where is she?"

Garrus glanced at Shepard as they walked behind the group towards a nearby building. "First off, however good at her job she may be, a social worker does not rank as Turian senior staff. But, even so, Dee has been traveling ever since we returned from your party on the Normandy. She's coordinating relief efforts in the Turian colonies for all the children left without family." He chuckled, the flanging tone adding a solemn note to the sound. "She's even working to find homes for some of the very few orphaned Asari and Salarian children in our colonies."

Liara instantly asked, "What can we do to assist, Garrus?"

Garrus flared his mandibles as he replied, "At this point, not much, although you should probably ask Dee when you see her later… We're planning on taking you both to a nice restaurant for dinner this evening, seeing as there are formal events planned for your remaining nights here."

"Sounds good, Garrus." Shepard looked at the group who had paused ahead of them. "With that said, I guess it's time we get this show on the road."

* * *

 **Tuchanka, Aralakh, Krogan DMZ**

After a follow-on stop at Digeris, the Normandy swept through the Serpent Nebula once again on their way to the homeworld of the Krogan. In the aftermath of victory over the Reapers, Tuchanka was experiencing a resurgence, the majority of Krogan cautiously optimistic about their future. Unlike the other worlds of the galaxy, Tuchanka was already a disaster zone, so their critical assistance in the Reaper War victory brought them a huge influx of assistance they never would have received, otherwise.

Wrex's booming voice was the first thing they heard when they stepped off the Normandy. "Shepard! Liara! Welcome home to Tuchanka!"

After a crushing handshake, Shepard inquired, "You're looking good, Wrex! Where's Bakara?"

A huge grin dominated Wrex's face. "She's at the Valley Hospital. No questions, but your itinerary has changed... it's going to be our first stop. Come on!"

Liara flashed a smile at Shepard as their individual thoughts crossed in the link... _{She's had the baby!}_ She then asked aloud, "So is it a boy or girl?"

Wrex simply chuckled, replying, "Nice try, T'Soni, but what part of 'no questions' did you not understand?"

"Oh, come on, Wrex!" Shepard's tone was pleading.

"No whining, Shepard. You'll see for yourself soon enough." Wrex pointed out the forward window of the Tomkah. "That's the building, right there, just to the right of the new Shroud facility."

Within a few moments, they were screeching to a stop directly in front of the doors. Kicking the door open, Wrex hopped out quickly. "Come on, Shepard. Move it! You think we've got all day? Your time here is short!"

Grinning at one another, Shepard and Liara climbed out of the Tomkah and followed on the heels of the rapidly moving warlord. As the remainder of the Normandy entourage waited outside, Wrex, Shepard and Liara burst through the doors of the hospital. Those inside immediately pointed numerous weapons at the newcomers, momentarily confused as to what to do about the two tiny fleshies apparently pursuing their Overlord. Wrex roared, "You stupid Pyjaks! Don't you recognize Urdnot Shepard and T'Soni? Put those useless things down before Shepard shoves them up your asses!"

As the guards hastened to lower their guns, a nurse stepped directly into Wrex's path, glowering. "You'll lower your voice and slowdown before you cross the threshold into Bakara's room or I'll have your quad, Overlord!"

Surprised, Wrex drew up short as Shepard and Liara chuckled at the suddenly obedient warrior. He turned and flashed them a toothy grin. "I told them to make sure she got the best of care... and that included curbing my overzealousness as required." Turning back to the nurse, surprisingly quietly he asked, "Is she in there?"

The nurse smiled. "Yes... and just finished eating, so is probably sound asleep."

With a quick nod, Wrex led the way, walking quietly into a rather spacious private room. The head of Bakara's bed was tipped up at a forty-five degree angle and she looked up and smiled, a small bundle wrapped in a blue and red swaddling cloth in her arms. "Welcome Captain... Liara. Please come meet our newest addition to the Clan.

Unable to tell the gender of the wrapped bundle, Liara stepped up first and asked, "Boy or girl?"

Bakara smiled. "Apparently Wrex hasn't taught you even the basics about Clan Urdnot, so I will remedy that. The blue and red are our clan colors... Wrex's armor is mostly red, signifying the fire of our warriors..."

Shepard smiled and added, "And the blue is for the females..."

"Yes. Signifying the cool blood that soothes the savage soul and brings peace to the Krogan masses." She released a tired sigh. "For many years, under the dark shadow of extinction, we failed miserably at that task." She smiled again and looked at the couple before her. "You have made it possible once more to hope and dream of a future."

"Have you named her yet?" Liara had to concentrate on not grimacing as she asked the question, remembering Wrex's threat to name a female child after Mordin. Her fear grew as the Overlord began to answer her question, but was soothed quickly as he finished his response.

"Yes," Wrex answered. "In Mordin's honor, we have named her Eve... using the name he offered Bakara to signify the rebirth of the Krogan race. Bakara was the pathway toward that goal but Eve, as the first of many to come, truly represents our future."

Bakara nodded in agreement. "Please, come closer. It is time you met our little _Ru'shan_."

Liara thought to step forward, but in that moment's pause, Samantha took the initiative and moved to the side of the bed. Peering down at the little bundle, she asked, "May I?"

"Certainly, Captain." Bakara opened her arms and extended the relatively tiny bundle upward, Shepard gathering the little one up and cradling Eve in her left arm. Using her right hand, she gently pulled the cloth away so she could get a good look at Eve's face.

"Careful. Krogan young are born with teeth. Wouldn't want you losing a finger." Wrex snickered as he continued, "But seeing as she just ate, you should be safe."

Shepard glanced questioningly at Bakara who laughed and answered, "Yes, he's telling the truth."

While the Spectre was distracted, a tiny hand reached out and grabbed a finger, cooing as she tugged gently, pulling the finger toward her mouth and beginning to suck. Shepard watched warily while casting nervous glances at Wrex.

"Relax, Shepard. She apparently recognizes you as Clan and not food. That's good for you..." Wrex's eyes went to the little one. "... and good that she already seems to see you as a member of the family."

All the while, Liara stood back and waited patiently for her turn; her face held a gentle, loving smile as she watched her _Siame_... and gleefully realized just how devoted a father Samantha was going to make.

* * *

After the visit with Bakara and little Eve, Wrex herded a reluctant Shepard and Liara back to the Tomkah and started the formal tour of the Kelphic Valley. It was the stronghold of Urdnot and their major allied clans and Wrex was proud of what they had already accomplished. "Our main city is located in the valley's northern reaches and has one of the planet's largest spaceports. We've been rebuilding... but have now started building new as well; the hospital is just the start. I want it to be a teaching hospital... and I'm sure you saw all the other nearby buildings we've started construction on. We're in the process of hiring staff and figuring out a curriculum. It's going to be the renewal of Tuchanka's public school system... first one to open in a thousand years! With birth projections, it's got to be big – we anticipate almost eighteen thousand young Krogan will be attending."

Shepard looked at Wrex, the shock and surprise obvious on her face. "That many?"

"Give me _some_ credit, Shepard... or Bakara, at least," Wrex growled. "The Krogan population on Tuchanka is over two billion. Even if the eighteen thousand were all new offspring, they would still represent a birth rate of less than one thousandth of one percent!" He shook his head. "Sorry... You've helped us too much for me to stay angry with you. That number represents the young ones of school age."

Liara gasped. "The eighteen thousand represents _all_ of the Krogan young between the age of twenty and sixty?"

"No." Wrex frowned. "That would only be primary school. It's all the young between twenty and _one hundred_... That number includes those who are eligible for secondary as well."

"Goddess!" Liara looked to Shepard. "No wonder they were so desperate!" She looked back at Wrex. "Given your lifespan and the number who must have been killed in mercenary work along with everything else, you must have been seeing population reduction rates in the five or so percentile every year."

"That would have been welcome, Liara." He scoffed, "From what we could count, it was closer to ten."

"Shit!" Shepard's eyes opened wide. "Your population would be cut in half in roughly every..." She paused briefly to calculate in her head and continued, "seven years!"

Liara opened her omnitool and extrapolated the numbers out to twenty years. "Merciful Goddess... You would have gone from just over two billion to two-and-a-half million in twenty years! Both Samantha and I would have lived to see the potential extinction of your species!"

"And you wonder why I'm willing to tolerate a squishy Human like Shepard?" Surprisingly, Wrex laughed. "She cared enough... and _trusted_ me enough... to break that cycle." He looked at the Spectre, his voice shifting quickly from humor to solemn. "You call... I'll answer. No matter how much time passes or how many favors you call in, I will never be able to pay off that debt, Shepard... But let's not dwell on the past." He flashed another toothy grin. "Lots here to see yet... and Tuchanka's big, so we need to head to the Normandy to do so."

"The Normandy?" Shepard looked at Liara as the same question came through the link.

"Yeah." Wrex's grin disappeared. "Just because there's peace on Tuchanka right now doesn't mean everyone here is my friend... and someone just might be stupid enough to take a chance at eliminating me. I'm thinking they're a Hell of a lot less likely to take a shot at the Normandy than at an Urdnot shuttle!"

Overall, the Normandy team was awed by the progress the Krogan had already made. With relatively little help from the SILC, as compared to the aid given other species, the Krogan had started several major infrastructure projects, including the Urdnot-Veloc highway and the Ordrak spaceport. The biggest changes, however, were the stand-down of the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission, which was based on orbiting battle stations, and the addition of the newest Council members into the Treaty of Farixen.

This enabled Wrex to establish a Tuchankan Defense Fleet, based in those very same, recently abandoned orbiting battle stations. While helping Grunt rebuild Aralakh, Wrex had also collected volunteers from every one of his allied clans on Tuchanka... both to fill out the fleet and to assure each clan that the fleet would never be used against them. The ships in the newly formed squadron were almost all cutting edge – Kalanda-class frigates, noted for their heavy use of Thanix Weaponry, and Thresher-class Cruisers, an almost direct upgrade of the venerable Hierophant-class.

When the tour was complete, Shepard looked at the Krogan Overlord in amazement. "I'm honestly impressed, Wrex. I remember a certain merc-for-hire who had little faith his people would even survive, much less become a galactic power... any time in his remaining lifetime." She smiled and punched the grinning Krogan on the shoulder. "Just look at you now!"

"Yeah... But I still owe you, Shepard. Wouldn't have been possible otherwise." Wrex narrowed his eyes and continued, "So. Next up for you is the return to Sol. You ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Shepard," Wrex growled. "The Reapers were the fight for the galaxy. Returning to Earth will be the fight for Liara's and your future. You can't go there unprepared or the political machine will chew you up and swallow you down faster than a Thresher Maw... and probably with less concern for your wellbeing."

"No worries there, Wrex." Shepard looked at Liara. "We've already talked to Tevos and she's willing to run interference for us... for me... as both a Council Spectre and a future citizen of Thessia."

The Krogan's eyes opened back up to their normal diameter. "Future citizen of Thessia? You're going native on 'em. Good for you!" He chuckled. "You need an emergency extraction from Earth to make sure you get to Thessia, you give a shout. We're just a relay hop away!"


	70. Crossing the Line

Notes:

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Kaffe -_ equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate (Source: CDN)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

* * *

 **Crossing the Line**

 **Normandy SR-2, Milky War, At Large**

After they jumped the relay from Aralakh to the Serpent Nebula, Joker immediately shifted the Normandy to FTL and aimed her at their first stop among the Human controlled planets –a short, two-day visit to Bekenstein's capital, Milgrom, where there would be a short ceremony before discussions about rebuilding the original manufactories that had been established during the colony's founding in 2158. Over the years, Bekenstein had evolved into a major producer of luxury goods... which would be of little help in the planet's or the galaxy's initial recovery, so it was Shepard's job to attempt turning the clock back a bit for the benefit of all.

While enroute, Shepard and Liara were putting together their talking points for that conversation, along with her upcoming speech for Victory Day and, more important to them personally, her chat with Admiral Hackett. A call came in from Riana, pulling Liara from the loft. "I know this is inconvenient timing, Mistress, but I have a message from Miranda that you really must see."

Sighing, she cast Shepard a doleful look, making the Spectre laugh softly. "Don't worry about it, _A Grá_. We have the major points we need to make, still have a week before the Victory Day speech... and we're pretty set for my conversation with Hackett. I'll be fine finishing these up on my own... You go ahead."

Liara leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Shepard's cheek, smiling as she responded, "In that case, I'll call you if it's anything particularly interesting. Either way, I'll see you soon."

When she got to the Broker Office and read the message, she stared at it in disbelief for a moment before sitting at the terminal and pulling up the intercepted message trail Miranda had indicated she should read with all haste. With each message Liara read, she got more and more angry, until she was interrupted by a soft tough at the back of her mind.

 _{I_ _onúin Álainn_ _? What's the matter?}_

 _{Something interesting, Shepard... in a bad way. Come down here, please.}_

With a quick confirmation, Shepard saved and closed the file she was working on and headed downstairs. Liara was waiting for her when she arrived and transferred files to her omnitool as soon as she walked through the door. "Read those, please."

"Okay." Shepard raised her eyebrows in surprise at Liara's curtness, wondering what was in the messages she was about to scan through. As the plot and it participants were slowly revealed, the captain was first shocked, then upset by their sheer audacity and the complacency of the followers, until finally she shook her head in disgust and _laughed_.

Confused, Liara frowned and asked, "Why in the blue blazes are you laughing?"

Shepard's face held an odd expression... what Liara could only attribute to satisfaction... as her _siame_ answered, "Because this man has been a royal pain in my ass since the first day I met him and I'll welcome the resolution to his antipathy toward me, no matter the end result."

"But he's wrong! There are no facts to substantiate his charges or his planned actions." Liara scrubbed at her crests in irritation. "I don't understand how he could convince these other people to follow him!"

"You still have all those dossiers, right?" Liara's eyes lit with understanding at the reminder and Shepard grinned. "Just connect the dots, Li; each one of them must have some reason to dislike me. Somewhere along the way, somehow, I pissed them off... and I'm pretty sure you annotated those in your notes back then; you were pretty angry and extremely thorough. Just put it all together and, exactly as we did with Jessica Mikhailovich, we'll give Hackett the entire package with all the details while we give him a ride back to Earth aboard the Normandy... I'll give it to him before the other discussion I need to have with him; it will simply be further justification as to why I'm leaving the Alliance."

* * *

Shepard could tell Hackett was irate, the grim countenance of his expression relaying the extreme displeasure he was feeling toward the small group of senior officers Liara had identified as co-conspirators. Once he finished reading the Broker's summary, he had glanced through the various messages included as support for her accusations before finally looking up at the Normandy's Captain. "I don't know what to say, other than this is totally unacceptable behavior for Alliance officers, no matter their grade or intentions." Hackett shook his head. "Though, I have to admit that I do agree with them on one point... I'll never understand exactly why you gave the new Normandy to the Council instead of the Alliance."

"Surely, you jest." Shepard narrowed her eyes at the admiral's comment, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Should I begin with the Alliance abandoning me... declaring me killed in action on Alchera, without giving any thought toward a search? Or the entire Defense Committee ignoring my warnings and squandering all the preparation time I tried to give them for the Reapers? Then, we can toss in your standing in this ship's Med Bay, telling me to be prepared to sacrifice myself to the Batarians for the 'good of the Alliance'... all while continuing to call on the Normandy and ask me for special favors in the middle of a damned war!"

She scoffed at the shocked surprise on Hackett's face as she went on. "Oh, and should I also disregard when the Alliance senior leadership threw my ass in jail – first on the Citadel and then in Vancouver – and questioned me as if I was a damned traitor... with the same inane questions over and over again, as if hoping my answers would change to something they liked better?"

Shepard leaned back in her chair at the conference table and crossed her arms under her chest. "I mean no disrespect to you personally, Sir, because I haven't forgotten that you're the one who finally stepped in to save me from all the bullshit... but if we were going to beat the Reapers, every race needed the technology that was put into this vessel... and I'm not convinced the Alliance would have shared the information. So, no, Sir. I don't owe the Gods-be-damned Systems Alliance a fucking thing... especially a ship they had no part in building."

Hackett opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again, really having no rebuttal to the captain's statements. He worked hard at keeping his expression neutral, but it didn't work and Shepard could tell by the tautness in his lips and the ice in his eyes that the admiral was anything but pleased. "So what do you expect of me, then... _Spectre_ Shepard? Why ask me here?"

"They tried to take my ship from me once before, Sir, compliments of our traitorous councilor, Donnel Udina. We had to take it back by force and risk imprisonment as traitors or pirates... but we were either going to be successful or die trying. Fortunately, we got lucky and it all worked out in the end." A brief smile flashed across her face before she released a heavy breath and continued, "I have no intention of giving anyone such an opportunity ever again... and all you need to do is refer to that datapad to see how likely it is that they are going to try to do just that."

She shook her head, hating what she had to do, yet knowing it was necessary just the same. "I need you to know I intend to let this play out, Sir. I'm going to let that man make a complete ass of himself and see just how far he's willing to go. My question to you is, will you discipline him and his cohorts to the full extent the court martial system allows, or do I need to take matters into my own hands as a Council Spectre? _That_ choice is still yours to make."

"Not really much of a choice, is it?" Hackett practically growled, "You've backed me into a corner, Shepard."

Her tone was anything but apologetic as she replied, "Yes, Sir, I have." Uncrossing her arms and leaning forward, she looked him directly in the eye. "But I'm telling you this now, because I need you to understand this is not directed at you, personally… or professionally... in any way – your support in shifting me from imprisonment to protective custody and then throughout the course of the Reaper War was outstanding. I simply have zero confidence in the Defense Committee's leadership anymore. They eroded my trust quickly over the past four years and there is absolutely nothing they can do to regain it... certainly not within the next two weeks before this... piracy attempt... is scheduled to transpire. I'm sorry."

"So am I, Shepard... but please remember that all the people who made the decisions then died in the Committee Chambers the day of the Reaper attack on Earth." Hackett shook his head, disappointed because he had been a family friend for years and, even though she said different, he felt as if he had failed Samantha in some way. "Even so, in this case, I can't take any action against the people on the list you just gave me until they've actually committed the crime. These messages were acquired without any type of warrant or probable cause, so feel free to do what you must." He paused for a long moment before finally asking, "Have you spoken with your mother about this?"

"Absolutely not." Shepard wondered why he would bring up her mother, but ignored the nagging question and continued, "She has nothing to do with either the Defense Committee... or my next announcement." She noted the concern that flashed through Hackett's eyes and suddenly realized why he had asked what he did – he had guessed what was coming before the words ever crossed her lips.

Hackett simply shrugged, responding, "I just hope she's not disappointed. You have a promising career ahead of you... and you're about to throw it away."

"I figured you knew what I was about to say." Shepard couldn't keep her lips from twitching into a smirk. "Considering the potential for conflicts of interest, do you honestly believe there's any future for me in the Alliance, Sir? What kind of job do you have to offer a Navy Captain who, as a Council Spectre, outranks every Alliance officer in service... and who acted as a galactic ambassador and managed to bring every race in the galaxy together on Earth under her command for the final battle? And, finally, someone who's going to marry an Asari and plans to become a resident of Thessia... when you know our homeworld doesn't endorse dual citizenship?"

Her brow pinched at the look of hurt surprise that crossed his face at her last comment, but she continued without hesitation. "I don't mean to be pretentious, Admiral, but the Alliance has absolutely nothing to offer me. After all the times you asked me to do the impossible, telling me I was the only one who could handle the tasks, you somehow expect me, now that the war is over, to play nice and take orders again from the likes of our Defense Committee, which held nothing but contempt for me... and seemed to have gone out of their way to make Liara's and my lives as difficult as possible." She scoffed, "Not a snowball's chance in Hell, Admiral."

Hackett stared at Shepard, his eyes flashing in frustration, but he maintained his composure and his tone was measured and controlled as he responded, "So there are no questions there, not really. No room for negotiation... because you've already decided that you're leaving."

"Yes, Sir, I am... but the conditions under which I leave remain in your hands." Shepard dropped her chin and she stared at the table before raising pleading eyes to once more meet those of the Admiral of the Fleet. A second datapad had been sitting before her on the table and she finally slid it across the table to him. "This is my formal resignation, Admiral. I haven't been in long enough, so I have no illusions about a separation dividend or retirement. Besides. Earth needs every credit you can dig up to put toward the rebuild... and I certainly don't need them. I simply want an honorable discharge so I can be free to continue my life outside the Alliance."

Hackett was silent as he looked across the table at the relatively young officer. She had only been in the Alliance Navy for sixteen years, but she truly was the best he had ever seen. He had been friends with the family for years and had been there for them when her father was killed by Cerberus. _She's gone through more shit and done more for the Alliance than any before her... and likely more than any to follow, for a very long time._ He glanced at the digital request and the decision came to his mind in a flash; he knew in his heart it was the correct conclusion and it made him smile. However he had previously failed the young officer sitting before him, this was his one chance to make it right... to do, at the very least, this one thing for her. "Huh. Well, then. I guess the only thing for me to do now is to sign it and tell you congratulations, Shepard."

"Sir?" Samantha wondered if she had heard the man correctly.

"You heard me. I accept your resignation, Captain, effective at the completion of the official ceremonies here on Earth." He held his thumb to the pad until it registered his digital signature... Then, he pushed it toward the captain and stood, prompting Shepard to rise with him as he stuck his hand out. "You'll be a free woman when you leave Sol, Shepard. I'd be crazy to think I have any incentive or reward to offer you that's better than life on Thessia with Liara and a lifetime appointment as a Spectre."

A surprised Shepard shook his hand and, as their hands dropped, Hackett continued, "I pity those who cross the line and become your adversary, Shepard... and I certainly don't want to end up on the wrong side of that arrangement by unnecessarily making you an enemy. I hold too much respect for you and your accomplishments to go down that road." The admiral's face held an unusual smile. "I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I want you and Liara to know that you'll leave the Alliance with my blessings for a happy future."

"Thank you, Sir." Amazed, Shepard stared at the datapad that Hackett had slid back to her across the table. "I'm not really sure what to say other than that. I expected more of a fight."

"The Collectors were a fight, Shepard. The Reapers were nearly the end of the damned galaxy. And you beat them both; you've given enough for the Alliance and I won't attempt to stand in your way. Why would you ever think I'd want to be staring across the battlefield, any battlefield, with you on the opposite side?" Hackett actually chuckled before he finished, "Not a snowball's chance in Hell, Captain."

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Sol System, At Large**

"He what?" Slack-jawed in surprise, Liara stared at her Promised.

"I know." Shepard reached over and gently lifted Liara's chin, pushing the dumbfounded Asari's mouth closed. "No argument... no begging. He simply... _agreed_... and then offered his blessings for our future."

Liara stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist, touching her forehead softly to that of her _amantia_ as she whispered softly, "I'm so happy for you, Sam... for _us_. I was worried that he would ruin our departure... and have us leaving with a pall of gloom hanging over our heads, instead of the celebratory departure we deserve as we begin our new life together, free of the Reapers."

"Me too... and when I told him that I expected more of a fight, he just laughed it off." Shepard shrugged. "He also told me to do whatever I need to do regarding our other problem. His hands are tied until they actually do something wrong versus just talking about it, but he wasn't very happy with your report, so I think he's hoping we clean up yet another mess for him. But, given what my main points were, he didn't dare ask it outright."

"Better for him anyway; it gives him plausible deniability... particularly if you don't initiate the confrontation."

"Yes." Shepard smiled. "So, on that note, Hackett was wondering if he could join us for dinner this evening here in the loft... for a bit more private discussion about the upcoming events. I already said yes... hope that's okay."

"Certainly." Liara smirked. "Seeing as you already agreed, did you also stop by the Mess and make arrangements for dinner to be brought up?" Laughing at the sheepish expression on Shepard's face, she immediately continued, "Never mind. I'll take care of it."

Once the troublesome discussions with Hackett were over and done with, the tension aboard ship just seemed to wither away. The admiral's presence actually made event planning for all their Sol stops much easier, with casual discussions during meals and after hours, rather than the long vid conferences while standing in the QEC communications room. Being back in Sol had other benefits as well; the focus shifted to the Admiral of the Fleet as Hackett took lead at all the remaining memorial ceremonies, similar to what happened on Earth before the initial departure on the tour, nearly ten months prior. Shepard became solely the guest speaker, with the Normandy ground team at her back as insurance.

The speeches weren't that different than those she had initially given on Earth – which felt like ages ago – except now, instead of empty promises, Spectre Shepard had upbeat news about real progress being made on the various planets they had visited throughout the Milky Way. She couldn't help but smile; the galaxy honestly _was_ recovering. The Sol tour was mercifully short, including only the major colony at Sakharov Station in orbit around Uranus, as well as those on Mars and Luna, before the Normandy's triumphant return to Earth... which was an event filled with emotions that ran the full spectrum from trepidation to frustration to absolute joy.

Upon landing at the Systems Alliance Headquarters in Vancouver, Admiral Hackett and those of the Normandy were swept up in a tide of celebration, including tickertape parades, festivals, dinners and speeches over the course of an entire week, until finally ending with a Victory Day Celebration Ball on the eve of the one-year anniversary of their annihilation of the Reaper horde.

After one final waltz, Shepard and Liara said their farewells and begged off from any additional chats with their adoring fans, retreating to the peace and quiet of the Normandy in preparation for their departure for London in the early morning. As the door of the loft slid closed behind them, Shepard stopped and leaned against it, drawing and releasing a deep, relaxing breath. Liara, the love and devotion evident in her sparkling eyes and happy expression, turned back and smiled sweetly. "Thank you for the dance, Samantha." She closed the gap and took Shepard's hands in her own. "And I'm not just speaking of tonight's waltzes, of course."

Shepard's normally clear eyes clouded with mist as her lips turned upward in loving affection. Her voice was husky as she responded, "You are most welcome, _I_ _onúin Álainn_. Knowing the ending? I would go through every bit of it all over again just to be here... in this place and time... with you... right now. It's perfect." She drew Liara tightly to her and kissed her, long and tenderly, caressing blue lips with her own, the enduring love and steadfast devotion flowing freely through the link between them.

Liara's eyes were closed when they separated and she released a shaky breath. Opening her blue orbs once more, she looked into her _siame_ 's eyes and smiled softly. "Me too... though I must admit, I believe I will be even more happy once we return home to Thessia."

"Home." The corner of Shepard's mouth twitched as the word crossed her lips. "To Thessia. That might take a little bit of getting used to..." She smiled mischievously as she continued, "... but I'm sure I'll manage."

"I'm sure you will, Captain." Liara laughed quietly as she leaned in once more to enjoy the sensation of Samantha's lips on her own, however briefly, before leading her to the closet so they could disrobe... and then to the bed to continue the night's dance.

* * *

 **Normandy SR-2, Alliance Docks, London Headquarters**

The Normandy's captain had prepared for this day. Ever since Liara had discovered the message trail and warned her of the actions taking place in the shadowy back hallways of the Alliance, Shepard had been making ready. The Spectre stepped out of the port side airlock, Liara on her left, Ashley on her right and Riana at the rear in reserve as they faced down Vice Admiral Mikhailovich. Wearing her Alliance armor, Lieutenant Commander Williams saluted smartly but the Admiral did not return the honor, choosing instead to glare at Shepard and wait for her to do the same. Shepard stood steady in a deceivingly relaxed posture, arms hanging loosely at her sides. She was attired in newly acquired armor, a gift from Liara, boldly emblazoned with only the Council Spectre symbol on her shoulder pauldrons and a small N7 designation etched on the right side of her chest plate... There was no other Alliance military rank or insignia displayed in any form anywhere on her attire. When she spoke, Shepard's voice was ice, so cold it popped and crackled, like a glacier ready to explode. "What can I do for you, Admiral?"

When he heard Shepard's tone, Mikhailovich somehow managed to bristle even more than he already was. "You're out of uniform and disrespecting a superior officer, Captain. I could have you disciplined and reduced in rank."

Shepard's frigid laugh sent shivers down Liara's spine as she concentrated on the admiral's body language, ready to draw on her biotics and bring a barrier into existence at a moment's notice. Unfazed by Mikhailovich's comments, Shepard didn't change her tone at all, keeping her voice level as she answered, "I don't think so, Admiral. I'm a Council Spectre and am dressed appropriately for the occasion... and I think you know damned well my rank as an Alliance captain is nothing more than an honorary title now, so your threats are nothing more than wasted hot air. I had quite a few conversations with Admiral Hackett while he traveled back here with us aboard the Normandy... and he formally approved my separation, at the grade of Captain, effective upon the end of the ceremonies here on Earth, which was last night at midnight." She shrugged as she continued, "So honestly? I don't give a shit about what you have to say to me or what you _think_ you can do to me. But, I do have _honest_ business to attend to before I can turn command of the Normandy over to Spectre Williams... So, I'll ask you again, what can I do for you, _Admiral_?" Shepard somehow managed to instill extra contempt in her emphasis of his rank.

Mikhailovich's face turned beet red in anger as he growled out, "There will be no change of command ceremony! I'm here to recall the Normandy to service for the Alliance, so get out of my way!"

Shepard's stance immediately changed, dropping her right foot back as her hand slipped down to the grip of the arc pistol holstered on her hip. "She's not an Alliance ship and you have no authority to do so."

At some unspoken signal, the Marines behind the Admiral pulled weapons, inciting both Asari in the Normandy squad to instantly generate a joint barrier, Ashley to bring her assault rifle to the ready, and Shepard to pull her pistol... pointing it directly at the man's head. "Don't even think about it, Mikhailovich."

"The Normandy has _always_ been an Alliance ship! Ever since she was commissioned into service!" Mikhailovich was almost apoplectic with rage and he took a step forward with clenched fists. "The Council merely borrowed it!"

Shepard's aim never wavered as her eyes narrowed and her voice dropped to a deadly whisper that somehow managed to penetrate through all other noise on the dock. "I agree. The SSV Normandy SR-1 _was_ an Alliance ship... until you all abandoned her... along with me and 21 dead crew... to crumble away to dust in the frigid wastes of Alchera! The _SR-2_ was built with private funds and owned and operated by a civilian extremist organization until the day I confiscated her from Cerberus and commandeered her as a _Council_ _Spectre_ vessel. The Normandy SR-2 was _never_ an Alliance vessel and she never will be as long as a Spectre lives to command her."

"You have no right..."

"Shut up, Admiral!" Shepard's calm demeanor shattered and her unexpected shout rocked Mikhailovich back on his heels. "Don't you dare speak to me about _rights_! _You_ are the one with no jurisdiction here! I feel compelled to remind you and the Marines currently pointing weapons at my crew that taking a Citadel Council registered space-faring vessel without authorization is an act of galactic piracy, punishable by imprisonment. To do so by force, should you cause physical harm or death to any of the occupying crew, which I guarantee is the _only_ way you're getting onto my ship, is punishable by death!" She paused only briefly, waiting for some type of reaction, but continued quickly when she saw no indication any was forthcoming. "So, before I pass Council judgment on you in my capacity as a _Spectre_ , I ask you to reconsider exactly why you're here today... but do so quickly, because my tolerance for stupidity is extremely low at the moment."

Admiral Mikhailovich didn't budge, but the captain of the Marine squad behind him ordered his troops to stand down. When he heard the order, Mikhailovich spun in anger and shouted, "What the Hell do you think you're doing?"

The captain snapped a smart salute and dropped it again, not waiting on Mikhailovich to provide an answering one. "Shepard's got a point, Sir, and I have no intention of getting myself or my men arrested or killed today over an illegal action. I'm afraid we're done here."

Shepard relaxed her stance and docked her pistol once again on her hip. "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate and respect those that serve with integrity."

A small smile flashed across the man's face as he issued a barely perceptible nod to the Captain of the Normandy. "Just doing my job, Ma'am. Now, if you'll excuse me, my men and I should be on our way; we've taken enough of your time."

"Just because those Marines are cowards doesn't mean we're done here, Shepard."

Momentarily ignoring the admiral, Shepard smiled at the suddenly scowling Marines behind him. "Stick around if you can afford the time, Captain. You may not yet be done here." The Marine captain's eyes widened only for an instant before he understood the implications; he gave Shepard a sharp nod and moved to a rest position, his men quickly following suit while they mumbled excitedly amongst themselves, happy to stick around for the show.

Only then did Shepard shift her focus back to Mikhailovich. She shook her head in disgust and half turned, jabbing a finger toward the aft sections of the Normandy. "Are you able to identify the symbols on the fuselage and the wing of my ship, Admiral? We _are_ done here... because they sure as Hell aren't symbols for the Systems Alliance... They're the ringed chevrons of the Council Spectres!"

"With all your bars, the only thing you command is the _Scout_ Flotilla, Admiral. The Normandy is a-top-of-the-line, stealth _frigate_ and you've got no business with her!" Shepard goaded the man and strode forward until she was only one step away from her antagonist. "I'm sure you didn't think that you could bluff your way into taking command of my ship, Admiral... so, if you have orders to that affect, I'd love to see them so I can learn who authorized such an asinine and misdirected venture. If you _don't_ have any such orders, then I do believe you are guilty of even more offenses than I originally thought... Either way, it is not me, but you, who will be the one to go before a court-martial and end up reduced in rank and drummed out of the Alliance... just like your greedy, jealous cousin. I guess idiocy must run in the family."

The mention of his foolish cousin was too much for the Admiral to stand and he was shaking with rage as he screamed, "Jessica has nothing to do with this!" and lunged at the Captain, attempting to wrap his hands around her neck in his frustration.

The Marines behind him jumped to action as their captain shouted, "Take him down!" but there was no need. Shepard's fist lashed out with biotically augmented strength, catching the reckless man square on the jaw and snapping his head back as he crumpled to the dock, moaning in pain and only semi-conscious.

 _Gods be damned... He's just as fucking idiotic as Udina was._ Shepard looked at the Marine squad leader and caught his eye. "Do me the favor of taking out the trash, Captain? I have a final separation briefing with Admiral Hackett that I'm already a tad bit late for. I'll take the opportunity to fill him in on why one of his rear admirals is in the Brig."

The Marine snapped a salute, which Shepard promptly returned as the man answered, "Be my pleasure, Ma'am!" He looked down at Mikhailovich and shook his head. "Though, I imagine we'll probably be stopping at the prison medical center on the way. I think you broke his jaw."

* * *

 **Center for Galactic Cooperation, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

"Spectre Shepard." Tevos stood as the Human entered her office. "It is good to see you. You are looking well for having been so recently accosted by an Alliance Admiral." She poured a cup of _Kaffe_ and handed it across the desk to the Human, indicating that Shepard should sit. "You, at least, appear none the worse for wear, but I must inform you that the subject admiral has filed a legal complaint against you."

A small smile came to Tevos' face and she held up a hand to stop any protest the apparently confused Human was about to make. "Do not trouble yourself. We have already acquired evidence from the dock cameras. as well as a confirming testimony from Alliance Marine Captain Burton Rizzardi, confirming you acted in both self-defense and in defense of Council property. Even the Alliance representative, Councilor Osoba, insisted the Admiral's charges were unsubstantiated; as a matter of fact, it was he who initially brought the matter to our attention... and informed me that it was the Admiral who attacked you."

The small smile became a full grin. "Our formal response was that we were satisfied with the Systems Alliance incident investigation and their dismissal of all charges against you. We also issued a statement that given your history of service and what you were required to accomplish during the war, we were surprised that you were able to respond with such restraint and that he should consider himself lucky you merely struck him and did not shoot him dead on the spot as the law permits."

Nizia Tenir could no longer keep a straight face and started laughing at the expression on Shepard's face at Tevos' last comment. As Tevos joined in her revelry, the Spectre stood and pointed at her, accusingly. "Gods, Tevos! You're joking!"

At that, Tevos began laughing so hard she could barely talk, but managed to convey that only the last sentence was a stretch on the truth. Once she got herself under control, she continued, "He truly did attempt to press counter-charges, Shepard. Your councilor freely offered us the recordings and told us it was the most ludicrous attempt to avoid disgrace he's ever seen from a senior officer in the Alliance Navy." Tevos pulled up her omnitool. "Dominic also wanted me to pass on that all seven of the Admiral's co-conspirators were also charged with 'conspiracy to commit piracy' and that each of them would be stripped of rank and imprisoned for a duration of fifteen years, without parole or chance of reduction for good behavior."

The Spectre sunk back into her chair, frowning. "Ouch; fifteen years is pretty harsh."

"I do not believe so." Tevos' demeanor changed instantly. "He _attacked_ you, Shepard. Whether or not he was successful does not matter. You are a symbol of hope to the peoples of the entire galaxy, not to mention being a personal friend to a number of rather influential people... members of just about every race in the Milky Way! If he had harmed you, they... _we_ , because I would certainly be one among them... would be calling for his head!"

With that, Tevos rose and walked around the desk. Shepard stood to meet her as the councilor wrapped her arms around the woman and hugged her. Stepping back, she smiled. "It truly is good to see you again, my friend. We most certainly would not still be here if not for you."

"Thanks, Tevos." Shepard grinned. "I have to admit, I'll be glad when all the politics and ceremonies are totally done, and I'm on the _Aletheia_ headed for Thessia." She paused and her grin transitioned to a more serious expression. "Speaking of which... When the Victory Tour celebrations finish out on the fourteenth, we'll then be completing the Normandy's change of command, as I pass her to Spectre Williams. I'm wondering if the Council would like to be in attendance?"

Tevos sat forward, her eyes wide and an expression of concern dominating her face. "I was notified of your separation from the Alliance, Shepard. Have you changed your mind about remaining a Spectre since we last spoke of this?"

"Relax, Tevos." Shepard smiled and laid a hand gently on the councilor's arm. "Ashley needs a ship... and I have a brand new one – a rather robust heavy corvette, built specifically for me by T'Sere Shipwrights." She pulled up the specifications on her omnitool and passed them to Tevos. "She's beautiful... and she's called _Knight Shade_. I've been working on selecting her crew, but I have a few positions to fill yet."

Relieved, Tevos' smile returned. "Then let us move to the couches, so we can be comfortable while we have this discussion."

"Certainly." Shepard moved quickly and sat as she continued, "I've already gotten started, so finishing the crew selections shouldn't be too difficult... but I would also like to get sixty days of authorized absence from the Spectres... to get bonded with Liara."

Eyes sparkling with glee, Tevos bounced off the couch to hug Shepard yet again. "That's wonderful! I'm sure it can be arranged... If anyone deserves some time off, it is you and Liara! She is rather young to bond, but I realize the relationship between the two of you is anything but ordinary." Sitting back down, she continued, "I will speak with the other councilors this week during the ceremonies. I see no reason for you to not go ahead with your plans. How long do you think it will take you to finish picking your crew?"

Shrugging, Shepard answered, "I don't know... a couple more weeks at most, especially if I can devote my full attention to it."

"Excellent." Tevos pulled up her omnitool and stared at it for only a moment before continuing, "Then you are to be assigned to shore duty... on Thessia... for your home-station relocation from Earth and your final crew assembly. It will start immediately following the Normandy's change of command ceremony and last for two weeks... until the end of June."

"Two weeks? From what Liara has told me about marriages within a high house, that isn't nearly enough time..." Shepard paused at the look Tevos shot her and closed her mouth, giving the councilor time to finish whatever it was she was going to say.

"Only when those duties are complete will you begin your authorized absence, to last until the first of September, to go and do whatever you wish, Spectre Shepard." Her face took on a bashful look as she queried, "Am I to be invited to the bonding?"

Shepard let out a hearty laugh. "Of course you are, Raesia! No worries on that account. Both you and Sha'ira!" She drew a deep breath and was still chuckling as she added, "Just be sure to keep the first two weeks of August free."

"Excellent!" Her smile said it all. "Then, I assume our business is concluded, but I would like to ask you... What do you think of the new Council Center?"

Nodding in approval, Shepard answered, "I think it's great! Brings everyone together and it has a lot more room and better defenses than the Citadel ever did." She gave a quick shake of her head and her voice was full of resentment as she continued, "I honestly believe that station was designed to fail by the Reapers... knowing that once our civilization had progressed enough, they fully intended to take it back from us. I trust Garrus with every fiber of my being – the new station is designed not only to be the best available now, but to be upgradeable with every new weapon or defensive system designed in the foreseeable future." Shepard grinned. "He knows if this station fails and anything happens to you or Nizia, he won't have to worry about whatever is big and bad enough to take this station down... because his ass is mine."

Tevos laughed softly. "Your concern is touching, Spectre..." She stood gracefully from the couch as her omnitool chirped softly. "... but I am afraid work calls. Please stay in touch and I will likely see you at the change of command. I'd like to have one last dinner with you and Liara, if at all possible, that evening – before you depart for Thessia?"

Shepard nodded. "I'll ask Liara, to make sure she hasn't already committed us to another engagement, and let you know."


	71. Chapter 71

Notes: Warning... various levels of shmex and cuddle-bunnies abound... and thus it ends.

 _A Grá_ \- My Love (Gaelic)

 _Ai'a me_ : a trusted friend and unquestioned ally (Thessian)

 _Amantia_ \- lover (Thessian)

 _Breá Ber'ah_ \- Combined form meaning beautiful and strange lover; Breá being a close lover, somewhere between Amantia and Siame (Thessian)

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

 _Gráim thú_ \- I love you (Gaelic)

 _I_ _onúin Álainn_ _-_ beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

 _Le'wĕth_ \- the soft ridges extending from beneath the rear of the scalp, merging into the back of the neck (Thessian)

 _Nara_ \- literally "bearer"; one who shoulders another's burden, aids others (Thessian)

 _Siame_ \- "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

* * *

 **Keeping Promises**

 **Center for Galactic Cooperation, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

The final round of Victory Tour celebrations for the Normandy crew began June 8, 2188 – this time, aboard the nearly completed Center for Galactic Cooperation. After her meeting with Tevos the afternoon prior, Shepard and Liara had spent a quiet evening in the loft on board the Normandy, beginning to pack up their things. Shepard had spoken with Ashley and had agreed upon leaving most of her model ship collection, taking only the two Normandy replicas with her. She had contemplated taking the model of the Citadel as well, but realized it would generate mostly bad memories, so opted out in the end.

The _Aletheia_ was docked in an adjacent berth and the commandos were busy helping to move things between the ships, focusing primarily on the couple's non-essential gear and weapons until everything had been removed from the armory lockers and secured aboard the T'Soni vessel. Shepard picked up her customized, and now useless, Alliance helmet from the shelf above her compact, bedside desk and stared at it, memories of the long fight to save the galaxy flooding through her mind, along with thoughts of the new helmet and armor which had taken its place – a thoughtful present from her Promised.

Liara slid up behind her and wrapped her arms around her _siame_ 's waist. "You know... during the war, our personal time always seemed to be so limited compared to the rest of our busy lives. The night before we landed on Cronos Station, I seriously questioned if we'd actually live to see that ratio change." The Asari's mind held a shadow of guilt which Shepard simply refused to let remain.

"Don't, Liara." Shepard tossed her helmet on the bed and gently turned around within the embrace, bringing them face to face. "We both had our doubts, but you brought me back from the brink that night. I was starting to question myself at the worst possible time. You stopped me... made me refocus on the goal." She smiled and chuckled softly. "And look at us now; I think our personal time ratio is very much improved. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Absolutely." Even Liara's eyes smiled as she leaned in to press her lips against Shepard's, sending a jolt of desire shooting throughout her body... all the way to her fingertips and toes. A tap on the door to the loft preceded its opening by only a moment, but it was long enough for Liara to stop herself from doing what she was about to do and she stepped back, turning to face the door. "Livos. I believe you've caught up to us, as we have nothing additional ready to move at the moment."

Shepard stepped away and picked up her helmet; tossing it to the Personal Guard captain, she grinned as she said, "Except this... You can stuff it in any of the boxes going into storage. I'll not be wearing it again, so it doesn't need to go into the locker."

"Understood, Captain." The commando grinned. "Though I do not believe we have 'caught up to you,' as Liara has stated. I think you have simply found... _better_... things than packing to be doing with your evening." Shepard laughed as Liara turned a deeper shade of blue while Livos tucked the helmet under her arm and then bowed to Liara. "I will leave you to your distractions, Lady Liara." As she returned to her upright position, she continued, "Do not worry about having your possessions moved in time... We will easily have everything relocated to the _Aletheia_ before the change of command." She paused before adding, "During tomorrow's free time, do not attempt to pack; simply separate out what you will need for the coming week, as if you were packing for a trip, and lay it out on the bed. We will then pack and label everything that remains... so you can easily find anything you may have forgotten... and move it all to the hold aboard the _Aletheia_."

Shepard nodded. "Sounds like a great idea, Liv. Thanks... and have a good night."

The commando smiled and dipped her head knowingly at the gentle, yet obvious, dismissal. "Excellent. Good night, Captain. Good night, Liara. We will see you in the morning."

Samantha chuckled at Liara's awkward groan as the door closed behind Livos' retreat. "Don't worry about it, _A Grá_. They all love and respect you... and, I imagine, they're exceedingly happy for you... for us." Shepard stepped back to the Asari and pulled her into a loving embrace, tipping her head to run a warm tongue through the crevices of _le'wĕth_ as hands slid down and untucked Liara's blouse, slipping underneath to slide gentle fingers into the soft folds of her lower back.

"Oh, Goddess," muttered Liara, as her body started to tremble in anticipation. "It still amazes me... what your touch does to me, _Siame_. I... ahh..." Her words turned into a soft groan as she surrendered all that remained of her embarrassment and hesitation to the love with which Samantha was flooding her body, mind and soul. With permission granted, Shepard swept her off her feet and carried her amorously to the bed. Standing her beside it, the Spectre began a close examination of the buttons on Liara's blouse, undoing them slowly and following each with a caress of her lips on the blue skin revealed beneath.

* * *

In the quarters at the back of the Broker's Office on Deck Three, Riana and Sammi were also in the process of packing all their things. "I am still finding it difficult to believe…" Riana raised her hands to indicate everything going on around them. "… this is actually happening, _Breá Ber'ah_. That you would leave the Alliance Navy… to follow me to Thessia?" Her voice held a hint of awe, mixed with a large amount of happiness to think Traynor would give up her career without a second thought. She shook her head slightly, adding, "Are you sure about sacrificing your career for me?"

"For _us_ , Ri... and there is not a single doubt in my mind, Love." Traynor dropped the shirt she was folding back into the drawer and turned to face her _amantia_. "Do you not remember what I told you while we walked in the hanger bay during your recovery from the Cerberus assault?"

Riana smiled shyly. "Yes, I do... but Sammi, you must know that I certainly would not hold you to words that were spoken during a time of great stress and concern." Riana's smile widened slightly, crinkling the skin next to her eyes in that way that always melted Sammi's heart with adoration as she continued, "It makes me happy to know you are confident in your decision and have no regrets."

Traynor grinned and walked around the end of their bed, pulling Riana close and placing a soft, devoted kiss on her lips. "I love you, Riana, with all my heart," she whispered huskily. After placing another kiss on a willing mouth, Sammi continued, "There is no doubt in my mind that I am choosing wisely. I go where you go... no matter where that happens to be. I will be at your side… always." She laughed softly as she continued, "Besides. Working for House T'Soni doesn't exactly represent a hardship for me."

"That is a very true statement." Riana placed a kiss of her own on eager lips as her smile widened into a grin of appreciation. "We have most certainly been blessed by the Goddess, Sammi. I very much look forward to our future life together."

* * *

Zoë Lawrence had been carefully stalking the Spectre for several days; after failing to catch her alone during the Normandy's entire time on Earth, she had been forced to follow the Human Spectre to the new Center for Galactic Cooperation... despite the very vehement protests of Jana Cantrell and Tim Stafford, who had told her in no uncertain terms that Shepard would shoot her on sight. Zoë had felt a nearly overwhelming need to speak with Shepard ever since the former commander had nearly died after defeating the Reapers.

She simply wanted… _needed_ … to know if Shepard could bring herself to forgive her for all the deaths she had caused while working for Cerberus as Maya Brooks... or if she would need to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder in an attempt to avoid a premature end to her life. Tim, who was secretly in love with the assassin, had insisted on accompanying her, saying he would observe the meeting from a distance – through the specially calibrated scope of Zoë's favorite rifle.

Zoë feared Shepard would recognize her, no matter the changes in her appearance. After killing the Illusive Man and then squeezing all her medigel into Shepard's wounded side, she had whispered in the woman's ear on the Citadel. _She'll recognize my voice… Question is... what will she do? Even if she isn't armed, I have no defense against her biotics – that woman could take me down before I could react. I have to remain hidden until I can convince her that_ _ **not**_ _killing... or even arresting me... is the best course of action._

* * *

While Liara finalized arrangements for their arrival on Thessia, Shepard was out walking, enjoying the quiet of a solitary stroll in a nearly deserted park in the large commons aboard the new space station. The ceremonies on the CGC had been relatively low key; thus far, the Spectre's speaking engagements had involved only meetings with the senior diplomats and their staff... all of whom wanted the chance to personally thank her for her actions at ensuring so many had survived. "Don't be thanking me." Shepard had said those words countless times over the evening. "Thank the planning and readiness of the crewmembers of the Citadel Fleet and the _Destiny Ascension_ ; they saved your lives when the Reapers attacked in force and all but destroyed the Citadel. I had nothing to do with them getting all of you evacuated."

Her arguments had fallen on deaf ears, but the stories exchanged over the numerous sessions had reminded her of everything that had happened to Liara… and herself... ever since the search for Saren had begun. Now, with her retirement from the Alliance officially sanctioned by Admiral Hackett, she couldn't keep herself from reminiscing about the bad times… and the good times… of the previous four years. The Victory Tour was complete, she had confronted Admiral Mikhailovich at the Normandy… and was enjoying the solitude of a quiet evening as she pondered the many ways her life was about to change.

As the Spectre came around a small bend in the path, a comm device, sitting completely unaccompanied on a nearby bench, crackled to life; "Good evening, Captain Shepard." Shepard stopped in her tracks as she sent both a warning and a request for backup through the link. _{Liara… I may need help. Send a team.}_

Receiving a quick confirmation from the Asari, Shepard responded to the unexpected greeting. "I know that voice… _Maya_." A blue glow of suppressed biotic energy began dancing around her hands but she held back, unable to locate any physical target as she continued, "Where are you and what do you want?"

"Maya Brooks is dead, Captain… She died quite some time ago. My name is Zoë Lawrence."

"So, whatever name you're going by these days... Are you here to finish the job you screwed up on the Citadel when you nearly killed Karin Chakwas?"

Zoë was solemn as she replied, "I am truly sorry for attempting to kill you on the Citadel, Captain… and I very much regret nearly killing Dr Chakwas in the process. I was there to end Udina… the attempt on your life was meant as a distraction… Doctor Chakwas was an unfortunate accident."

"Accident, my ass," Shepard growled. "The Maya Brooks I know is an unconscionable killer. Look at what you did in the Temple at Serrice... and what about Admiral Anderson?"

Zoë responded softly, "I experienced an epiphany as I was leaving that temple, and the admiral's death… was a weakness on my part, Captain." In a bitter tone, she added, "I was at the Illusive Man's beck and call for far too many years. At the end, just before he had the Reapers relocate the Citadel, I was living in constant fear he would have me bound and indoctrinated while I slept. Going out on assignments was the only way I could get any peace." Watching Shepard from afar, Zoë studied the captain's face as she finished with, "When I finally found the courage to vent Jack's head, I was simply too late to prevent Admiral Anderson's death… You may choose to disbelieve me, Shepard, but that was a mistake I regret… every day of my life. After I left you in the Crucible control compartment, I vowed to never let myself hesitate like that again."

"So what is this if not hesitation? If you're not planning to kill me, what the fuck do you want from me, Brooks?" Shepard looked around, knowing the woman had to be following close enough to anticipate her path... and to know when she had neared the comm device.

"It's Zoë, Captain, if you please," Zoë stated. "In case you haven't been paying attention, my organization has been responsible for saving your life… and the life of Dr T'Soni… many times over during your victory tour. You and me? We're on the same side!"

"Bullshit; you'll always be Maya Brooks to me... You're carrying all the guilt from each of your earlier aliases… You can't expect me to simply _forget_ that, as if none of it ever happened!"

Before Zoë could respond, Liara made her presence known. _{We are here, Siame. I do not see Maya... and we cannot determine where she is hiding.}_ Liara paused, her concern evident even as she continued. _{But, it seems to me she is not threatening you... at least for the moment.}_

"Damn it, Shepard!" Zoë exclaimed. "I helped save your life on the Citadel! I'm a completely different person than the woman you knew as Maya Brooks."

"And yet, you allowed Admiral Anderson to die at the hands of the Illusive Man," Shepard scoffed. "That's not exactly a long time ago... nor much of a change from your previous self."

"I am doing my best to atone for all those events, Shepard." Zoë was looking at the sidewalk beneath her feet as she struggled to control her emotions. "When I agreed to take over the remnants of Cerberus, I warned them… all of them! I told them Atlas would be a kinder, gentler organization, but… I also advised them all of the consequences of leaving Atlas for LEAP… or any other Human-centric organization who would choose extreme measures to put Human advancement above alien lives. I explained that they'd be painting targets on their backs."

Zoë snorted in derision. "So, am I wrong… is our entire organization wrong… because we perform surgical strikes to slice out the cancerous growths in our midst? All while people like you… and Ashley Williams, can act outside of any law enacted, galactic or otherwise, simply because the council named each of you a Spectre? Just who in Hell checks _your_ actions, Spectre Shepard? Was Saren Arterius acting on the council's behalf in his attempt to open the Citadel to the Reapers?"

"Just because we _can_ do those things, doesn't mean we do... and Saren was under Reaper control; he atoned for that by taking his own life once he realized the truth. But the main difference is that we're appointed to such positions by the Council; we're not self-appointed vigilantes. You don't have the authority to make those decisions and you're running roughshod over galactic law. It may be in a different manner than when you were with Cerberus, but you're still operating illegally... outside of the justice system." Shepard glared out into the park, her eyes still seeking the telltale shimmer of a cloak, trying to determine Maya's location.

"Justice?" Zoë answered with a bitter laugh. "And what about their victims, Shepard? How in Hell would you go about getting the incontrovertible proof required to prove guilt beyond any reasonable doubt?" It was the Atlas leader's turn to scoff. "Did not all the innocent people LEAP managed to kill since before you began your Victory Tour deserve to live? Atlas is simply attempting to rebalance those scales of justice, Captain. We have only eliminated those within LEAP who either _had_ murdered or were _planning_ to murder aliens… like your Asari bride-to-be… simply because they're unfortunate enough to not be Human! We don't target families or anyone outside of LEAP, and we don't stand for collateral damage. Certainly you must remember Angelique Warren… she was murdered…" Zoë's voice hitched as she recalled how Angel had died. "… by Jessica's second-in-command… Marco Tilzer… on Arvuna."

"I'm sorry to hear about that; Angelique was good to me and Tilzer was a bastard." Shepard was silent for several moments before stating, "But you're going about it all the wrong way. Every one of those people deserved justice… not executions." Shaking her head, she concluded, "And no matter what you say, those two options are _not_ the same thing."

"Why is your justice any different than ours, Spectre? We're fighting the same damned war... for the survival of the entire galaxy, not just humanity. What makes Atlas so bad? I've been very selective of those that work with me... very careful as to the moral standards we maintain. We truly aren't that different from the STG, the Justicars... or you and your Spectres."

Shepard thought about what she and Liara had done, pitting the two organizations against one another and shook her head. In a voice suddenly sounding infinitely sad, she responded quietly, "No. I guess we're not."

Deciding to take the chance, Zoë stepped out of the shadows and deenergized her shield generator, her ever-present cowl pulled over her head, casting a dark shadow across her face. Her hands were held out, palms facing Shepard, open and non-threatening. Shepard tensed only briefly before dropping her biotics as she spoke to Liara via the link. _{Easy, Li. Be ready... but please don't do anything rash. Somehow, I think this just may turn out alright.}_

The corners of Zoë's mouth twitched as she looked deep into the fiery green eyes warily watching her and stated in a quiet, steady voice, "Just retire and go to Thessia, Shepard. You know, in your heart, that you shouldn't arrest me..." Zoë smiled slightly. "Because there's simply too much that still needs to be done... and you can't do it alone. Rest easy, knowing that while you're off continuing to serve the galaxy, Atlas will remain at home to peacefully ensure that radical anti-Alien groups will never come to power within the Earth Systems Alliance."

Shepard was incredulous. "How can you say that, May…" catching herself, she paused mid-sentence and, as much as she didn't wish to do so, Shepard used the woman's new name. "… Zoë? I've been told that LEAP left your entire organization in a shambles, galaxy-wide."

"We may be a shadow of what we were, Shepard, but I can personally guarantee that LEAP is the organization that is truly dead." Zoë shrugged. "We may be a bit disorganized currently, but all that remains of LEAP is the original Terra Firma party and Charles Saracino... and that man will never be successful in politics; he doesn't know when to shut his damned mouth."

Shepard frowned. "Saracino won't always be the party leader. What will you do then? Murder his replacement?"

Zoë smiled slightly. "His replacement, when the time comes, will be someone friendly… or at least non-threatening, to Atlas. I haven't forgotten everything the Illusive Man taught me over the years, Captain."

Shepard released a deep sigh and shook her head in disbelief at what she was about to do, huffing before she continued, "I'm going to do something I never thought I'd be capable of doing. I'm actually going to give you a free pass. You saved my life on the Citadel; in all likelihood I would have bled out before Riana could reach me, so… I guess I owe you one… a big one... but this makes us even, you and I… any and all debts paid in full."

Shepard scowled. "But I'll promise you this – if you ever cross me or the law again, I won't let you off a second time." Shepard took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder before continuing with, "Leave… Now. Liara is here with a team of Commandos… none of whom would think twice about shooting you dead where you stand if you're lying and attempt to harm me on your exit."

"I am not without defenses of my own, Captain. I did not come here alone either... but I came with no intention of harming you." Zoë shrugged and softly added, "I believe, perhaps, we are more alike than either of us cares to admit. Before I depart, I would leave you with one final thought. The best I can do right now is to offer you my profound apologies for any suffering I caused you and yours. You have my best wishes for a happy life on Thessia with Lady T'Soni. You both deserve it for all you have accomplished." As she energized her shield generator, she said, "Farewell, Spectre Shepard. It's been a pleasure speaking with you." With that, Zoë Lawrence vanished into the shadows as suddenly as she had arrived.

Liara revealed herself and ran over quickly, wrapping Shepard in her arms and hugging her tightly. Feeling her lover's arms trembling, Shepard repaid in kind and whispered softly, "It's alright, Blue. I'm fine. We're fine." The Asari felt Sam's lips curl up against her cheek. "Besides. I knew you had my back. If that woman decided to do anything, I would have pulled up my barrier and activated my shields... all while you obliterated her from existence."

Having sensed her Human's thoughts and feelings during the course of the conversation, Liara had agreed with Shepard's conclusions, but it was still hurtful and disturbing to be forced to be reminded of yet another of her _siame_ 's near deaths. In counterpoint, Shepard had also sensed Liara's anger and fear. " _Gráim thú_ , Liara T'Soni... and I'm right here, alive and well at your side, so put those thoughts from your mind, Blue."

Blue eyes met calming greens as the rest of the commando team walked up to them after ensuring Zoë had departed the small park to lose herself in the crowds of the CGC. Livos softly cleared her throat, garnering their attention, and spoke matter-of-factly. "She's gone, _Nara_ … No sign of her anywhere close by. As the danger seems to have passed, it would be our privilege to escort you both back to the _Aletheia_ now... for dinner, of course."

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't think of being late to dinner." Shepard chuckled softly as she wrapped an arm around Liara's waist. "Come on, Li. Honestly? I'm ready to eat and relax for the night." She smiled. "Tomorrow's a big day, final ceremony and all."

"Yes." Liara also reached around her lover's waist and pulled her tight as they slowly started to move. "And then the change of command for Ashley."

Giving one last squeeze before moving away so it would be easier to walk, Shepard grinned and sought out a blue hand. "And then, my dear Lady Liara, your captain has the distinct privilege of escorting you home to Thessia. And that, _I_ _onúin Álainn_ , is the one event I wouldn't miss for anything."

* * *

Their final two days spent at the new Center for Galactic Cooperation were fairly busy. Garrus had arrived and felt the need to take Shepard on a full tour of the new facility, highlighting the defensive systems and their upgradeability. "I imagine, as a full-time Spectre, you and Liara may be spending a lot of time here. No force will ever find this station as defenseless as the Reapers made the Citadel, Shepard." Garrus growled, "I made damned sure of that!"

"Thanks, Garrus, but I'm sure there's some personal motivation there as well." Smirking, Shepard continued, "After all, Desis is just on a leave of absence, correct? There's a chance she could be assigned back to the councilor's staff, isn't there?"

Garrus chuckled. "Yes, there is, but that chance is very remote, Shepard; Dee is pretty happy where she is. I believe she's found her true calling and I imagine she'll request a full resignation before we link our chains."

"Really? That's awesome, Garrus!" Shepard grinned at the Turian. "Knowing how I feel about Liara, you've got to be giddy with anticipation of the big day... and a tad bit nervous."

"I'd say you have no idea, Shepard..." Garrus' mandibles flared in gratitude before he continued, "... but I'm sure you know _exactly_ how I feel right now... or, at least, pretty damned close!"

After the tour of the stations defenses, Garrus had led Shepard to the residential section within the inner habitat ring and proceeded to take the main lift to the topmost deck. They followed the arc of the hallway for a bit, finally stopping when he announced, "Ah. Here we are!"

He opened his omnitool and keyed an entry code, causing the door to slide into its recess; he stood to the side and gestured for the Spectre to precede him into the apartment. As she stepped in, Shepard's eyes grew wide. "Shit, Vakarian! You're moving up in the world. Your pay as the lead Turian agent to the Primarch must be better than I thought," she said, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Hell of a view... and three bedrooms? Plenty of room for the future kids, I guess." She chuckled as her friend practically choked on laughter.

When he managed to speak again, Shepard understood why he was laughing so hard. "On the contrary, Shepard. This apartment actually has _four_ bedrooms... is compliments of the Council... and belongs to their premier Spectre. Welcome to your and Liara's home away from home..." He grinned as he added, "... with lots of room for the commandos and all the little blue babies you and Liara keep talking about!"

It was Shepard's turn to blush as Liara 'heard' the news through the link, even though she had not accompanied them, having instead gone to the _Aletheia_ to speak with numerous people on Thessia. Shepard could feel the Asari's blush and her own face picked up a rather rosy shade of pink as she responded, "I... wow. I don't really know what to say to that, Garrus. Other than thank you? I can only guess as to your part in making this happen."

"It was the least they could do, Shepard. They were trying to figure out how to compensate you for all you've done... and when I told them you lost your apartment in Tiberius Towers... well, their decision came pretty fast." The Turian smiled. "Dee and I will also have an apartment here, but it's in the Turian segment of the ring and two decks lower; still very nice as apartments go."

"That's good to know." Shepard smiled softly. "I like the idea of having my favorite Turians close by... in case of emergency."

* * *

The final ceremony was not simply a celebration of their victory over the Reapers, but also a dedication of the new station. Shepard was surprised to discover just how many races had participated in its construction – the final team being almost identical to the one pulled together to build the Crucible. The SILC and the Rachni had contributed immensely and the Spectre began to realize the enormity of the effort that had been required to have almost the entire structure completed and habitable within a single year's time. The only things that remained undone were the lowest two decks of apartments; even so, a significant portion of the residential sections had already been completed.

At the end of the day, Liara and Shepard had returned to the Normandy one last time to shower and relax a bit before dinner at Tevos' new residence. As Shepard stripped down, welcoming arms encircled her from behind and she felt a heat build within as Liara's naked body pressed tightly to her back, the Asari's mind slipping into her own like an aphrodisiac – blue hands caressing her in rather... _intimate_... places.

The woman trembled as a groan escaped her lips, persuasive fingertips circling a suddenly needy pink nub, quickly growing stiff. "God's Liara," she whispered as her hands sought purchase on a closet shelf to help keep her balance. "You have me at something of a disadvantage..."

A short, breathy chuckle came just before Shepard felt teeth on the top of her right trapezius muscle and a hand gently caressing her left breast. _{I've wanted to do this all day, Sam... and I'm going to exploit every disadvantage I can find for the next hour of our relaxation time.}_

The Human could only gasp in response as images of Liara's plans for her inserted themselves into her mind; the squeeze turned to a light pinch and the circles became more insistent, hips thrusting wantonly forward in answer to the increased intensity. Almost without thought, Samantha spread her feet farther apart to give her _I_ _onúin Álainn_ greater access, which the Asari took immediate advantage of, sliding slightly to the side to enhance her reach. Shepard growled in pleasure as fingers curled in and up to press against her front wall.

The heat between the two lovers only grew as warmth started to seep down Shepard's inner thighs. Liara wanted more and Shepard cried out in disappointment as the pleasing hand left unexpectedly... only to spin her around and push her back against the shelves, the edges digging into her back. Her discomfort became instantly meaningless as a warm mouth took over where the blue hand had so recently abandoned, suddenly consuming all her attention. Her hands grabbed again at the shelves, this time to keep her legs from collapsing beneath her as a talented tongue began plunging within.

Liara lit with power, her hands grasping Shepard's hips to slow the frantic bucking as her tongue worked its own biotic magic, immediately drawing gasps of pleasure from her _Amantia._ "By... the... Gods... Liara," Samantha managed to grunt... just before her entire body began to quiver uncontrollably and her world exploded in ecstasy, every muscle tensing as pleasure poured out from within. Liara's hold on her hips was the only thing that kept her from crumpling to the floor as wave after wave of bliss passed through her mind and body until she simply had nothing left to give.

Her hands dropped weakly from the shelves down to the Asari's shoulders and Liara stood, sweeping the pleasantly drained woman up in her arms and carrying her to the bed. Liara immediately slid in next to her, laying her head on Samantha's heaving chest and a blue hand on her stomach. Shepard drew a number of deep breaths, gradually calming her racing heart. "Holy crap, Li. That was amazing."

Liara sat up and leaned over, placing gentle lips on Sam's before responding, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, _Siame_."

"What was not to like?" Shepard laughed and raised a hand to tenderly cup Liara's cheek before moving again to encircle her neck and pull her down for yet another kiss. The kissing intensified as Shepard caught a second wind and she pushed herself up, claiming the top position over her willing partner. "Do you recall what you said to me after the Battle of the Citadel?"

Liara knit her brow in thought, but the link provided the answer before she found it on her own. "We were speaking of your willingness to risk yourself for others... I said I never wanted you to change... that I love you the way you are and that I'd rather the galaxy be a place where such self-sacrifice wasn't necessary anymore." She smiled softly and her blue eyes glistened as she realized the point Sam was making by asking the question. "We are very close to being there... Aren't we?"

"Yes." Shepard nodded lightly. "We are, Li. At least for a little while... So, I plan on taking advantage of the quiet time... if you'll allow me to offer you the bliss you just granted me."

Liara's eyes lit in anticipation and a wide smile took over her face. "I would be more than happy to fulfill your desires, _Siame_. I have said it before and will say it again. I am yours."

* * *

After dinner at Tevos' apartment, they visited for a rather long time, speaking late into the night as they discussed many things, but focusing mainly on three topics – the promising future of the Council with the expanded membership, the resolution of the Salarian issues... and the fear of the apparently looming Quarian crisis, the latter of which Tevos had been completely unaware. "Councilor Eri'Addan has said absolutely nothing about this!" Tevos exclaimed. "Why would that be?"

Liara shrugged. "It's very possible he doesn't know... or is hesitant to say anything yet, as they have absolutely no solid evidence that Xen or Gerrel are planning what they fear. Thus far, it is simply rumor and innuendo."

"It is inconceivable to me that anyone would still want the SILC as slaves, after they were proven to be sentient!" Tevos shook her head in disgust. "It is... despicable is the only word I can think of to describe such beliefs, if indeed they are true. It is horrid to think the Quarians would purposely become a slaver race like the Batarians!"

"All I can do is monitor the situation, Tevos, until something solid turns up." Shepard pursed her lips before continuing, "I refuse to react out of fear and presumption."

" _You_ will not react at all." Tevos' mood shifted and she smiled. "Because _you_ are taking a nice, long, _relaxing_ vacation and getting bonded. I will give the monitoring assignment to Spectre Williams and her crew aboard the Normandy. It is what we have always done and what I will continue to do... at least until Spectre Shepard and the _Knight Shade_ are declared active and on duty."

"Message received and understood, Councilor." Shepard smiled and stood, Liara quickly rising at her side. "On that note, I think it's time for us to be going... it's rather late and we have a change of command to accomplish tomorrow, seeing as you already have the Normandy's first assignment for her new commander."

Tevos and Sha'ira both stood along with them, moving toward the door and exchanging heartfelt hugs between everyone before their guests stepped out the door. Sha'ira smiled. "The galaxy is in good hands, Raesia. Things turned out much better than we could have ever hoped."

Tevos took Sha'ira's hand as they walked toward their bedroom. "Why... yes they did, didn't they?"

* * *

Shepard and Liara finally climbed out of bed, very late the next morning... barely in time to grab lunch with Ashley before the ceremony, to go over last minute details. "You've got this, Ash. I don't know why you're so nervous."

"You have to remember my background, Skipper!" Ashley ran a nervous hand through her raven black hair. "Thanks to my grandfather's actions on Shanxi, I experienced the prejudice of the senior staff against any and all named Williams. Until you came along to give me a fair shake, I never even dreamed I could become an officer, much less a Commander in the Alliance Navy!"

Shepard snorted. "So what? After all this time and all you've done, you still think you have something to prove?"

Blushing slightly, Ashley nodded and answered quietly. "Yeah, I do. Because I was always in your shadow on the Normandy. I don't blame you for that in the least, but few, if any, saw me; they only saw the great Commander Shepard." She shook her head at Shepard's retort. "No, Ma'am. I've never been more than an interim, _acting_ commander. I need to prove... not only to them, but to myself... that I really do have what it takes to command a vessel on my own."

At that, Shepard laughed. "Why? I certainly didn't! I relied on input from you, Liara, Garrus... every single day that I commanded the Normandy. No one honestly commands a ship on their own; they rely on their staff... their friends... their mentors... to help them make the right decisions." She smiled and tacked on, "So, I say again... You've got this, _Commander_."

"All right... just don't be calling me Commander... at least not yet." Williams laughed. "I still have to make it through my promotion ceremony and the change of command without getting completely and embarrassingly tongue-tied."

Liara's face held a happy grin for her friend. "You'll be fine, Ashley, because every one of us will be standing behind you on this one... just as you have always stood behind Shepard. That's what friends are for, right?"

* * *

 _ **Aletheia**_ **, Center for Galactic Cooperation, Serpent Nebula**

Starting at noon, both the promotion to commander and the change of command went without a hitch, with Spectre Williams successfully taking the helm of the Normandy without missing a beat in either ceremony. The follow-on party was held aboard the station in a newly opened establishment, The Widow's Well, and lasted into the late afternoon. Shepard and Liara finally passed on their congratulations one last time before bidding their tearful farewells to Ashley and those who used to be their shipmates... and retreated to their own transport.

It was with mixed emotions that Shepard, Liara, Riana and Traynor stood together on the bridge of the _Aletheia_ as she pushed back from the docks, Tra'ana Iremi sitting in the pilot seat. They watched in total silence as the Normandy and the CGC slowly disappeared from view, gradually shifting from the front view screen to the side... until finally vanishing completely to the aft of the luxury corvette.

Once the CGC had disappeared from view, Riana and Traynor departed the Bridge to chat with the other commandos. As the hatch slid back to its closed position, Shepard looked at Liara and offered up a smile; it was obvious the Asari was trying to keep the excitement of finally returning home in check... all to no avail... and the Captain of the T'Soni Guard simply had to laugh. Sensing the source of Samantha's good humor, Liara smiled bashfully in return and spoke quietly. "Thank you, Sam. For everything."

"My pleasure, Liara." Turning to the pilot, Shepard's voice reflected a promise of the future as she ordered, "Push it to the redline, Iremi. I plan on Lady Liara being home in time for a late dinner."

"As you wish, _Ai'a me_." Tra'ana reached over to the throttle control and accelerated the craft smoothly to its top sustainable speed as she replied with a smirk, "Lady Liara is not the only one eager to be home again."

Grinning broadly at their banter, Liara finally unleashed her joy and laughed... a full, robust sound that sent Shepard's spirits soaring high. The couple stood together on the bridge, arms comfortably around one another's waists, chatting casually with Tra'ana until they had completed the relay jump to Parnitha and entered FTL, enroute to Thessia.

Shepard pulled the Asari around and gave her a quick kiss before setting her forehead gently against Liara's, whispering quietly. "Welcome home, Lady Liara. Welcome home."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Thank you all..._ for working your way through yet another rather lengthy saga in the Chronicles of Samantha Shepard. They wouldn't be near so much fun to write without the dedicated readers and reviewers like you! So, Old Gamer and I would like to thank you all again for your tremendous support, the follows and favorites, and the comments and reviews.

Once more, we'll take a short break to create an outline for the next story... and the story will be continuing soon: _**Promises Delivered**_ _ **\- Book 6 in the Chronicles of Samantha Shepard**_.

~ Thanks again, and we'll see you soon! ~


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